What follows was initially compiled by Deborah Goffe on the Moodle page for her Examining and Reimagining Contemporary U.S. Arts Ecologies course at Hampshire College during the latter part of the S20 semester. It carries forward her practice of collecting news about the “state of the arts ecologies,” which has been shifting dynamically in relationship to global pandemic. This page collects news about the arts, this moment, and what their collision might illuminate about the ways arts ecologies work, or are changing. The hope is that they will serve as points of reference as we individually and collectively engage ideas of what comes next.
Deborah will continue to update this page until she grows too exhausted to do so. If you come across resources you think should be added, do let her know. As pandemic gives way to global protests to dismantle white supremacy, this linked page also compiles news and media covering the relationship between arts ecologies and recent uprisings.
UPDATED MAY 8, 2023
GENERAL NEWS:
We Can’t Go Back: How the Pandemic Created Space to Reflect on Unsustainable or Harmful Dance Industry Norms (Karen Hildebrand for Dance Magazine, May 8, 2023)
Commensurate with Experience (Benjamin Akio Kimitch in Medium, June 6, 2021)
Creating New Futures Is Reimagining the Relationship Between Artists and Presenters (Garnet Henderson with Dance Magazine, May 4, 2021)
Devising Our Future–a series of essays by theatremakers considering “a future theatre field where resources and power are shared equitably in all directions, contributing to a more just and sustainable world.” (Howlround, 2021)
It’s Time to Reimagine Dance Funding (Kimberly Bartosik in Dance Magazine, February 25, 2021)
Trump Tried to End Federal Arts Funding. Instead, It Grew. (Graham Brawley with The New York Times, January 15, 2021)
How 8 Countries Have Tried to Keep Artists Afloat (Alex Marshall with The New York Times, January 13, 2021)
Two Friends, Two Continents, Very Different Pandemics (Zachary Woolfe with The New York Times, January 13, 2021)
The Arts Are in Crisis. Here’s How Biden Can Help. (Jason Farago with The New York Times, January 13, 2021)
Arts in Pittsburgh: All the World Has Become a Stage. Dancing outside the black box. (Alex Dacko with Pittsburgh Magazine, December 17, 2020)
For Immigrant Dancers, the Stakes Are High to Find Work During the Pandemic (Cory Steig for Dance Magazine, December 14, 2020)
Arts Workers Unite to Pen Letter to Biden/Harris Calling for Cabinet-Level Arts & Culture Agency (Broadway World, December 8, 2020)
Open Letter re Secretary of Arts and Culture
Will COVID-19 Shift the Dance Industry Away From Major Cities? (Haley Hilton with Dance Magazine, November 24, 2020)
Bessies to Forgo Individual Awards This Year. The organizers decided to recognize equally all the nominees for work they presented before the performing arts shut down in March. (Peter Libbey with The New York Times, November 19, 2020)
For the Arts in Europe, Lockdown Feels Different This Time (Alex Marshall for The New York Times, November 5, 2020)
Voters in Jersey City Embrace a New Tax to Finance the Arts (Julia Jacobs with The New York Times, November 4, 2020)
San Francisco Will Pay Artists $1,000 a Month in Universal Basic Income (Christian Britschgi with Reason.com, October 13, 2020)
Coronavirus Relief Fund Raises Nearly $20 Million for Artists: Creative professionals can receive $5,000 grants through the end of the year, thanks to additional funding by the Mellon Foundation and others (Sarah Bahr for New York Times, September 24, 2020)
Fauci Says It Could Be a Year Before Theater Without Masks Feels Normal (Sarah Bahr with The New York Times, September 11, 2020)
Artists Reach Out: Laurel Lawson (on Eva Yaa Asantewaa’s Infinite Bodies, August 19, 2020)
6 of Our Favorite Digital Dance Projects to Come Out of Quarantine (Courtney Escoyne with Dance Magazine, August 7, 2020)
Philadelphia Museum of Art Workers Unionize, With 89% Majority Vote. The PMA Union will become one of the largest unionized museum workforces in the country. (Valentina Di Liscia with Hyperallergic, August 6, 2020)
Metropolitan Museum of Art and Philadelphia Museum of Art Make Deep Cuts to Staff (Art Forum, August 6, 2020)
We Need to Treat Artists as Workers, Not Decorations: William Deresiewicz on the Dangerous Illusion of Art As a Labor of Love (for Literary Hub, August 5, 2020)
