Dear friends, community partners, and all of us active in community-engaged arts initiatives,
We are living in interesting times. “Community-engaged arts” is all about community engagement, and yet we are all needing to practice social distancing and sometimes self-isolation, or quarantine, because of COVID-19. ArtBridges is getting numerous emails and newsletters from community-engaged arts initiatives across Canada announcing their suspension or closures of programs and events for a few weeks or until further notice.
Communities of people depend on community-engaged arts initiatives and services. Staff, volunteers, student placements and contract workers also have positions which are now on hold, or compromised.
During the next few weeks, can we come up with innovative ways to participate in community-engaged arts online or at home?
ArtBridges would like to hear from you! We’d like to share your unique, innovative and resourceful ideas about creating and maintaining community-engaged arts in Canada during this pandemic.
Lets remember the vulnerable in our communities, and find ways to be inclusive and provide alternative programs/projects. We’re artists and this is one very big creative problem to work on together! Please send in your out-of-the-box ideas and we’ll share them. Maybe they’ll inspire others.
Please also consult the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization for important updates on the ongoing situation.
Stay well!
The ArtBridges team
