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Arlington Arts

COVID-19 Artist Resources

Arlington Arts is pro-actively looking out for resources to assist arts organizations, arts administrators and individual artists impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The information below is to keep our artistic community updated on current resources available to assist you through the pandemic. Updates will be provided as new resources become available.

Do you have a resource that isn’t listed? Share it with us via email at arts@arlingtonva.us.

Do you want to learn to make your own face mask? We’ve compiled a list of patterns and tutorials so you can choose a design based on your sewing skill level and the materials you have at home.

Last updated: March 18, 2021

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General Resources
Resources for Artists
Resources for Arts Organizations

Quick Reference Key

  • Reopening
  • Surveys, data
  • Funding
  • Webinars, online interactive content
  • Working online, technology
  • Community engagement and programming
  • Informational resources
  • Tools
  • Resources for educators
  • Consultations with experts
  • Self-care and well-being

General Resources

 

Resources for Artists

  • Individual Artist Grant from Arlington Arts
    •     The FY 2022 Individual Artist Grant is a competitive program that supports individual artists with grants of $7,500 in direct financial support. The grant period for this award is July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. Deadline: January 10, 2021 by 5:00 P.M
  • Best audio settings/setup for Zoom Dance Class, from Dance Tech with JHsu
    •     YouTube tutorial about audio settings, set-up, and equipment when teaching a dance class using Zoom
  • Artist Relief: To support artists during the COVID-19 crisis, a coalition of national arts grantmakers have come together to create an emergency initiative to offer financial and informational resources to artists across the United States.
    •     $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19. Running on a continuous cycle. A practicing artist is broadly defined as:
      • Individuals making a living from their work, independently OR commercially
      • Anyone whose livelihood and/or community depends upon the ability to make, exhibit, perform, publish, or sell artwork
      • Culture bearers or community organizers who self-define as artists
    •     Ongoing informational resource
    •     The COVID-19 Impact Survey for Artists and Creative Workers, designed by Americans for the Arts, to better identify and address the needs of artists.
  • COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources, a crowd-sourced resource list administered by arts leaders and administrators, designed to serve freelance artists and those interested in supporting the independent artist community
    • General Preparedness Resources
    • Advocacy & Legal Information
    •     Emergency Funding
      • National grants/relief funds for nonprofit organizations and unions
      • National crowdfunding and collective action efforts
      • Local grants/relief funds from nonprofit organizations, unions, and local arts councils
      • Local crowdfunding and collective action efforts
      • Interest-free loans
    • Quantifying Economic Impact
    •       Best Practices for Online Teaching, Learning, and Gathering
    • Online Platforms for Sharing, Meeting & Broad/Narrowcasting
    •       Digital Tools to Manage Your Creative Practice
    •       Health and Mental Health Resources
    • Temporary/Remote Job Opportunities
  • Arts Resources During the COVID-19 Outbreak from Creative Capital
    • A list of resources for artists working in all disciplines, as well as arts philanthropists, and arts professionals.
  • Resource Guide for Music Professionals Who Need Help During Coronavirus Crisis (Updating) from Billboard
    • National and state level resources for music and entertainment professionals
  • COVID-19 Artist Resources + Funding from Forecast Public Art
    •     Emergency Relief, Grants + Funding links
    • Further Funding + Extensive Resource Lists Compiled by Others
  • COVID-19 Resources for Artists from Meow Wolf
    •     Know Your Rights – helpful information about new and expanded benefits for people affected by this crisis, including, funding, unemployment benefits, free smartphone data, specific affordable internet packages, and more
    • Ways to advocate for the artist community
    •     Comprehensive list of funding sources and efforts on the local, national, and international level
  • What the CARES Act Means for Freelancers from the Freelancers Union
    •     What freelancers can expect to receive in terms of financial relief under this new law
  • COVID-19 Resources for Artists from Artwork Archive
  • FCA Emergency Grants COVID-19 Fund from Foundation for Contemporary Arts
    •     One-time $2,000 emergency grants for experimental artists who have been impacted by the economic fallout from postponed or canceled performances and exhibitions. Fund 2.0 runs through March 15, 2021.
  • Art is Alive is a solidarity effort aimed at providing resources, spreading awareness and building connectedness within the artistic and creative freelance communities impacted by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Resources for Arts Organizations

