Hello Arts Education Listserv!

The staff at Americans for the Arts have been watching and listening to developments of COVID-19 and the impacts to the arts and culture field across the nation, as well as evaluating our future in-person events and programs. In the upcoming days and weeks, you will receive information from AFTA about webinars, resources, and other information pertaining to supporting arts and culture professionals. We take the health of our members and colleagues seriously and want to provide access to resources and information to support you and your work during this time.

Take care of yourselves first so you can take care of each other and your communities:

Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with sick people.
Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with hot water and soap.
If soap and water aren’t available use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze with a tissue.
Clean and disinfect spaces around your home and office with a household cleaning solution.

Resources we currently have available:

Arts and Culture Sector Can Prepare for the Coronavirus in the United States, a recent blog post that has useful information about what we know, preparation and planning, prevention, and dispelling the stigma of COVID-19.
A coalition of arts education groups are hosting a COVID-19 Arts Education Community Conversation webinar tomorrow, March 13 at 2pmEST.
We will be launching a resource page shortly with aggregated information about how the field is responding to and navigating through the pandemic.

Resources we would like to gather:

I know that many in the field are trying to share ideas and resources to manage as schools and arts/culture institutions are shut down or limited in achieving their mission. Feel free to send your thoughts to the Arts Education Listserv by replying to this message, or to me directly at kbolender@artsusa.org. Resources will be compiled and made available publicly through the aforementioned resource page shortly.

What have you or others in your network responding to school and organizational closures?
What resources, apps, processes have you seen used to connect with colleagues? Across departments? Across agencies/organizations? With students/parents?
What will you need to adapt? What other resources would do you recommend to your arts education colleagues?

Americans for the Arts will continue to support the arts and arts education field as we all work together to navigate through these uncertain times. If anything affecting our capabilities changes, we will let you know.

Stay well,

Kelly

Kelly Fey Bolender

Arts Education Program Manager

Americans for the Arts

1000 Vermont Ave NW 6^th Floor

Washington, DC 20005-4940

202.371.2830 x2041