It's been a busy week! Catch up on the week's research news, including two survey results and a new one you can participate in. Plus: blogs reflecting on the COVID pandemic, a powerful story on cultural organizing, a webinar exploring how to navigate conversations on cultural equity, and much more.
Americans for the Arts is partnering on a new international study to measure the mental health impact of COVID-19 and social distancing on the American public and is seeking volunteers to participate via online surveys. Everyone age 18 and older is welcome to be part of the study, and participation is fast and simple!
Americans for the Arts has released the 2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies, an annual survey of a core set of local arts agency (LAA) indicators that is supplemented with rotating modules, enabling a more in-depth exploration into specific aspects of LAA work. The findings in this year’s study are based on 633 survey responses that were collected May through August of 2019.
This week, we invited you to join a virtual roundtable conversation with three local arts agency leaders, made plans for virtual celebrations of the arts, and opened registration for the online version of our National Arts Action Summit—because even a pandemic can’t cancel the need for the arts!
As many parts of the U.S. and others around the world continue to be sequestered indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, we plan to take some time to celebrate the work of artists and their outdoor creations during International Sculpture Day on April 25, 2020.
Join Nina Ozlu Tunceli on a drop-in basis on Zoom Monday through Friday between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. ET to ask questions—whether broad or specific to your situation—about funding opportunities and deadlines related to the $3.2 trillion federal aid package.
Americans for the Arts presents a brand-new experience for arts advocates to engage virtually at the first ever National Arts Action Digital Summit with three plenary and ten issue-specific webinars live April 27 to May 1, 2020.
The 2021 Annual Convention is our opportunity to gather and reimagine our creative field and communities. Registration is now open to attend the virtual conference happening June 8-11, 2021.
This week, COVID-related losses and challenges continue to dominate many stories about the arts and culture sector, but we're also focusing on hopeful opportunities for leadership and community engagement. Our three-part DIAL Labs series began on ArtsU; the free professional development webinars are for early- and mid-career arts leaders who want to hone skills for navigating the field. We also republished a conversation with a California arts champion who's using her dance studio and its deep community roots to keep youth and families safe and informed during the COVID-19 crisis.
On April 8, 2020, Americans for the Arts hosted a webinar titled “How the CARES Act Supports the Arts Sector” to discuss the recent COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress at the end of March. Americans for the Arts Government Affairs staff and valued guest speakers discussed the various pieces of the legislation that pertained to the arts sector.
Nationally, financial losses to the nonprofit arts sector are estimated to be $4.5 billion as of April 6 (up from $3.2 billion on March 20). Americans for the Arts estimates that nonprofit arts organizations already have experienced an estimated 197 million lost event admissions due to cancelled or postponed events.
This week, we explored the CARES Act stimulus relief package and which parts of the law relate to the arts and culture sector, creative pricing strategies for artists (becoming ever more important in the current economy), and a new resource to help artists and municipal governments partner on community-minded projects.
The application deadline for the 2020 Fellowship cohort has been extended until July 5, 2020, and the full-time job eligibility requirement for the program has been waived in order to expand access to those whose employment has been affected by the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts, and A Blade of Grass have published the Municipal-Artist Partnership (MAP) Guide, a free, online, practical resource to help artists and city and county administrators build partnerships that benefit their communities. The MAP Guide responds to growing interest in engaging artists’ creative thinking and skills in municipal government work toward achieving internal and community goals.
This week, all eyes have been on Capitol Hill as Congress proposed, debated, revised, and voted on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which would provide two trillion dollars in relief funds to the nation. As we all work to adjust to this new reality, we’re pleased to share perspectives and ideas to stay connected and creative while social distancing, practical measures to keep your work moving forward, and our annual “top ten” list of reasons to support the arts.
How do you sum up a week like the one the country has just been through? We at Americans for the Arts hope you and yours are keeping safe and healthy during the coronavirus outbreak. We are working hard to ensure that the arts and culture sector can weather this storm, together, and with appropriate and necessary financial relief from the federal government. Read on for tools you can use in this critical time for the arts.
