2.3 Artists’ experiences

To fill in data gaps, two members of our collective undertook a deeper dive into opera and classical music experiences post-2020 through the lens of health, illness, and disability. In 2024, artist-researchers Sky Cameron and Dr. Camille Rogers interviewed 12 Canada-based music professionals across opera, musical theatre, concert, and choral sectors, including emerging and established artists, students, educators, administrators, and agents.

The twelve interviewees (primarily women, transgender people, and non-binary people, half of whom are racialized) consistently reported that most arts organizations had removed the airborne infectious disease protections in place during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Commonly cited gaps included the absence of masking, testing, air purification, clear stay-home policies, exposure notification, and transparent health communication. Artists emphasized that there is currently no consistent industry standard for health & safety practices, leaving protections spotty, discretionary, or nonexistent, and placing the burden of risk management on individuals rather than companies or institutions.

Across interviews, artists described workplace cultures that normalized frequent illness and implicitly pressured performers to work while sick, driven by financial insecurity, fear of lost opportunities, and an enduring “show must go on” mindset. Many reported declining work, losing opportunities, or leaving performance careers altogether because safe participation was not possible. Requests for basic precautions or accommodations were often met with stigma, dismissal, or retaliation, with disabled, immunocompromised, and racialized artists affected disproportionately. Many artists expressed disappointment with the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA), noting that it has not meaningfully leveraged its position to establish or enforce minimum health & safety standards related to communicable disease. Artists emphasized that CAEA contracts already contain enforceable language related to harassment and discrimination, and argued that similar provisions could, and should, exist for infectious disease mitigation.

At the same time, participants emphasized that these conditions are not inevitable. Interviewees pointed to clear, feasible solutions already in use by some organizations: transparent health & safety policies, layered mitigation strategies (clean air, masking, testing), punishment-free sick leave, proactive communication, and leadership-driven commitments to accessibility and collective care. Overall, the findings suggest that organizational choices, rather than feasibility or cost, are the primary determinant of whether artists can work safely, sustainably, and equitably.

Content warning: references to discrimination, including ableism and racism; bullying and harassment; workplace endangerment and retaliation; career loss