Dear APAP Members and Colleagues,
We’ve all been inundated this week with the news of the Coronavirus pandemic, and I understand that many of us are scrambling to prepare and respond to it, so I appreciate your taking the time to read this urgent message.
As I’ve heard more about this dangerous, stealth virus from experienced medical experts, and as the lessons from China, South Korea, Italy and areas of the U.S. have set in, I’ve come to the conclusion that right now each one of us must take a leadership role in this country and our communities by being a part of the solution to this crisis, and so today I am urging performing arts organizations to seriously consider canceling all public events for the short term.
I say this with heaviness in my heart as what I’m asking of you is antithetical to “the show must go on” spirit of our industry. We must act now—I truly believe this is the right thing to do if we are to have any hope of slowing the spread and stemming this crisis. We must bear the short-term pain now to, hopefully, prevent the long-term and irreparable impacts on our artists, our audiences, our revenue, our staffs and our industry.
If you have any ability to take this extraordinary measure, for hopefully what will turn out to be just a few weeks, I urge you to do so.
In the meantime, here are a few important announcements we wanted to share with you.
- Please join APAP and the Alliance of Performing Arts Conferences for a webinar “We Are Stronger Together: Navigating Crises and Sustaining Healthy Relationships in the Era of Coronavirus” on Wednesday, March 18 at 3 p.m. (EDT/Noon PDT). Facebook event link above. Registration link coming soon.
- As Congress and the Administration consider new forms of federal economic assistance that may be targeted or widespread, artists and performing arts groups can join with others in the arts and nonprofit sector to speak up to ensure that relief will meet all community needs. Learn how you can help the arts get critical support.
- Visit APAP’s online Coronavirus information and resources, including tips from ArtsReady, webinars, emergency funding for artists and more.
APAP wants to hear how you are doing, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We will continue to monitor the situation and will share more information as it becomes available. We encourage you to forward this message to your colleagues.
Mario Garcia Durham
President and CEO, APAP
