When the pandemic lockdown began in March, leaders at many arts organizations panicked about how they would keep going with gatherings, performances, and gallery and museum shows not allowed — for no one knew how long.
Without question, the arts, particularly the performing arts, which were some of the earliest to close and are expected to be among the last to open again, have been suffering. Randy Cohen with Americans for the Arts, says 95 percent of organization have had to cancel events, and collectively in the U.S., the arts have lost $14.1 billion.
“I hear people say, ‘If only this was just a recession,’” he said. “We’ve all got a playbook for a recession.”