With both the timing and the conditions of the return of live performances uncertain, organizations are considering numerous possibilities, from outdoor shows (free or ticketed) with spectators carefully spaced apart to playing in half-full halls (but what about box office and bathroom lines?) to booking in-high-demand artists in smaller (and half-empty) venues and charging hundreds of dollars for the few tickets. – The Washington Post
Category: issues
Survey Quantifies Dire Situation For Artists
Conducted by the advocacy group Americans for the Arts and released Friday, the survey of more than 11,000 creative workers reveals that 95 percent have lost some income because of the pandemic, with almost two-thirds reporting that they are now fully unemployed. Almost half of the respondents have no savings to mitigate their lost income — which averages $27,100 — and 8 in 10 said they have no path to recovery. – Washington Post
Learning How To Do The Arts In A Post-COVID World
One challenge is figuring out how to monetize the digital experience for an audience that’s bathing in a glut of free content. Another is figuring out how to create an experience that’s satisfying online, by organizations that have been trying to do this for some years already. – Vanity Fair
We’ll Have To Learn New Ways To Use Public Space
As a post-lockdown city edges into view, we’ll have to develop new ways to use the places we share, from public restrooms to restaurants, classrooms, hallways, subway cars, and sidewalks. Prodded by fear and guided by tape, we will develop new social dances that resemble the formal ballroom steps of yore. – New York Magazine
Texas Arts World Confused And Uncertain About Governor’s Reopening Orders
“The governor proclaimed that all retail outlets, as well as restaurants, movie theaters, museums and libraries, are free to reopen May 1 — but with occupancy no greater than 25%. That’s expected to expand to 50% by May 18. Debbie Storey, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, which is home to five resident companies in the Dallas Arts District, summed up what many were feeling. ‘It didn’t specifically give us permission to open,’ Storey said, ‘so we’re still trying to assess what this means for us, and what it might mean on May 18.'” – The Dallas Morning News
Arts Organizations Laying Off Their Education Staff? Isn’t That Backwards?
In a now infamous email, the Museum of Modern Art told its museum educators “it will be months, if not years, before we anticipate returning to budget and operations levels to require educator services.” – Creative Generation
The Touching Story Of Maria Abramovic And Ulay’s Walk On The Great Wall Of China
To the Chinese who encountered the artists, they were of great curiosity. Having originally believed themselves to be the sole players and audience for their walk, they found everything they did was witnessed as if a performance. – The Guardian
Artists Warn Government That The UK May Become ‘Cultural Wasteland’ After The Pandemic
Those who signed the appeal to the government include Rufus Wainwright, Anish Kapoor, and Simon Callow. The letter calls “for urgent funding for creative organisations and professionals who, it says, are ‘falling through the gaps of existing government support measures.'” – The Guardian (UK)
We Don’t Need To Re-Create Our Museum Visits, Ballet Performances, Or Anything Else Online
It’s a pandemic. Could we back off a little? (And virtual tours of museums are simply not that enjoyable.) “Beyond whatever technical issues there are, fundamentally, these activities aren’t satisfying because they’re based in a denial of the present moment.” – Slate
How Locked-Away Artists Are Expressing Themselves
Practical concerns aside, it can be difficult to keep creating during a pandemic that has already killed more than 180,000 people worldwide. Even so, people who need to express themselves through their art are finding new ways. – The New York Times