Hello/Hola, here’s the latest news…

NOTE: Items marked with a * will be added to the Resource Center. If you see interesting or helpful items or have a resource to share, please email me. We are updating the Resource Center daily, Monday through Friday.

RESPONSE REQUEST: Bi-weekly USUAF Recovery Leads check-in call

May 14, 1:00p EDT: In response to requests, we are opening a regular space for you or folks on your staff that are focused primarily on recovery strategies/efforts for your city. These calls will be an every other week, last an hour in length, and center primarily on updates and information sharing.

This call does not replace but is in addition to the USUAF General check in (Next call: May 7, 1:30p EDT) which may not solely focus on recovery efforts but is a chance to gather and discuss pressing needs/challenges or share small victories.

>>> If you are interested or have a staff person interested in joining this call, please RSVP to me and I will add them to the Outlook invite.

AFTA NEWS/UPDATES

EXTENDED! Office Hours with Nina. Based on popular demand and the upcoming infusion of $310 billion additional dollars to the PPP SBA program, Nina is extending her daily office hours to May 15th! She will be available to help you navigate the complex web of funding opportunities, federal regulations, and deadlines related to the federal aid package in the CARES Act.

CARES Act Table of Federal Arts Funding Opportunities – This helpful table breaks down the CARES Act so you can determine which funding opportunities apply to you, whether you represent a nonprofit organization, a governmental agency, a commercial arts company, a self-employed gig worker, or just a taxpayer. The table is regularly updated and links to helpful FAQs are listed on the last page.

April 27-May 1: National Arts Action Summit

With Congress scheduled to return in May for further COVID-19 relief legislation and the annual federal budget, advocating for the arts is more important now than ever. Along with over 85 National Partners, we're excited to present over a dozen plenary and issue-specific breakout session webinars live from April 27 – May 1, 2020. You can register for the entire Digital Summit, or for individual sessions based on your preference. Designed to bring advocates the latest updates in federal arts policy, compelling up-to-the-minute data, and successful advocacy techniques, the National Arts Action Digital Summit is the best way to prepare yourself to make key asks of your federal elected officials and to learn how to be the best arts advocate you can be—all from the comfort and safety of your home.

May 4, 2:00p EDT: “Americans for the Arts CARES Act Update” hosted by Americans for the Arts and the Arts Action Fund.

This webinar will cover the local success stories and best practices on securing CARES Act funding, findings from the three active surveys that we're currently conducting on the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and a customized walk-through of the incredibly comprehensive and soon-to-go-live updated web pages of the Americans for the Arts Coronavirus Resource and Response Center 2.0.

May 7, 4:00p EDT: “Membership Coffee Hour for Emerging Leaders” is open to any Americans for the Arts member who identifies as an emerging leader. Join us and share your work from home successes, challenges, and tips! Connect with your fellow Americans for the Arts emerging leaders during a casual coffee hour! Registration for coffee hour is limited with a cap of 20 participants per coffee hour to help foster more personal connections.

FIELD PROGRAMMING

April 30, 7:00p EDT: “USDAC Network Listening Session” hosted by The Action Network, Sponsored by USDAC.

Join us in community on this call, where you will connect to and learn from other artists and cultural workers looking to support their communities in meaningful ways. What’s nourishing you? What’s challenging you? How can the USDAC be a partner in deepening solidarity and mutuality in a time of such intense loss, change, and distance?

May 7, 2:00p EDT: “Reimagining the Economy with Innovative Support” hosted by Grantmakers in the Arts.

Hear from Jeffreen M. Hayes, executive director, Threewalls; Angie Kim, president & CEO, Center for Cultural Innovation; and F. Javier Torres, program director, Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation. They will share how grantmakers can be forward-thinking about support for artist and arts organizations via a look at the arts economy and what needs to shift, as well as looking at innovative solutions to supporting artists.

May 14, 2:00p EDT: “Transforming Your Event into a Virtual Experience” hosted by Catchafire.

How do you bring your donors and constituents together when in-person events are not a possibility? You cancelled your event due to public safety concerns, but you can’t cancel your need to fundraise. Join us to learn the best ways to successfully transform your event into a virtual gathering supporting your organization. Learn how to leverage alternative event types that reflect your mission and vision, without breaking the bank. We’ll give you the tools you need to make this shift and take advantage of the opportunities virtual events have to offer your organization.

May 20, 1:00p EDT: “Rural Design Webinar Series: CIRD in the Time of COVID-19” hosted by Citizens’ Institute for Rural Design.

Design for rural areas often plans to bring people together in place and drive economic development for communities. What is the role of design when stay-at-home orders change the environment we live in? How can organizations who work in design respond to economic distress head-on? Join Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design for a special edition of our Rural Design Webinar Series on the coronavirus.

May 28, 2:00p EDT: “Building a Case for Support | Key Trends & Fundraising FYIs” hosted by Catchafire.

Join us to learn how to develop your case for support and leverage your volunteers to ensure your organization doesn’t lose focus or funding in a noisy year. Donors have a limited amount of funds and attention to give in a year - but what do you do at a time where the world feels smaller than ever, and you’re worried about your message being drowned out by the noise of everything else going on? You need to establish a solid case for support to set your organization apart. By reframing how you communicate your mission and the importance of your work, your organization’s narrative can be heard through all the noise - whether it’s COVID-19 breaking news, election campaigns, environmental emergencies, or competing causes.

