ARTS FOR LA COVID-19 UPDATE

Mar 16, 2020

A Message to the Arts for LA Community:

During this unsettling period, we hope you are well and taking the necessary precautions to stay safe. Over the past couple of weeks, Arts for LA has been carefully monitoring the news and following the health and safety officials’ recommendations both locally and nationally. In response, the following changes will be made to our community events calendar:

We will be digitally joining the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors during their Arts Month proclamation, as the County has placed limits on public gatherings;
Our annual Arts Day celebration at LA City Hall, originally planned for the end of April, is postponed.
Over the past few weeks, we have received daily postponement or cancelation notices from productions, conferences, galas, and community based creative spaces; school districts and arts education providers across the Los Angeles region are closing their doors during the outbreak– this will undoubtedly have devastating financial impacts on our field. We also are taking this opportunity to acknowledge the massive global impact of COVID-19 across every industry, many of which our artists and arts workers utilize as a primary or secondary source of income. Our intent is to advocate for financial support for artists, arts organizations, and arts workers in partnership with other industries impacted by the pandemic.

Arts for LA was founded in 2006 to ensure the Los Angeles region had an organization dedicated to bringing the arts community together to advocate in a unified response to a crisis. This remains a key purpose. Over the next few weeks, our team will be working remotely to inform, engage and mobilize you to join us in advocating for arts funding to support artists and arts organizations during and beyond this public health threat. We will continue to share timely resources for our field on responding to COVID-19 via our social media platforms. We will also host digital advocacy training, and are exploring other methods to continue to support with preparedness.

We hope that you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy.