OC Artists, Organizations Coping, Innovating, Pitching In 
Now completing their 8th week under the statewide "stay at home" directive, OC's artists and arts organizations are struggling financially--but most are also proving why the arts are so critical to our way of life and our economy: they are doing what they do best and what we always rely upon them to do--they are innovating. This ArtsOC newsletter shares a number of examples: compelling and amusing videos, unusual programs being offered by local arts organizations, and ways the arts are participating in community-wide efforts to plan for safely re-opening their workplaces to staff and their venues to the public.
Musical Theatre of Orange County "Into the Woods" Cast 
"Into the woods you have to grope, 
but that's the way you learn to cope. 
Into the woods to find there's hope 
of getting through the journey"
The Next Right Thing
Hutchins Consort: "We Will Survive" 
We Will Survive
Grand Central Art Center: Offers Free "Singing Telegrams" 
Muckenthaler Center: Offers Free Art Kits for Kids, Seniors  
UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts: Design & Manufactured Thousands of Face Shields for Health Workers 
UCI Associate Professor of Art Jesse Colin Jackson 
You no longer have any excuse for not immersing yourself in the arts while sheltered in your own home. There are now more than 100 Online & Virtual arts experiences offered by OC arts organizations listed on SparkOC! Also, the pull-down menu has an option for Online Classes & Workshops.
ArtsOC Survey Results on COVID-19 Impact on OC Arts Community Attract Media Attention

Recently, Arts Orange County released the results of its survey of the Orange County arts community's losses due to the pandemic.
Stories about the survey results and interviews with arts leaders have now appeared in
Orange County Register      Voice of OC      COAST Magazine
RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS & ARTS ORGANIZATIONS - ArtsOC.org 
ARTS & CULTURAL EVENTS + CALLS FOR ARTISTS + AUDITIONS + JOBS + CLASSES + VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES - SparkOC.com 

  Arts Orange County is supported in part through funds from     
           
              
  Arts Orange County is a proud member of  
 
            
              
PLANNING THE RE-OPENING  
 
reStore Costa Mesa, a recovery team spearheaded by Mayor Katrina Foley and designed to start local businesses when the time is right, held its first weekly meeting on May 1. The arts sector was represented by Casey Reitz, President of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Todd Smith, CEO and Director, Orange County Museum of Art, and Rick Stein, President & CEO of Arts Orange County. More info here. 
 
Arts Orange County recently began convenings of major arts leaders to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their organizations, current thinking about plans to re-open and to share knowledge and resources. The cohort of large performing arts venues and major producing and presenting organization representatives included: Casey Reitz, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, , John Forsyte and Eileen Jeanette, Pacific Symphony, Andrew Brown, Pacific Chorale, Tommy Phillips, Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Jerry Mandel, Irvine Barclay Theatre, Joan Hamill, OC Fair & Event Center, Richard Bryant, Musco Center for the Arts, Renee Bodie, Soka Performing Arts Center, Ellen Richard, Laguna Playhouse, Paula Tomei, South Coast Repertory. The cohort of museums, heritage sites and visual arts organization representatives included: Peter Keller, Bowers Museum, Todd Smith, Orange County Museum of Art, Malcolm Warner, Laguna Art Museum, Mary Platt, Hilbert Museum of California Art, Farrell Hirsch, The Muckenthaler Center, Jeffrey Frisch, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, John Spiak, Grand Central Art Center, Mechelle Lawrence Adams, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Elisa Stipkovich, Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center. They were moderated by ArtsOC's Rick Stein. Convenings are also being scheduled for leaders of smaller organizations. 
CARES ACT UPDATE 
 
ICYMI: Americans for the Arts's CARES Act Update webinar held on Monday, May 4, may be viewed free of charge here. The ninety-minute overview of resources available to the arts community through the federal CARES Act was attended by more than 600 participants live. ArtsOC's Rick Stein was among the featured speakers. View the video here. (Right side of page-Green check mark.) 
ARTS VENUE RE-OPENING TOPICS:
WHAT'S HAPPENING ELSEWHERE 
CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL MEETS FRIDAY TO APPROVE PLAN FOR ITS NEA CARES ACT FUNDS 
The California Arts Council (CAC), our state arts agency, will hold a special meeting on Friday, May 8, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm via Zoom. The meeting is open to the public. Register here. At this meeting, the Council will vote on the distribution amounts and mechanisms for the Federal CARES Act funding allocated to the CAC , over $700,000. Forty percent of all Federal appropriations to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) are granted directly to state and regional arts agencies, which includes the CARES Act special funding. The remaining sixty percent of the CARES Act funding was to be granted by the NEA directly to organizations. The application deadline was April 27, and due to the limited funds available, only current grantees and and those awarded grants during the past four years were eligible to apply. 
Arts Orange County is the leader in building appreciation of, participation in and support for the arts and arts education throughout Orange County. 
It is a powerhouse in advancing Orange County's arts ecology, a trailblazer in advocating workforce development through arts education, a leader in building future audiences and a trendsetter in the world of nonprofit arts councils.

Like us on Facebook      Follow us on Twitter