What Is It Like to Watch Live Dance Again? Amazing (Gia Kourlas with New York Times, August 3, 2020)
Tate Awakening (Lizzie Homersham with Art Forum, July 31, 2020)
A Digital Future for the Arts | #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers FB Live Conversation Series. (André Zachery, Ashley Ferro-Murray, Gabri Christa, moderated by Sydney Skybetter and and hosted by Candace Thompson-Zachery with Dance/NYC, July 21, 2020)
This Is Theater in 2020. Will It Last? Should It? (Ben Brantley, Jesse GreenandMaya Phillips with The New York Times, July 8, 2020)
A Pandemic First: Actors’ Union Will Allow Two Shows, With Testing (Michael Paulson with The New York Times, July 6, 2020)
New York City Cuts Arts Spending by 11 Percent to Close Budget Gap (Julia Jacobs with The New York Times, July 1, 2020)
The Future of Performance Venues | #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers Facebook Live Conversation Series (Fred Dixon, Griff Braun, Jonelle Procope, Linda Shelton, moderated by Alejandra Duque Cifuentes and hosted by Candace Thompson-Zachery with Dance/NYC, June 23, 2020)
Creating New Futures with Yanira Castro and Emily Johnson (Dance and Stuff Podcast, June 12, 2020)
A Model for the Dance World We Want (Siobhan Burke with The New York Times, June 12, 2020)
Five foundations pledged $1.7 billion in funding to social justice and the arts in response to COVID-19 (Justin Kamp with Artsy, June 12, 2020)
When the Dancers Have to Miss the Last Dance (Gia Kourlas with The New York Times, June 10, 2020)
Queer Art Workers Reflect: Raja Feather Kelly Wants Sustainability to Become “Actual Practice” (Dessane Lopez Cassell with Hyperallergic, June 8, 2020)
Queer Art Workers Reflect: Eva Yaa Asantewaa Supports Dancers Speaking Out Against a Capitalist System (Dessane Lopez Cassell with Hyperallergic, June 6, 2020)
Struggling Cultural Institutions Begin Dipping Into Endowments (ArtForum, June 4, 2020)
With a country “on the brink” does it matter if your arts venue is shuttered? (Diane Ragsdale with Arts Journal, June 2, 2020)
The Dance Union Town Hall for Collective Action (Melanie Greene and J. Bouey of The Dance Union, June 1, 2020)
A Reply to Nana Chinara from Gina Gibney (Gina Gibney on Facebook, May 29, 2020)
Brooklyn Museum will become a temporary food pantry starting in June (Emma Orlow with TimeOut, May 28, 2020)
An Open Letter to Arts Organizations Rampant with White Supremacy (Nana Chinara on Medium, May 27, 2020)
By Redeploying Her Staff in Some Ingenious New Ways, the Director of Texas’s Blanton Museum Has Managed to Avoid Job Cuts Entirely (Sarah Cascone with ArtNet News, May 27, 2020)
How Arts Administration Is Evolving in Response to COVID-19 (April Deocariza with Dance Magazine, May 27, 2020)
Artists Are Essential Workers: Considering the Role of Art in Public Health (Amy Halliday and Rebekah E. Moore in Boston Art Review, May 21, 2020)
“Where Are the Photos of People Dying of COVID?” (Sarah Lewis on Amanpour and Company)
#ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers Campaign Video 2020 (Dance/NYC)
Jill vs. Erykah. Babyface vs. Teddy: Inside the Instagram ‘battles’ that are now must-watch quarantine viewing (Helena Andrews-Dyer with Washington Post, May 12, 2020)
Has Anyone Asked Artists What They Need? (Raja Feather Kelly in Dance Magazine, May 11, 2020)
“It is Hard to Stay Optimistic” (Sarah Wilbur, Duke Arts, May 11, 2020)
Creating New Futures: Working Guidelines for Ethics & Equity in Presenting Dance & Performance — an in-progress, living document collectively authored and compiled […] to be a house for testimonials, a handbook for transparent conversations and a call for radical change. (The working group of this document—Yanira Castro, Laura Colby, Sarah Greenbaum, Emily Johnson, jumatatu m poe, Brian Rogers, Michael Sakamoto, Karen Sherman, Amy Smith, and Tara Aisha Willis, May 7, 2020)
Italian Art Workers Release Manifesto Pushing for Systemic Change (Caroline Liou with Hyperallergic, May 7, 2020)
Art World Corona Virus Tracker (ArtForum, ongoing updates)
For Artists in Need, a New Coalition Brings $11.6 Million in Speedy Relief (Jillian Steinhauer with The New York Times, May 4, 2020)
Arts: Rebuild What? And Why? (Don McLennan via diacritical, April 30, 2020)
Some Pros Let It Go on TikTok: ‘Is This the Future?’ Low pressure, low stakes, low toil: Professional dancers with time on their hands are learning the pleasures of TikTok challenges. (Siobhan Burke with New York Times, April 29, 2020)