FIELD NEWS/COMMUNICATIONS

ArtsOklahoma Oklahoma Arts Council released “Considerations for Oklahoma Nonprofit Arts Organizations” regarding operating during COVID-19.
Broadway Stage Management Symposium, Apr 27: “Ten Changes for Stage Managers & Life Backstage in a COVID World.”
The Producer’s Perspective, Apr 28: “Why Broadway May Have An Advantage Before It Opens Back Up”
The Oregonian, Apr 29: “Oregon Shakespeare Festival will stream performances online with new platform ‘O!’”
Telegram, Apr 29: “The show must go on: WCLOC at work behind the scenes to reschedule its shows”
San Francisco Chronicle, Apr 27: “Bay Area shelter-in-place orders will be extended to end of May”
KIRO7 (Western Washington): “COVID-19 closures cost Village Theatre jobs”
Forbes, Apr 28: “Show Business Is Adapting To The Pandemic, But It Won’t Survive Unless Congress Steps Up”
DallasNews, Apr 27: “From art museums to movie theaters to bookstores, no one knows quite how to respond to reopening”
Arts In Education Roundatable NYC, Apr 24: “#ARTSareEssential: A campaign to make visible the importance of the Arts for 1.1 million students in the NYC Public School System”
NYTimes, Apr 29: “When N.Y. Needed Hospital Space, Film Location Scouts Pitched In”
Variety, Apr 28: “Oscars Will Consider Films That Didn’t Play in Theaters as Part of New Academy Rules”
Grantmakers in the Arts, Apr 27: “Coronavirus Response: Setting the Frame”
Forbes, Apr 27: “When Rhode Island Called For Uplifting Public Art During Quarantine, Shepard Fairey Answered”
NME, Apr 29: “Most Americans won’t attend live shows until a coronavirus vaccine is available, new poll finds"
ArtNet News, Apr 29: “To Survive After This Is Over, Cultural Institutions Need to Redefine the Value of Art. Here’s How to Do It”
NYTimes, Apr 28: “Face Masks and Fewer Seats: One Theater Tries Saving Summer”
FOX5, Apr 29: “Ticket brokers struggling to refund fans for some of the $3.5 billion spent on concerts this year”
The Guardian, Apr 27: “Blooms, rainbows and bar-room kisses: artists raise morale and money under Covid-19”
Grantmakers in the Arts, Apr 24: “Revaluating “Normal”: Grantmaking During a Pandemic”
American Theatre, Apr 27: “Shows Are Canceled, But the Galas Must Go On”
Relief Funds

New York Foundation for the Arts. Grants of $2,000. The Tri-State Relief Fund to support non-salaried workers in the visual arts - freelance, contract, or non-salaried archivists, art handlers, artist/photographer’s assistants, cataloguers, database specialists, digital assets specialists, image scanners/digitizers, and registrars. Deadline: Rolling through June. Check the website for more information.
Council on Foundations. Are you an organization looking for foundation funding related to COVID-19? This might be the place for you.

GENERAL NEWS

Upworthy, Apr 23: “University of Washington map shows when each state can start to consider ending lockdowns”
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Apr 24: “Congress Could Put Americans Back to Work Through Conservation”
Vice, Apr 27: “'Allostatic Load' is the Psychological Reason for Our Pandemic Brain Fog”
SeattleTimes, Apr 27: “With May rent looming, some Seattle tenants eye ‘rent strikes’ as coronavirus continues to upend lives”
The Sacramento Bee, Apr 27: “Why do some people refuse to social distance? Experts have a few ideas”
NBC4, Apr 29: “DC May Not Reopen for Another 3 Months, Officials Say”
KUOW/NPR, Apr 27: “The curious case of Latinos and Covid-19”
The Hill, Apr 28: “States tell workers they'll lose unemployment benefits if they refuse to return to jobs”
Medium, Apr 1: “This Looks Like a Depression, Not a Recession”
TechCrunch, Apr 27: “TikTok launches Donation Stickers, allowing creators to fundraise for coronavirus relief efforts”
AssociationsNow, Apr 27: “#GIVINGTUESDAYNOW: Organizers Add Special May Date for COVID-19 Response”
The Verge, Apr 28: “Facebook is adding the option to charge for access to live streams”
Medium, Apr 16: “Even During a Pandemic, Racism Continues”
International:

Shanghaiist, Apr 28: “Hangzhou kids wear social distancing hats upon return to school”

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Untapped New York, Apr 22: “A Guerrilla Street Art Plaque to Frontline Workers at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital”
Bored Panda, Apr 28: “Amazon Is Now Selling A 1000-Piece All-White “Impossible” Puzzle For $20 And It Looks Like A Cruel Joke”
Fast Company, Apr 28: “Why Alton Brown is bringing you inside his quarantine kitchen every week”
WTOP, Apr 28: “Georgetown University professor teaches remote acting classes under quarantine”
Finding Your Good, Apr 28: “DIY: Zoom Call Staging Tips”
Playbill, Apr 30: “Celebrate Broadway With These 25 Lego Recreations of Moulin Rouge!, Six, and More”

____________________

Ruby Lopez Harper

Senior Director of Local Arts Advancement

Americans for the Arts

1000 Vermont Ave NW 6^th Floor

Washington, DC 20005-4940

202.371.2830 x2079

202.789.2830 fax

www.AmericansForTheArts.org

Follow me: Twitter

Pronouns: she/her/hers