Category: issues

“This is 9/11 meets The Great Recession meets the snowstorm,” Randy Engstrom, director of the city’s Office of Arts and Culture (OAC), said during an online public meeting Tuesday afternoon. “We know we’re going to get through this together — and this is our time.” – Seattle Times

Michael Kaiser: “For many, it is a lack of clarity on the duration of the crisis that causes the most anxiety. Should we proceed with rehearsals for a new production scheduled for May? Do we issue next season’s subscription brochure? Should we move forward with our capital campaign? Will our reserves outlast the downturn, or are more drastic measures necessary? These are some of the sensible and challenging questions we have heard from arts leaders across the nation.” – DeVos Institute

The organization Sama for All, founded by Syrian refugee Souad Nanaa, prepares displaced persons in France to find jobs in museums and cultural organizations. The six-month program teaches topics such as museum security, making presentations to visitors, and the specialized vocabulary refugees won’t learn in their regular French classes. – Hyperallergic

Venetians are posting photos to the Facebook group Venezia Pulita (Clean Venice), saying that they’ve never seen the water in the canals so clear. It’s not that they’re suddenly far less polluted than before, says the mayor’s office: the lack of boat traffic means that no sediment is getting stirred up from the bottom. – CNN

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation: “These Denver-based organizations offer ongoing public arts & culture programming and are at risk for earned revenue loss due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The funding amount is based on 10% of their most recent grant, with a $6,000 cap. The total grant commitment is approximately $125,000. These grants will not require any sort of application or final report. The funding has already been released. Much has been written about how funders are taking this opportunity to shift their existing funding towards unrestricted support.” – Bonfils-Stanton Foundation

“We will refocus some grant programmes to help compensate individual artists and freelancers for lost earnings,” said a statement from Arts Council England. “This will require further planning. It may take about ten days before we can announce the details.” Institutions will continue to receive grant money, with funding requirements suspended for three months, and advance payments can help those with cash flow problems. – The Art Newspaper

New York Foundation for the Arts has created a page of resources for artists who have found themselves in difficulty during the virus crisis. – New York Foundation for the Arts

The reality for most organisations is that their value and survival increasingly demand competence – and coherence – across all audience development. Many next-generation cultural organisations are developing as ingenious social enterprises, learning to manage this cultural triple bottom line. Of necessity, they have to do well to do good. What matters is that an organisation is clear about its public purpose and priorities, and that it knows how to achieve them. – Arts Professional

Grocery stores, pharmacies, and food banks can remain open, but movie theatres are also closed (at least, those that hadn’t already closed themselves). – Los Angeles Times

Of course, they’re not alone, but the virus has especially terrible timing in a country hit by sudden so-called austerity measures. “The Australian arts industry operates on a knife-edge at the best of times – but in recent years, the pressure has reached boiling point: local creators have faced millions in funding cuts, with draconian laws decimating once thriving scenes.” – The Guardian (UK)