This week: We made the difficult but necessary decision to move Annual Convention and the Public Art & Civic Design Conference to virtual events. We’re going to miss seeing everyone in person this June, but we’re truly excited to deliver the same quality breakout sessions, keynotes, and networking opportunities directly to your home! In other news, get to know an arts champion engineer at Nokia Bell Labs, read the latest research update on COVID-19’s impact on the arts, and check out the refreshed and easier-to-navigate Coronavirus Resource & Response Center. Finally, read the story of Wa Na Wari, a Black arts and community center in a privately owned home in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood, and hear from one of the space’s co-creators in a virtual “coffee chat” on ArtsU.

ARTSblog

Business Spotlight: Engineer Calls for Fusion of Arts and Technology in Human-Centered Design by Domhnaill Hernon
I believe that the arts should be deeply integrated into all companies but especially technology companies. I believe it is critical that the voice of the artist be heard and taken seriously in the context of business and in understanding the role that technology can play in influencing humanity.

Black Owned Homes as Solutions to Cultural Space by Elisheba Johnson
Wa Na Wari is an art house and a community organizing effort. It is a model for how black homeowners can stay in their homes while also convening around black art. Wa Na Wari explores what it means for Black people to reclaim space in gentrified communities. 

News Room

Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference Are Going Virtual
Americans for the Arts is working to gather the arts field together this summer to better understand this crisis, how we are responding to it, and how we can move forward toward recovery. With these goals in mind, Americans for the Arts is transforming the 2020 Annual Convention and the Public Art & Civic Design Conference into a virtual convening.

COVID-19’s Impact on The Arts: Research Update
Americans for the Arts leads the three premier national studies tracking the human and financial impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the arts. Results are available as a handy 1-pager you can download for reference and to share, which will be updated frequently to reflect the latest data from the surveys.

ArtsU

Supporting Individual Artists Coffee Chat: Artist Driven Social Change
Learn how unused space, reclaimed or untraditional space can increase presentation opportunities for visual and performing artists. Hear about the creation of Wa Na Wari, a Black arts space in Seattle situated in a 5th generation black owned home, and other case studies on how institutions and artists have built innovative creative space in unlikely buildings.

Resource

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource and Response Center
We've updated this long-running resource for the arts field to make it easier to navigate and find the information most critical to you. Browse information for individuals or organizations, field tools and research, equity/mental health resources, and Americans for the Arts news.

Photo: Two people view a lit electronic “tree” by artist Lisa Park at New INC. Provided by Bell Labs.