Louis Armstrong Foundation launches $1M COVID-19 fund for jazz musicians “The entire jazz ecosystem has been shut down, and the jazz community is devastated,” said the president of Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (Wilson Wong with NBC News, April 24, 2020)
Metropolitan Museum of Art Lays Off 81 Employees Amid Financial Uncertainty (Alex Greenberger with Art News, April 22, 2020)
Bye bye, blockbusters: can the art world adapt to Covid-19? (Andrew Dickson with The Guardian, April 20, 2020)
‘This wasn’t a downward trend. This was a cliff.’ Layoffs, furloughs hit the Massachusetts arts sector (Zöe Madonna with The Boston Globe, April 17, 2020)
National Endowment for the Arts Announces CARES Act Funding to Support Arts Jobs and Help Sustain Arts Organizations (National Endowment for the Arts, April 8, 2020)
To support artists during the COVID-19 crisis, a coalition of national arts grantmakers have come together to create an emergency initiative to offer financial and informational resources to artists across the United States. (Artist Relief, April 8, 2020)
A Path Forward with Pamela Tatge of Jacob’s Pillow (Mass Cultural Council, Culture Chat, April 8, 2020)
Museums Across the US Are Furloughing and Laying Off Workers—But Hopeful They’ll Get Help From the Federal Government (Eileen Kinsella with ArtNet News, April 7, 2020)
Coronavirus exposes vulnerability of NYC museums and museum workers (Kelly McCarthy and Benjamin Siegel with ABC News, April 6, 2020)
MoMA Terminates All Museum Educator Contracts (Valentina Di Liscia with Hyperallergic, April 3, 2020)
The Forgotten Art of Assembly: Or, Why Theatre Makers Should Stop Making (Nicholas Berger on Medium, April 3, 2020)
The Last Days of the Art World … and Perhaps the First Days of a New One (Jerry Saltz with Vulture, April 2, 2020)
Brown Paper Tickets, facing claims by many artists who are owed money, says coronavirus pandemic led to systems failure (Brendan Kiley with The Seattle Times, April 1, 2020)
As Furloughs Grow, Kennedy Center Defends Use of $25 Million in Aid (Julia Jacobs with The New York Times, March 31, 2020)
How We Use Our Bodies to Navigate a Pandemic. Your partner is a stranger, and the sidewalk Is a stage. Our dance critic asks: Will social distancing bring us back to our bodies? (Gia Kourlas with New York Times, March 31, 2020)
Thinking About Livestreaming as an Artist? Read This First (Creative Capital, March 27, 2020)
Federal Economic Stimulus Relief Funds Provide Encouraging Support to the Nation’s Community-based Arts and Culture Organizations Experiencing $3.6 Billion in Devastating Losses (Americans for the Arts, March 27, 2020)
Column: Nikki Haley attacks coronavirus stimulus money for the arts, but culture is sick too (Charles McNulty with Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2020)
What the $2 Trillion Stimulus Means for the Arts, Struggling to Stay Afloat (Jasmine Weber with Hyperallergic, March 27, 2020)
Our ‘Digital Selves’ Are No Less Real. ‘Social distance socializing’ isn’t just a temporary stopgap. Online gatherings are the culmination of a broader shift. (Tara Isabella Burton in The New York Times, March 27, 2020)
Is There Wasteful Spending In The Coronavirus Stimulus Bill? (Adam Andrzejewski with Forbes, March 26, 2020)
Diplomat Nikki Haley Says Emergency Aid for the Arts Doesn’t Help People. Here’s Why She’s Dead Wrong: People who work for arts organizations are real people with real jobs. (Ben Davis with ArtNet News, March 26, 2020
The Merry-Go-Round Stopped. What Sort of Art Will Emerge? (Jason Farago with The New York Times, March 25, 2020)
Lost Income Due To COVID-19? Here Are Grants And Resources For Artists And Nonprofits (Arielle Gray with WBUR, March 24, 2020)
Don’t Go Back to “Normal”: Thoughts for Our Field (National Performance Network, March 24, 2020)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Is Calling on the US Government to Bail Out At-Risk Museums With $4 Billion in Aid (Eileen Kinsella with ArtNet News, March 24, 2020)
#CongressSaveCulture: Metropolitan Museum Advocates $4B in Funding for Museums (Jasmine Weber with Hyperallergic, March 24, 2020)
Dear Artists, This Is That We Train For. (Andrew Simonet, March 22, 2020)
Emerging artists pledge to buy each other’s work amid the coronavirus economic slowdown (Anne Quito with Quartz, March 20, 2020)
