Three months of COVID-related measures continue to take their toll on arts and culture organizations in the state. The prolonged closure of Connecticut’s performing arts venues and museums has cost those organizations nearly $29 million, according to the national arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts.
The weekly snapshot of how arts and culture organizations nationwide are affected by COVID-19 also found that 96% of the 402 Connecticut arts and culture organizations surveyed canceled events and performances due to coronavirus, amounting to nearly 2 million empty seats.
“What we have always been told to do is have the public come in, engage them in interactive activities, have them stay in one place as long as possible to listen to your content,” said Elizabeth Shapiro, director of the Connecticut Office of the Arts. “None of these things are OK now. So they have to figure out not just a whole new business model, but a whole new way of engaging with their audience.”
Museums were able to open with modifications last week, but performing arts organizations still have to wait.
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