A Timeline of Arts & Culture Advocacy in 2020 Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
BY MELISSA BEATRIZ ON JUNE 10, 2021
Editorial support by Gabriela Watson-Burkett, Kristal Sotomayor, and Michelle Myers
Photo from the Emergency Arts Action to Fund Black Futures March organized by Artist Coalition For A Just Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 16. (Photo credit: Melissa Beatriz)
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact communities in the United States, in early March 2020, it became clear that the arts sector was being gravely economically affected. According to the Arts Administrators of Color Network (AAC), in the first two months of the pandemic, 2.7 million jobs and $150 billion in sales were lost for the U.S creative industry.
In a field where artists rely on gig work and independent contracts—which often means they lack job stability, equitable wages, and benefits like health insurance, and that was pre-pandemic—the toll was high. Top that off with the racial economic gap, and the result is the AAC finding that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artists, arts administrators, and cultural organizations have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
This national trend was seen locally too, in Philadelphia, where the arts and culture sector was already undervalued, programs were at risk of being completely gone. While cities like Austin, Texas saw their arts budget reduced from $12.8 million to $7.2 million in 2020, Philadelphia went from a $4.4 million dollar budget to the Mayor initially attempting to eliminate the City’s arts and culture programs completely from the 2021 budget. In the end, Philly allocated $1.35 million to the arts.
This is a timeline of what the arts had to face during the pandemic, from budget cuts, closed offices, emerging media, canceled grants to a refunding budget allocation.
March 22, 2020
Philadelphia announced the first Stay at Home order
On March 22, as the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting the U.S., the city of Philadelphia announced a Stay at Home order.
March 23, 2020
¡Presente! Media co-founder Melissa Beatriz wrote an essay for WHYY – Coronavirus: Why Philly needs an artist relief fund
In the essay, ¡Presente! Media co-founder Melissa Beatriz advocated for the city to establish an artist relief fund. She noted that cities like Boston had already established funds by that time, and encouraged the city to develop relief efforts for artists.
April 7, 2020
Arts Administrator Rob Buscher wrote an essay for WHYY – Coronavirus: The arts in Philly will need plenty of relief funding to survive
Rob Buscher discussed being laid off from his full-time arts administration job and provided another perspective on how relief is needed for creative professionals.
April 8, 2020
COVID-19 Arts Aid PHL fund application opened
The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund (PCF), and the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) launched the COVID-19 Arts Aid PHL fund to support individual artists, small arts and culture organizations, and mid-sized organizations. The fund distributed 977 grants to artists, 251 grants to small arts organizations, and 215 grants to mid-sized organizations.
May 1, 2020
Mayor Kenney released revised budget for fiscal year 2021, proposing to eliminate the OACCE
Due to a projected deficit of $649 million, as a result of the pandemic, Mayor Kenney originally proposed to completely eliminate the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE). At the time, Philadelphia’s art budget consisted of less than 1% of the city’s total projected deficit. The OACCE “supports free cultural programming; creates opportunities for local artists and creative organizations; connects Philadelphians to quality arts experiences; and preserves the City’s public art assets.”
If this had passed, the entire budget for arts programming in Philadelphia would have been eliminated, including funding for the OACCE and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, which supports 300+ local organizations.
May 3, 2020
“Save the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy” petition circulated
A petition was started by Philadelphia's Internet Radio Community and called for the City to not eliminate the OACCE. It gathered 17,624 signatures.
May 12, 2020
¡Presente! Media publicly launched
Amidst it all, in an attempt to highlight our communities' stories and form a collective to advocate for our work and that of our colleagues’, ¡Presente! Media came to life. Co-founders Gabriela Watson-Burkett, Kristal Sotomayor, and Melissa Beatriz set as ¡Presente! Media’s mission to produce bilingual journalistic articles and documentaries focused on social justice. As well as to create initiatives like Philly Cultural Equity, to address topics such funding, equal pay rates, and how to help cultural workers to be better prepared to develop their work and establish their careers.