The year I stopped making art. Why the art world should assist artists beyond representation; in solidarity. (An open letter by Paul Maheke on Documentations.art, March 18, 2020)
It Was Their Big Debut. Then a Pandemic Hit. Artists, actors, dancers and authors search for a silver lining as openings are disrupted by the virus outbreak. (Max Lakin with The New York Times, March 17, 2020)
Artists in a Time of Global Pandemic Panel (Produced by Hannah Fenlon, Nicole Brewer, Abigail Vega, and Ann Marie Lonsdale with Howl Round Theater Commons, March 16, 2020) …
NC Artist Relief Fund (created to support creative individuals who have been financially impacted by gig cancellations due to the outbreak of COVID-19)
The Safety Net Fund (designed to help support artists in the Bay Area during the COVID-19 crisis)
Essential Arts: How are the arts dealing with coronavirus closures? Creatively (Carolina A. Miranda with Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2020)
Museums, galleries, art fairs, art centers, universities, theaters, festivals… Cancel everything, pay everyone! (Open Letter on Documentations.art, March 14, 2020)
The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections (Lori Byrd-McDevitt with MCN, March 14, 2020)
List of Arts Resources During the COVID-19 Outbreak (Creative Capital, March 13, 2020)
COVID-19 Resource Toolkit for artists and our extended communities (The New School’s Vera List Center for Art and Politics)
Metropolitan Opera to Offer Up ‘Nightly Met Opera Streams’ (David Salazar with Opera Wire, March 13, 2020)
Coronavirus: Deserted Italian street rings out with song as people lean out of windows to sing together during lockdown (Kate Ng with Independent, March 13, 2020)
“Every musician I know is now facing bankruptcy” – the impact of coronavirus cancellations on classical artists (Kyle Macdonald with Classic FM, March 13, 2020)
Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Andrea Romano with Travel + Leisure, March 12, 2020)
‘I Will Not Let Them Down’: Germany’s Culture Minister Pledges Financial Support to Cultural Institutions and Artists Amid the Outbreak as Berlin Shutters its Museums (Kate Brown with ArtNet News, March 12, 2020)
Principles for Ethical Cancellation (Laura Zabel with Springboard for the Arts, March 12, 2020)
Arts and culture organizations can be a balm in times of crisis. They need our support right now (Sarah Bay-Cheng with Globe and Mail, March 12, 2020)
Seattle Arts Institutions Prepare to Lose Millions After Event Ban, Encourage Supporters to “Send Gifts” (Rich Smith with The Stranger, March 11, 2020)
Actors’ Equity Calls For Government Relief For Theater Workers In Wake Of Local Bans On Mass Gatherings (David Robb with Deadline, March 11, 2020)
The Rauschenberg Foundation Is Launching Emergency Medical Grants for Artists Who Need Help Paying for Healthcare (Caroline Goldstein with ArtNet News, March 11, 2020)
The Artists Are in Charge. Step 1: Upend the Status Quo. Performance Space New York is operating as an artist-led collective this year. So what are they up to? (Siobhan Burke with The New York Times, March 10, 2020)
A Daily Report on How COVID-19 Is Impacting the Art World (Valentina Di Liscia with Hyperallergic, March 9, 2020)
When the Show Must Go On, Even Amid a Coronavirus Outbreak (Michael Cooper and Alex Marshall with The New York Times, March 4, 2020)
A SMALL SAMPLING OF EMERGING ONLINE PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING PLATFORMS
Online Arts Events During the COVID-19 Outbreak (Creative Capital, March 18, 2020)
Trickle Up NYC (a group of over 50 New York City artists spanning numerous disciplines have made a new grassroots subscription video platform, The Trickle Up NYC (An Artists Network).
Stay at Home Online Music Festival and Events Calendar
19 Acts of CoVid-19 Bravery (Digital performances prompted by the corona virus outbreak, curated by Brendan Drake & Kate Ladenheim)
Festival in My House (invites Manchester and Greater Manchester residents to host their own micro-international festival at home)
Dancing Alone Together (imagined as a central resource for the dance world during this time of “social distancing”. Dancing Alone Together does not host classes or events, but rather collects information about online opportunities to move, create and watch, thereby making them easily accessible)
freeskewl (online classes/workshops offered by experimental and contemporary dance artists)
