Bright Thoughts: This is Brampton Live Online

As featured in a previous e-update, the Alliance of Canadian Dance Networks is now publishing a weekly enewsletter to share positive stories with the dance community. We wanted to share their most recent issue, in which OP spoke with member Danny Harvey about the Rose Theatre's This is Brampton: Live Online initiative.

 “We’ve had a series called This is Brampton for a couple years now, and we engage local artists and curators and creators to do twice-monthly events in our studio space in multiple genres: standup comedy, hip hop, rock, we have a jazz curator, a folk music curator. That was the easiest thing to translate into these living room to living room concerts that we’re taking up... It was a great way, before CERB was taking artists into account, to keep artists and curators employed, and to keep money flowing into the economy. The whole thing about This is Brampton is that it’s about artist development as much as audience development.... the idea is to let people know we are here, we’re supporting the artists of different genres, we’re part of the community.”

• Innovation in the Time of COVID-19: Minnesota-based Forecast Public Art compiled a comprehensive toolkit that uses case studies to explore how arts organizations have adapted their projects throughout the pandemic.
• APAP Members' Creative Responses: The Association of Performing Arts Professionals has created a YouTube channel full of members' creative responses to COVID-19.
• Canadian Stage's Classroom: Canadian Stage is offering a free 5-week series of free online masterclasses and discussions about today's shifting approaches and opportunities for live performance makers. Free registration is now available.
• The National Arts Drive: The National Arts Drive is an online & offline grassroots movement and fundraising campaign to bring awareness and financial support to local artists. Artists and organizations are invited to submit their outdoor arts experience, which community members will be encouraged to explore by car on June 6th. The driving experience will be paired with a mobile website and interactive map where drivers can engage with the artist and support them from a distance. Activities are already being organized across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
• Vista20: Vista 20 is a 30-minute app-guided walking tour that can be done anywhere, anytime. It is presented by Mayworks K'jipuktuk/Halifax, the festival of working people and the arts. Think of it as a short stroll during which you run into seven interesting people working in public health in Halifax during the COVID-19 crisis. It is also an archive of their testimonies from April/May 2020.
• Creative ways to help: The Globe and Mail recently published an interesting piece on the ways in which arts organizations are helping their communities through the crisis. For example, Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver donated their space to a local multidisciplinary medical start-up to help showcase its new COVID-19-related inventions.

Agents/Managers Industry Survey

Following the shut-down of events in March, a COVID-19 Crisis Committee of agents and managers worked with NAPAMA Canada and CAPACOA to launch a survey measuring the impacts of cancellations on agents and managers, the results of which are now available. The survey found that 52.8% of companies have no other source of income other than of booking commissions, and 66.7% of companies cannot continue to operate if the 2020-21 season is cancelled. Agents and managers are essential parts of the performing arts ecosystem and are being deeply effected at this time. We thank those involved with this survey for measuring this devastating impact.

• Wage Subsidies
• Wage Boost for Essential Workers 
• Canada Emergency Business Account
• Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance

The International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) has moved their popular Pitch New Works event online. Performing arts professionals are invited to join their global industry colleagues on Wednesday, June 3 from 9-11am ET. A transcript will be provided in 16 languages. Discover 10 performing arts projects, spanning all disciplines and genres, in development or recently premiered, with a regional focus on creative teams from Taipei while maintaining global voices. The event is free and open to all! It will be hosted (virtually) by Anthony Sargent CBE, CEO of Luminato Festival Toronto.
 

    
Last month UNESCO launched Resiliart, a concerted and global effort to support artists and ensure access to culture for all. ResiliArt sheds light on the current state of creative industries amidst crisis through an exclusive global discussion with key industry professionals while capturing experiences and voices of resilience from artists – both established and emerging – on social media. Together, it raises awareness about the far-reaching ramification of COVID-19 across the sector and aims at supporting artists during and following the crisis.

Back in April, WolfBrown announced the COVID-19 Audience Outlook Monitor: A worldwide tracking study of audience attitudes about attendance at arts and cultural programs and venues during and after the COVID-19 crisis. The research will take the form of a longitudinal tracking study of audiences and visitors in partnership with funders and service organizations.

WolfBrown is currently working with various organizations to roll out the project in Canada; we will share more information about this as it becomes available.

In the meantime, early results are now available from Australia, where Patternmakers has kindly made their dashboard available to all. You can view the full dashboard here, or key insights here. The findings indicate that the majority of Australian audiences are planning to return to cultural events in the future, safety measures will be paramount (96% say venue safety measures will impact their decision to return).