We live in a critical time of global crisis, fear, uncertainty in all areas: healthcare, financial markets, tourism, entertainment business, arts, culture. Time where ONE virus, an “invisible monster” is trying to take over our Planet, changing the way we live, interact with each other, think and create.  Some of us have experienced similar global or local crisis in our lifetime: financial, health-related or others, but never so stressful and unpredictable scary “package” like this….

Arts and culture organisations started already to respond, with different speed and readiness, to the emerging needs to keep safe, work from distance as far as possible, connect with audiences online. Theatres, museums, concert halls in so many countries are dark. In the live arts sector, where ticket sales are critical to the financial survival, creative organisations and artists are only at the beginning of the expected crisis for not meeting their audience offline in the next weeks or more, as how long this will last is unforeseen….

Many arts and culture organisations rely on government support. The global recession we are certainly facing, will shift government spending to other priority areas. In this expected situation, arts and culture support will decrease, or could even disappear in some countries. It is the responsibility of the ministries of culture, arts councils, arts organisations, arts managers, producers and individual artists to find diverse Risk Strategies and Methods, including diversifying financial portfolios, online business models, broadcasting online, offering innovative apps and online services and other online tools to keep up with their audiences.  Even if there is no substitute for experiencing arts in person, arts managers and artists have to brainstorm to find and implement new ways to cope with this very critical situation.

Here are links to global news from the last week on how arts managers and creative organisations reflect on the global and local Coronavirus spread. As we stay more at home these days, these are good readings to keep up our spirit and provoke our innovation:

• Coronavirus’s Impact on the Art World, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Recipes, and More: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/coronavirus-museum-closures-morning-links-1202680349/
• Coronavirus impact on local art scene: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/03/05/how-is-coronavirus-impacting-the-local-arts-scene
• Coronavirus: Theatres begin to feel impact as actors lose work and shows are postponed: https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2020/coronavirus-theatres-begin-to-feel-impact-as-actors-lose-work-and-shows-are-postponed/?login_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestage.co.uk%2Faccounts%2Fusers%2Fsign_up.popup

• In the Face of Coronavirus Crisis, Hong Kong’s Art World Has Banded Together to Launch a New Online Platform for Arts: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/coronavirus-hong-kong-online-gallery-platform-1794369
• When the Show Must Go On, Even Amid a Coronavirus Outbreak: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/arts/music/arts-coronavirus.html
• From Coughing Fits to Closings, Cultural World Girds for Coronavirus: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/arts/covid-19-movies-theaters-concerts-museums.html
• How Cartoonists are Carefully Satirizing the Coronavirus Epidemic — and Trump’s response to it:
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/03/10/cartoons-coronavirus-trump-response/
• Coronavirus on Broadway: https://www.thedailybeast.com/coronavirus-on-broadway-is-an-opening-night-everybody-is-dreading-to-see
• How Museums Can Help the Public Make Sense of Pandemics: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-museums-can-help-public-make-sense-pandemics-180974281/
• Coronavirus: Deserted Italian street rings out with song as people lean out of windows to sing together during lockdown:
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-italy-siena-song-canto-della-verbena-video-lockdown-a9399176.html?fbclid=IwAR3dd9VbGrqtdGR56vSso9EzILjXSQb-tNVJ_XxcBH4v17nR0Zd1uTzov14
• Moog and Korg make synth apps free to help musicians stuck at home: https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/14/moog-and-korg-free-synth-apps/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9sLm1lc3Nlbmdlci5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF_YOPj1TDwSazjRm38tHkGFMkQOOdqsmrgF_Bo6jkUZdNS7tyHxBokuoyDnI1V1FRJC1gZhQv449AZJF5EnD-vkVwfk09RTj3ZJdoI1fByMCQAJyk4pR1MP05xrWbcwfJkodSghnp3o0uCmsQW1p5va3YvTBl2ciLDUU6TQRTmh

“The show must go on” in different ways and with new methods. Let’s share also good news and try to decrease the fear. We stopped traveling with the speed we used to, which reflects to less Co2 emissions. We started to create new links of solidarity, support, and feeling of local and global community. We started to consume locally, supporting our farmers. We do need to continue with strength, care for others, optimism, courage and inner power!

We do need to keep physical distance as advised, which will give us a chance to increase our spiritual connections. We need to be careful and protective while keeping our optimism. Until the day, hopefully soon, when we will enjoy again, much more than before, our chat in the local café, laughter and tasty food in a restaurant, hugging and kissing each other, enjoying live theatre, dance performance, jazz concert.​ And in the meantime: it is the responsibility of each one of us to support artists and the arts: if you have a ticket for a concert, theatre, movie: do not ask for reimbursement-donate it to the artists!

Photos credits: www.unsplash.com

Featured image: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images (March 04: A man wearing face mask as protective measure walks in front of a coronavirus street art poster in a pedestrian tunnel)