Arts organizations across the state are taking action to do their part to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Minnesota by postponing or canceling events as recommended by Governor Walz. Minnesota's arts and culture organizations are an important part of our community fabric and economy. If an event is canceled for which you have a ticket, please consider donating the cost of the ticket and/or making a special donation to help these important community resources get through this tough time. While this will be a challenging time for us all, the arts will help to see us through it, and our work together will make a difference.

 

The state's recommended strategies for slowing the spread of the coronavirus, to give the state time to increase testing and other responses to protect our most vulnerable citizens, are as follows:

Strategies to Slow the Spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota

To protect the public’s health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, events as described below should be postponed or canceled across the state of Minnesota until further notice. The following is intended to provide general guidance for mitigation strategies. Organizers or settings may need to take into consideration unique risks and make decisions that are protective of their communities. 

The MN Department of Health Recommends Postponing and Canceling:

• ?  Large events where 250 people or more would gather, including but not limited to: 
  • ?  Concerts. 
  • ?  Conferences. 
  • ?  Professional, college, and school performances or sporting events. 
• ?  Smaller events (fewer than 250 people) that are held in venues that do not allow social distancing of 6 feet per person. 
• ?  This includes gatherings in crowded auditoriums, rooms or other venues. 
• ?  Events with more than 10 people where the majority of participants are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, including gatherings such as those at: 
  • ?  Retirement facilities. 
  • ?  Assisted living facilities. 
  • ?  Developmental homes. 
  • ?  Support groups for people with health conditions. 

See the full recommendations here: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/action.html

MCA Creating Online Coronavirus Resource Center

MCA is creating an online resource center for the arts community at www.artsMN.org. It is under construction, but in the meantime here are some important links:

FOR ARTISTS
From Springboard for the Arts: A great resource center for artists: https://springboardforthearts.org/coronavirus/

Freelance Artists Resources: https://covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/?fbclid=IwAR0SvyPhYge34KxUMh_6__dRf5zVzUPhLTDYvRiCtfHDGubUy_4_ZDuwZ6A

Emergency Relief Funds for Artists:

Springboard for the Arts Community Emergency Relief Fund
“With the global spread of the coronavirus, there is also a spread in misinformation, often rooted in xenophobia or stereotypes. If you are an artist whose community is impacted, the Community Emergency Relief Fund is a resource for your creative response. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.” 

Rauschenberg Emergency Grants Program  
New York Foundation for the Arts has partnered with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to administer a new medical emergency grant program called Rauschenberg Emergency Grants for US citizens or permanent residents. Beginning in late May/early June 2020, the program will provide visual and media artists and choreographers with one-time grants of up to $5,000 for medical emergencies.  

FOR ARTS GRANTEES:
From Grantmakers in the Arts:
https://www.giarts.org/blog/admin/covid-19-coronavirus-and-arts-funding-update-and-action-items

Minnesota Council on Foundations Free Webinar (55:01)
Coronavirus Webinar: Preparing Minnesota’s Foundations and Nonprofit Organizations for Coronavirus
This webinar was held on March 4th in partnership with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the State of Minnesota, and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Its purpose was to help nonprofits and foundations think about their own internal continuity of operations, as well as thinking about the external services they provide and how needs may evolve and increase as a result of an outbreak. Our featured speaker was Tanya Gulliver-Garcia from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.FOR PERFORMING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
From the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP):
https://www.apap365.org/Advocacy/Emergency-Response

From the Event Safety Alliance: Podcast- Coronavirus: Must the Show Go On?
https://www.eventsafetyalliance.org/podcast/2020/3/9/episode-11-coronavirus-must-the-show-go-on
about whether the coronavirus is a "force majeure" event in performing arts contracts (or "act of God") and issues about insurance coverage for canceled events.

and: Prepare Your Organization for the Coronavirus Disease Outbreak
Event Safety Alliance Free Webinar (1:04:54)
This webinar was held on March 4th, and looks at this public health crisis from two distinct perspectives: Infectious Disease Business Continuity Planning and Crisis Management. Does your organization have the right plans in place to continue operations during an infectious disease outbreak? Is there a process in place to gather and analyze current information and make informed decisions? Is there a crisis management process and team in place? When do you activate them? By preparing in advance, you can take actions that help to minimize the effect on your events. We will look at the eight items you should be paying attention to right now.

From the Theater Communications Group (TCG): "Coronavirus Preparedness Webinar"
https://vimeo.com/396031559

FOR MUSEUMS:
From the American Association of Museums:
https://www.aam-us.org/programs/resource-library/human-resource-resources/health-in-the-workplace/

FOR ARTS AND CULTURE NONPROFITS:
From Arts Ready: Emergency Preparedness for nonprofits:
https://www.artsready.org/

FOR LARGE EVENT ORGANIZERS:
From the World Health Organization, "Public Health for Mass Gatherings: Key Considerations." https://www.asisonline.org/globalassets/news/blog/who_hse_gcr_2015.5_eng-1.pdf

OFFICIAL UPDATES

Center for Disease Control Landing Page for COVID-19

Minnesota Department of Health Landing Page for COVID-19

World Health Organization Landing Page for COVID-19

Johns Hopkins: Mapping 2019-nCoV
The best and most up to date international info about the coronavirus.

Please stay well, and be good to each other.