May 21, 2020
No to Zero for the Arts platform launched
No to Zero for the Arts called for both a People’s Bailout in the city and restoration of funding to the arts and culture sector. The platform launched as the budget was being discussed in City Council.
“No To Zero For The Arts is a platform initiated by members of the Vox Populi Artist Collective to connect with likeminded artists, organizations, and audiences on the development of new approaches to support for Philadelphia artists. Since launching, No To Zero has been in collaboration with artists and organizers from Big Picture Alliance, Girls Rock Philly, Power Street Theatre, Rock to the Future, Spiral Q, and Theatre in the X on efforts to oppose Philadelphia’s proposed 2021 budget.”
May 22, 2020
OACCE rescinded funding for the 2020 Performances in Public Spaces project grantees
The Performances in Public Spaces program “activates Philadelphia’s parks and plazas from May through October of each year. The series encourages and inspires community connectivity in and with the city’s neighborhoods by providing access to FREE quality arts and cultural experiences that highlight the city’s outdoors spaces”. Grantees were told that they would no longer be receiving funds for their outdoor-based projects. The award notifications were originally sent out during the fiscal year 2020, but the City emphasized that cuts like these were being made for the 2021 fiscal year. Thus, messaging like this was contradictory.
May 27, 2020
Arts leaders testify at City Council hearing
Leading up to City Council finalizing the upcoming budget, leaders and organizations advocated for the city to support the vibrant arts and culture scene.
June 1, 2020
OACCE closed
The OACCE announced its closure, before City Council officially voted and approved the preliminary 2021 budget. Although the city made it clear that the public could voice their concerns during the FY21 Budget Hearing Schedule, this decision was made before the Public Testimony sessions were completed.
June 8, 2020
Philly Artists for Black Lives released letter “An Open Letter To Mayor Kenney
& City Council”
The Philly Artists for Black Lives was a campaign that advocated for the City to prioritize racial justice from an arts/culture perspective. The Philly Artists for Black Lives released “An Open Letter To Mayor Kenney & City Council” asking Mayor Kenney and Philadelphia’s City Council to stand with the movement for Black lives, defund and redistribute funding for the Philadelphia Police Department to human services. Overall, the letter reimagined what safety could look like in the city.
June 8 and 9, 2020
Digital Rally for Philly Arts
Light Thief Productions and Power Street Theatre hosted the Digital Rally for Philly Arts, in collaboration with Big Picture Alliance, Girls Rock Philly, Rock to the Future, Spiral Q, Theatre in the X, and Vox Populi Gallery.
According to the Digital Rally for Philly Arts, the event included the following: “For a period of 24-hours over two-days, a livestream of testimonials, performances, music, dance, and more will be simulcast via the social media networks of Philadelphia arts organizations to oppose the defunding of arts and culture!”
June 9, 2020
Philly Culture United launched
Philly Culture United formed with a mission of advocating for the prioritization of the city’s arts and culture economy. According to Philly Culture United, the campaign began “...when members of Philadelphia’s arts community united to call for the reversal of proposed budget cuts that eliminated the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) and completely defunded the 27-year-old Philadelphia Cultural Fund (PCF).”
June 16, 2020
Emergency Art Action to Fund Black Futures! Hosted by Artist Coalition for a Just Philadelphia
According to the Artist Coalition for a Just Philadelphia, the group is “... a collective of grassroots arts organizations committed to using the power of the arts to uplift community voices in the fight for racial, social and economic justice.”
The Artist Coalition for a Just Philadelphia hosted the Emergency Art Action to Fund Black Futures! on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The goal of the action was to “use the power of artistic expression in the form of music, dance and visual art to demand a city budget that funds Black futures by Defunding the Police and Saving the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.”
The action was held beforeCity Council voted on the proposed 2021 budget. ¡Presente! Media Co-Founder Melissa Beatriz documented the event in the video below.
