Arts and cultural organizations have had to cancel performances, exhibits, and other events. Most have closed temporarily, and some worry they may never resume operations again.
Robin Bronk is CEO of the Creative Coalition, an arts advocacy group. She spoke to the Chronicle about how her organization is arguing for the importance of the arts during the Covid-19 crisis and what it’s been like working from home in New Rochelle, N.Y., the country’s first coronavirus containment zone.
How has the pandemic affected the arts?
Coronavirus is hitting every part of the arts and culture sector, from theater students whose class learning depends on human connection to patients who depend on arts therapy for therapeutic assistance to movie theater and concert-venue workers who’ve lost their jobs to major Hollywood productions employing thousands of people coming to a standstill.
The value of the arts as a resource, both spiritually and economically, cannot be overlooked in this crisis.
Arts organizations, especially nonprofits like the Creative Coalition, fight for the most basic funding to serve the populace in the best of times. And the widespread direct and indirect impact of the virus has certainly made that even more difficult. But our work is now more important than ever.
Just one example of how we have been affected: The Creative Coalition brings some of the nation’s most significant artists to Capitol Hill every year to speak directly with lawmakers and advocate for public funding for the arts. We planned on going on April 24 to ensure federal funding continues for the National Endowment for the Arts, but we’ve had to postpone that delegation.
While a lack of arts in this nation is not going to kill us immediately, a slow painful death of culture will negatively affect our citizenry and its survival.
What is the Creative Coalition doing to address the challenges the arts are facing right now?
We’re redoubling our work to focus attention on the importance of federal funding for the arts, especially at this time when so many people in the arts and culture sector are suffering. We’re continuing our work to ensure our lawmakers are paying attention to the importance of the arts. We’re continuing to spearhead projects that call upon artists to be messengers for social welfare and for artists to take the lead in motivating and activating people to protect and advance the arts.
We’re also being called upon by many other organizations — doing tremendous work themselves — to help bring them access to our members because artists are key in creatively motivating people.
What are some of those projects?
Right now, we’re working with several hospital and health-care associations to create a fundraising campaign where all donations will go directly to hospitals for their [personal protective equipment]. Our members will be called upon to take the lead in this effort.
Our main challenge right now is to figure out how we can best ignite the power of arts and collectively leverage our membership to activate the citizenry to keep them involved and pay it forward. And figuring out how we can do this in a socially distancing world.
Many organizations are scrambling to attract enough donations to keep operating until things return to normal. What is the Creative Coalition doing through its advocacy to make the case that arts and culture need support?
In many ways, the power of the arts to help and heal has never been more apparent. People everywhere are turning to the arts — movies, television, music, books, and more — in this most desperate time in search of solace.
The Creative Coalition is enlisting our members and the star power in our ranks to help people understand how this experience today is underscoring the importance of the arts for tomorrow. Without the arts, this horrible experience would be even more unbearable. While survival of the arts is not at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now, artists are instrumental in carrying messages to the population at-large so we’re also activating members to help us focus people’s attention.
What has it been like to work from home in New Rochelle, N.Y., the country’s first coronavirus containment zone?
It’s been interesting and very much like I’m an “extra” in a science-fiction film. New Rochelle is usually a very bucolic community. It is still picture-perfect as I look out the window, but it’s a little too quiet out there. It’s also distressing to know so many families in my community who are suffering right now.
My husband, who is an orthodontist, is starting to go a little stir crazy, so I’ve signed him up to help the Creative Coalition in our work to protect and advance the arts. He’s turning into quite the advocate! He’s also doing volunteer work with our synagogue.
Like many other people, I’m also adapting to working from home. I didn’t know what Zoom was until three weeks ago, and now I’m a master at funny Zoom backgrounds.
