Orange County NC Website
North Carolina’s <br />“stay at home” order <br />(Executive Order <br />117) had a profound <br />impact on the arts <br />sector. Describe the <br />specific steps your <br />organization took to <br />comply with <br />Executive Order 117. <br />The ArtsCenter was hit extremely hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. As <br />a performing arts v enue and a state arts resource that prov ides <br />classes to all ages, we were one of the first organizations that had to <br />start cancellations before the stay-at-home orders came from the <br />gov ernor. Almost all the shows in our Spring Season were cancelled <br />and partner shows with dramatic and performing arts organizations <br />were cancelled as well. W e also closed our ArtSchool and open <br />ceramics departments and our drawing and painting classes. <br />As there was no programming to run, we furloughed three full time <br />staff with full benefits and kept a few managers on at 2/3 time to help <br />manage grants and continue working to piv ot into new programming. <br />W ith a plan in place, we were finally able to bring back our ArtSchool <br />Director and our Youth Programs manager but the loss of rev enue in <br />their departments is staggering. <br />In our AfterSchool Arts Immersion program alone, we went from <br />tuition rev enue of about $20,000 a month, to zero for the last three <br />months of school. This program (AAI) helps pay for our free <br />programming to the schools in rural Orange County to hav e artist in <br />residence and touring performance artists come to their school at no <br />cost. <br />Our summer arts camp has lost rev enue from the reduction in weeks <br />of camp that we hav e offered, as well as enrollment. W e had to <br />reduce the number of students in each classroom and cut the weeks <br />of camp offered from 10 weeks to 6 weeks. W e also had to cancel <br />many classes outright as it would not be possible to hav e them with <br />appropriate social distancing. Ceramics, metalsmithing, and <br />photography all fell v ictims to the social distancing orders. W e will be <br />offering six weeks of camp and hav e lowered our enrollment <br />minimums to offer programming for essential workers and a safe <br />place for children to explore creativ ity and personal expression. <br />W e estimate the loss in rev enue to be around $400,000 so far. <br />Obv iously our expenses hav e reduced, but the fixed costs of <br />maintaining our building from the roof to the air conditioner are <br />required to prepare for camps. Hiring cleaning staff to come ev ery <br />day will be expensiv e but necessary. Paying teaching artist salaries <br />will be important as well, as we are one of the few agencies in the <br />area hiring artists for instruction. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 7676AA4F-A842-45BE-ABD8-BCF64A11EEF8