The ghost light is a single bulb left burning on a stage throughout the night. We honor artists and arts organizations struggling with loss, cancellation, and closure under COVID-19. | photo, Ellwood jon | CC BY-SA 3.0
COVID-19 RESOURCES FOR THE ARTS IN MISSOURI
Here are links to a variety of online resources specifically about COVID-19 that are especially useful for artists and arts organizations in Missouri. We include other comprehensive lists as well as upcoming webinars and resources for reopening, creating virtual events/livestreaming, funding opportunities for artists, and financial tools for organizations.
Webinars
- October 29, noon | FREE | Brave New World: Arts Planning for 2021 | Creative Possibilities in a Virtual World — part of a series about adjusting to new realities and challenges as COVID-19 continues; for individual artists, venue or gallery personnel, event organizers or producers, managers or agents, community arts practitioners, and anyone else in the arts who is planning for the 2021 season; by the MU Extension Community Arts Program
Reopening
- Show Me Strong Recovery Plan for Missouri — the State of Missouri’s recovery plan for businesses, communities, and citizens: guidelines, resources, and FAQs
- Missouri ArtSafe — statewide program to help arts organizations create, present, and promote the arts with best practices during COVID-19, by the Missouri Arts Safety Alliance
- Preparing to Reopen, American Alliance of Museums — sample reopening plans, resource guides, recommendations and more, especially applicable to museums and other cultural venues
- Reopening the Cultural Sector in U.S. Cities, Bloomberg Philanthropies — international practices, venue considerations, results of patron surveys, best-practice checklists, case studies
- Resuming Business Toolkit, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — designed to assist employers in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and lowering the impact in their workplace when reintegrating employees into non-healthcare business settings
- Reopening Guide, Event Safety Alliance — for events that plan to reopen during the pandemic: reasonably foreseeable health risks and suggested options to mitigate them, in a collective work by more than 300 event industry professionals
- Guidance for Arts Spaces About Recovery and Reopening, KC Global Design and ArtsKC — video, slides, and PDF summary of June 10 webinar about adaptations and best practices for arts spaces
- Coronavirus Survey Safety Responses, Kranzberg Arts Foundation of St. Louis — what arts patrons say they need to feel comfortable returning to galleries and performing arts venues
- Operating During COVID-19, Oklahoma Arts Council — in-depth considerations about staff and workplace safety, organizational operations, and programming
- In It for the Long Haul: How Arts and Culture Organizations Can Consider Adapting, SMU Data Arts — key questions and variables for arts organizations as they plan for reopening, bolstered by data on the pandemic’s effect on the nonprofit arts sector
- Reopening Plan Guidance, Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts — tips on drafting a plan, how to involve boards, waivers, examples of plans and more
Comprehensive Lists of Varied Resources
- COVID-19 Resource and Response Center, Americans for the Arts — news and resources for the arts and culture field: articles, webinars, relief funds, ongoing economic impact surveys with dashboards of the latest results for the arts and culture sector and for artists and creative workers
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Resources & Information for the Museum Field, American Alliance of Museums — staying connected with audiences, finding financial relief, reviewing policies, and other advice especially applicable to museums and other cultural venues
- COVID-19 Response, American Association of Community Theatre — webinars and roundtables, communications management, streaming basics and rights, fundraising and more
- Artists at Risk Connection — relief funds, legal resources, webinars and more
- COVID-19 Resources, Association of Performing Arts Professionals — resources for livestreaming, presenting, remote working and more
- COVID-19 & Freelance Artists — resources targeted to the needs of individual artists
- Resources for Artists and Arts Organizations, National Endowment for the Arts — organizations that provide frequently updated resources and news
- Resources for Artists and Arts Organizations, Regional Arts Commission — includes resources by discipline, such as cinema, literature, and teaching artists
- STL Arts Resources — although designed for the St. Louis region, largely applicable to artists and arts organizations anywhere
Creating Virtual Events / Livestreaming
- How to Successfully Host a Live Music Event From Home, CBC/Radio-Canada — key online platforms and how to use them
- Resources to Help Ensure Accessibility of Your Virtual Events for People With Disabilities, National Endowment for the Arts — how to create inclusive experiences for events such as streamed performances, virtual exhibitions, webinars, and online learning
- Live Streaming for the Arts: Low-Fi and Low Cost Options, The Space by Arts Council England and BBC — choosing the best option, platforms, privacy and security, technical considerations and more
- Online Broadcasting: Why It’s a Great Idea and How You Can Do It, Theatre Projects — 13-minute video on the basics of integrating video streaming into your venue and performances
Funding Opportunities for Artists
- Artist Relief — $5,000 grants by a coalition of national grantmakers to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19
- St. Louis COVID-19 Artist Relief Fund — independent GoFundMe fundraiser for all types of St. Louis-area artists
- St. Louis Arts and Music Fund — independent GoFundMe fundraiser for music and arts related industry members
Financial Tools for Organizations
- COVID-19 Resources for Businesses, Brown Smith Wallace of St. Louis — information including free webinars on the CARES Act, SBA and PPP loans, legislation, taxes and more, regularly published and updated
- Guidance and Application for PPP Loan Forgiveness, U.S. Treasury — released May 15, expires October 31 | how to get the Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiven and turned into a grant; for help with eligibility and amounts, go to the CARES Act Table by Americans for the Arts and the calculators by Permanent Equity
- Navigating COVID-19 for Nonprofits, Wallace Foundation — video of April 15 webinar on tools to help organizations weather the economic crisis, from financial triage to scenario planning
All resources are confirmed as current as of September 11.
The Missouri Arts Council office is following the guidelines stipulated by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Missouri Governor Michael L. Parson, Missouri public health officials, and the governments of St. Louis City and St. Louis County.