Dramatic Damage: South Florida Arts Community Assesses Ongoing Impact Of COVID-19
BROWARD (CBSMiami) – Live theater, art museums, music, dance and other arts pursuits in South Florida are reeling from the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're really worried about the South Florida arts landscape," said Michael Spring, Director of the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs.
Spring said the economic damage to arts groups is staggering. In March, Miami-Dade surveyed 201 arts organizations, Spring said, and found that non-profit arts groups lost $22.8 million in revenue and shed 1,700 jobs in March alone.
"I'm hearing from these organizations who are making these horrible decisions about having to lay off people," he told CBS 4 News.
Spring expects the numbers in April to be equally bad. One silver lining is that he believes many of the arts organizations in Miami-Dade County applied for and received funding through the federal Paycheck Protection Program to give them a temporary lifeline to over 8 weeks of salary for employees.
Across Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the stories are similar — the arts are in trouble.
Arsht Center CEO Johann Zietsman announced Tuesday that the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar", which was scheduled to open next month, will be pushed back until next year.
"As for formal ticketed shows, there will be no shows through summer," Zietsman said, adding that they do not know when they'll be able to reopen their doors.
"We were first to close and probably will be last to open because of the nature of our business," he said. "It's about not only bringing audience members close together but bringing artists and staff together to do shows."
Plus, Zietsman said, social distancing is not an option for them.
"When we are able to open, there might be social distancing requirements which in our business model, simply doesn't work," he said.
The cost of shuttered theaters extends beyond dollars and cents. It can be personal. The emotional connection between theater lovers was on display during a Zoom meetup on Tuesday evening among volunteer ushers at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Many of the ushers are seniors who share a love of theater. They gathered on what would have been their night to usher at the Broward Center for the final show of the season.
"We miss you!" said one of the attendees.
They listened to a musical performance from a student performer, Mia Spector, and played theater trivia. With performances cancelled at the Broward Center for the foreseeable future, it will likely be awhile before they can rekindle their passion. Kelley Shanley, President and CEO of the Broward Center, said he and his staff knew that it was important to reach out to their volunteers and help them stay connected.
"When this all happened, despite the fact that we weren't doing shows, we knew that staying connected was more important than it's ever been," Shanley said.
Shanley agrees that it will be some time before theaters reopen.
"We're not in anybody's discussion right now about reopening," he said.
He also worries that even though some of the federal loan programs will help arts groups in the short term, the wait to reopen will be longer than other businesses.
"It's an 8-week solution for an 8-month problem potentially," he said. "For a lot of arts organizations that are going to be later to the party than most other businesses."
There is some other help out there. The Broward County Cultural Division is assisting arts groups through the Broward Arts Relief Grant. It's a fund created to assist cultural non-profits that receive operating funding from Broward County. The grants range from up to $2,500 for small organizations to up to $20,000 for larger organizations.
Phillip Dunlap, Director of the Broward County Cultural Division, said the money is from funds the county received from the sale of arts-themed license plates. Dunlap said the dollars might provide a vital lifeline to arts organizations during this critical time.
"It's important us to be responsive and coming up with solutions," he said. "Funding is one of the key areas where organizations need help, even in good economic times."
The applications for the grants are due by this Friday.
Long term, the outlook for arts organizations is unclear. Spring said South Florida has a vibrant arts community but it's young and growing and the financial support is less entrenched than in other places.
"The roots for it aren't as deep as they are in older cities," he said.
Spring said his team is working with Congress as well as business and tourism leaders in Miami-Dade to build support and funding for vulnerable arts groups.
"We're really concerned about the survival of arts organizations and artists in our community and in 6 months we may be looking at a totally different landscape unless help is on the way," he said.
Dunlap, in Broward, believes the arts will once again thrive.
"I imagine some (organizations) are going to shutter," Dunlap said. "Some will survive. The good thing about the arts is that the arts will return and they will return stronger than before."
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