June 18, 2020
City Council announced the new preliminary 2021 budget
Philadelphia City Council proposed a new preliminary 2021 budget, due to the impact of COVID-19. Through the efforts of arts/cultural workers and organizations, $1.35 million was allocated to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP). Yet, as ¡Presente! Media Co-founder Kristal Sotomayor reported in June 2020: This new preliminary budget, however, does not “restore” funding for the arts as many local Philadelphia outlets are reporting. Instead, the budget for AAMP stays the same while PCF receives only $1 million in funding.
Link to article: https://www.presentemedia.org/stories/the-arts-in-philadelphia-are-not-restored
June 25, 2020
City Council casted its final vote
The Philadelphia City Council approved a new 2021 city budget. This budget rescinded the original $19 million proposed increase to the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD). While $1 million was reallocated towards PCF, funds for the OACCE were eliminated. Overall, the city’s already under-resourced cultural budget was cut from the city’s previous $4 million allocation towards cultural spending.
July 2020
Two OACCE staff members transferred to Managing Director’s Office
Peter Crimmins of WHYY reported, “The OACCE was absorbed into the Managing Director’s Office and reduced from nine to just two staff members.” This conflicted with earlier messaging from City officials that the OACCE was being completely eliminated. It was unclear what role these two staff members would play moving forward.
Nov. 2020
OACCE Rehired two staff members
The OACCE rehires two staff members who worked at the office previously as the Program Manager and Community Engagement Manager. OACCE was reestablished in the middle of fiscal year 2021, but there was unclear communication to the wider arts community about what this would mean.
Nov. 12, 2020
LIGHTS ON campaign started
Philly Culture United and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance launched the #LightsON campaign, to highlight the impact of arts and culture in the city. According to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the organization “leads, strengthens and amplifies the voices of more than 400 member organizations who generate over $4.1 billion in economic impact for the region.”
Dec. 2, 2020
City Council backed Arts and Culture Task Force launched
The Arts and Culture Task Force (ACTF), hosted by Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, launched. The task force includes eighteen arts and culture leaders from across the city who plan to make recommendations to the City Council on how to include the arts sector in conversations of the fiscal year 2022 Philadelphia budget.
Dec. 15, 2020
Unemployment Information Session for Artists and Gig Workers
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP), in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, hosted this session for artists. According to PUP, “since 1975, the Philadelphia Unemployment Project has organized the poor and unemployed to fight for economic justice, bringing diverse groups together to bring about major changes that benefit millions of unemployed and Impoverished.”
March 15, 2021
Arts and Culture Task Force Published its Final Findings
The City of Philadelphia Arts and Culture Task Force released its final findings. The findings provided recommendations for four main areas, including permanence, individuals and small organizations, youth in arts, and nightlife.
May 4, 2021
Illuminate the Arts Grant Opened
The Illuminate the Arts grant was launched by the OACCE, ACTF, and Councilmembers Isaiah Thomas and Katherine Gilmore Richardson. Grants are available to individual artists, small nonprofit arts organizations, mid-size nonprofit arts organizations, and small creative enterprises.
Looking Ahead
As the City continues to make budget allocations, it will be imperative for artists and cultural workers to continue to share their stories of how the pandemic has affected them and to call in organizations and city leaders to have conversations about equitable relief and the rebuilding of the sector.
The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance recently released a report revealing that between March 2020 and March 2021, the arts and culture sector lost approximately $371.7 million. Arts and culture across the U.S. have been hit especially hard during the pandemic, and are finding creative ways to reinvigorate this sector. In New York, for example, the City is launching the City Artist Corps program, which will spend $25 million in order to develop jobs for at least 1,500 artists. Philadelphia will need to build on the momentum of bold ideas, like the Illuminate the Arts grant, in order to equitably support artists.
¡Presente! Media will continue to cover inequities in the arts sector during and beyond the pandemic. To follow ¡Presente! Media’s ongoing efforts to highlight the cultural sector from the perspective of Latinx and artists of color, visit the Philly Cultural Equity initiative or reach out to us.
Our first artist profile as part of this effort features multi-disciplinary artist Daniel de Jesús.
