A few weeks ago, I received an email from Erick Dorris, the director of community organizing from Arts Alliance Illinois (AAI). He indicated that the arts advocacy organization is coordinating a rapid-response campaign to establish a state-level COVID relief fund dedicated to the creative sector. If passed, this funding would give flexible general operating grants to Illinois’ arts organizations and businesses. AAI invited arts leaders throughout the state to help make the case for financial support and speak before key legislatures.
Erick asked if I would share stories of COVID’s impact on DuPage County’s creative community and advocate for the vital need for COVID relief funding to expedite the state’s recovery. As Director of Arts DuPage, a countywide arts council under the wing of the DuPage Foundation, I jumped at the chance. Arts DuPage currently partners with 252 local organizations and 137 individual artists. I reached out to all of them to gather information for AAI’s presentation, and what I found was astounding:
The reported revenue in 2019 for the thirty-one arts organizations who participated in the survey was $20,514,903 and the number of event attendees totaled 845,692. These numbers shrank to zero over the last year, causing some organizations to reduce their staff by up to 85%.
Loss of ticket revenue was compounded by an average 60% reduction in funding from donors. And, while arts organizations are doing their best to stay connected to their audiences, they are running on financial fumes. A study just released from Americans for the Arts revealed that 40% of cultural organizations have used all their reserves, and half of the creative workers have no savings left at all.
COVID relief funding for the arts is imperative: not only will it bridge the gap until it is safe to reopen, it will also provide a springboard for productions to get up and running again. Arts-generated economic activity will create and sustain an ecosystem that includes restaurants, hospitality, tourism, and transportation. These industries, working in harmony, will help rebuild our region and attract art lovers from near and far. A state-level COVID relief fund will help ensure the future of our vibrant creative sector and will further individual and community growth of our city, our county, and our state.
The effort to secure COVID funding may be one of AAI’s most crucial endeavors in its 40-year history. Armed with strong leadership and powerful stories from Illinois’ arts leaders, AAI plans to amplify the collective voice. Let’s hope the legislatures are listening.
About Arts DuPage: Arts DuPage supports, promotes, and advocates for the arts in DuPage County. An initiative of the DuPage Foundation, Arts DuPage stimulates engagement and investment in the County’s vast cultural landscape through artsdupage.org, its comprehensive website for all arts and entertainment.
About Arts Alliance Illinois: Arts Alliance Illinois builds the vitality of communities statewide through service and advocacy, generating resources for the cultural sector and creative industries. Artsallianceillinios.org.
