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. Meanwhile, the country's architecture lit up blue Thursday night in support of the healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic, and our staff experts convened online to discuss economic relief opportunities for the arts field in the recently passed stimulus law.

ARTSblog

Raising the Roof: How the Arts Can Lift Up Communities and Rebuild the Economy in the Post COVID-19 Era by Tamaira Sandifer
COVID-19 has heightened the stress levels in lower-income families and put people in extreme survival mode. If you’re not on the top of the socioeconomic ladder, this is a very scary time with lots of uncertainties. Partnering with creative nonprofits that have tight community ties and boots on the ground means our under-resourced communities get the information and resources they need to stay safe.

News Room

United States to #LightItBlue for Healthcare Workers on Thursday, April 9
Buildings, landmarks, and other venues – including arts organizations such as museums, theaters, concert halls and others – that have the capability are invited to light their buildings blue and/or share a message of support for healthcare and essential workers on the front lines during the COVID-19 crisis.

Americans for the Arts COVID-19 Survey Documents Devastating Losses to the Arts
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.

Americans for the Arts Hosts Webinar on the CARES Act
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.

ArtsU

The DIAL Labs: Re/thinking Mentorship in the Arts for POC
As arts organizations and institutions continue to address issues of racial, gender, and class disparities throughout the field, questions about the importance and practice of mentorship, specifically for communities of color, become increasingly critical. This workshop invites professionals across artistic disciplines to delve into the nuances of mentorship by exploring how it can uplift a person’s career, yet potentially present exploitative dynamics.

How the CARES Act Supports the Arts Sector
This webinar explored grassroots advocacy efforts to include economic relief for the nonprofit arts sector in the days leading up to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passage, a breakdown of the $300 million allocated to the nonprofit cultural organizations, and the different avenues of economic relief available to the various stakeholders in the arts community, plus details on available loans and changes to charitable deduction rules in the legislation.