  • NEA Webinar Explores Best Practices for Reopening Arts Venues
    •     Special guest Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Fauci will provide opening remarks at this free event that will be held on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 from 3:00-4:00 pm. The webinar will highlight some of the practices of three organizations that resumed in-person programming in 2020, but will also delve into new challenges and lessons that have emerged since data was collected for the NEA’s The Art of Reopening report in the fall of 2020. An archive of the video will be available at this page after March 23.
  • Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grants
  • The Art of Reopening: A Guide to Current Practices Among Arts Organizations During COVID-19 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
    •     National Endowment for the Arts research staff surveyed national service organizations in the arts and interviewed arts organizations and consultants about reopening practices of organizations that have resumed in-person programming in 2020, during the pandemic. This guide presents promising tactics and insights through nine case studies.
  • The Patrons’ Perspective: An Overview of Buying Behavior and a Timeline to Return to Theaters from AudienceView
    •     TheaterMania (an AudienceView consumer brand) surveyed more than 3,300 members of their online community to understand how this on-going health crisis is impacting their behavior and consumption of performing arts. Generated from the survey results, this 29-page report will assist arts organizations of all sizes in driving revenue during our industry intermission and with their preparations for the reopening of theaters.
      •     Safety measures and protocols that will make arts patrons more likely to return to the theater.
      • Near-term spending intent, including ticket sales, donations and refund protection.
      • Virtual events: recent consumption, propensity to pay and appetite for streaming content.
  • General Operating Support Grant from Arlington Arts
    • The FY 2022 Arlington Arts Grants Program is a competitive program that supports arts organizations with financial grants for General Operating Support (GOS) up to a maximum award of $25,000. At least one artistic and/or cultural work must be performed, produced, or presented for the public in Arlington within the grant period. The grant period is from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. Deadline: January 10, 2021 by 5:00 P.M.
  • Rebuild VA! from the Commonwealth of Virginia
    •     Small business and non-profits may receive up to 3 times their average monthly eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $10,000. Businesses that received funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and supply chain partners of businesses whose normal operations were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are now eligible.
  • Roadmap for Recovery and Resilience for Theater from American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, created jointly with the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
    •     Facilities: Ventilation, cleaning, no-contact infrastructure, etc.
    • Screening and testing protocols for theaters, PPE for staff, and more
    • Rehearsal and production strategies to minimizing risk
    • Audience: communications, box office procedures, and more
    • Pivoting to models that are new or different, e.g. online, outdoor
  • Reopening Resources: Ideas from the Field for Colorado Arts & Culture from Colorado Creative Industries
    • Please note: Arlington and Virginia may have some different policies and regulations than detailed in this document.  Make sure to follow the Forward Virginia regulations for social distancing and mask coverings.
    •       This living document provides examples and recommendations to help inform your plan for reopening to the public.
  • COVID-19 Business Support from Arlington Economic Development
    •       Reopening Toolkit
    •       Information about the CARES Act
    • Tax relief and unemployment benefits information
    • Submit your business to the “Support Our Local Businesses” listings
  • Onward Arlington Webinars, Services and Additional Community Resources [En Español] from Bizlaunch, Arlington’s Small Business and Entrepreneurial Assistance Network
    •     Recorded and upcoming webinars
    •     Sign up for a virtual appointment with a small business expert to help strategize during the pandemic
  • SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to DMW Small Businesses and Nonprofits from the U.S Small Business Administration (SBA)
    •     Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expense which could have been met had the disaster not occurred.
    • Assistance available in the entire state of Virginia, the District of Columbia, and in Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Somerset, Washington and Worcester in Maryland.
  • Educational Opportunities and Articles for Nonprofit Leaders from Capacity Partners, consultants to nonprofit leaders
    •     Webinars
    • General and Government Resources
    • Fundraising
    • Board Development
    • Management and Leadership
    •     Special Grants and Loans – many for the DMV area!
    •     Self-Care During this Crisis
  • COVID-19 Preparedness for Residencies Resources + Approaches from the Alliance of Artists Communities (AAC)
  • Webinar: Washington Performing Arts’ Virtual Gala Transformation-Lessons Learned from a 3-Day Pivot
    •     Video recording of webinar: Learn how Washington Performing Arts and its partnering consultants and vendors transformed a 600-attendee in-person Gala into a virtual livestream in three days via an interactive discussion and Q & A with more than 280 participants from around the country.
  • COVID-19 Response from the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT)
    • Production-Related Resources: obtaining rights for live streaming, links to publishers’ messages on postponements, cancellations, etc.
    • Communications Management: sample announcements, crisis communications guides
  • COVID-19 Resource List for Theatre Practitioners from the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC)
    •     Daily relevant webinar links
    • Online Groups and Forums
    •       Professor and Teaching Resources
    • Student Resources
    •     Video, Audio, and Podcast Media links
    •     Funding, both general artists and theatre specific
  • ArtsReady, an online emergency preparedness service by and for arts/cultural nonprofits, provides arts organizations with customized business continuity plans for post-crisis sustainability (field partner of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP))
    •     Sign up for a free basic membership to receive updates and access to the library
    •     Links to upcoming webinars, information and emergency funding for artists, communications plans, and more
  • Performing Arts Readiness Webinars, the Performing Arts Readiness project offers free webinars, on-site training, and presentations at professional conferences on various topics related to emergency preparedness (field partner of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP))
    •     Recording of past webinars related to emergency preparedness