San Francisco arts organizations anticipate losing up to $73 million in earned income and donations if the novel coronavirus crisis proceeds through the summer, the results of a new survey show. More than half of the 145 surveyed organizations have reduced or suspended contractor work, and 28 percent of them reported contemplating employee layoffs.
Museums and performance venues are closed for the foreseeable future during a statewide shelter-in-place order. While some organizations turn to livestreaming, many more face at least a season’s worth of canceled or postponed programming. Now the San Francisco Arts Alliance survey shows how the sudden shutdown jeopardizes thousands of jobs in the cultural sector.
“It’s an unprecedented situation,” Deborah Cullinan, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts chief executive and co-chair of the SF Arts Alliance, an informal group of local arts leaders, said in an interview. “It requires us to really reconsider what we do and how we do it and who we do it for.”
The survey particularly impressed on Cullinan the art world’s reliance on independent contractors, and their unique vulnerability at a time of cutbacks. “We’re not alone in depending on contractors,” she said. “This is an opportunity for us to work across sectors with small businesses and other enterprises and push policy that benefits contractors at large.”
“We haven’t seen the worst,” Cullinan added. “All we can do is come out of this with new ideas.”
The San Francisco COVID-19 Arts Impact Survey results, which reflect large institutions and shoestring operations alike, as of Friday, Mar. 20 show anticipated losses of $47.8 million in earned income and $25.5 million in contributed income if the crisis proceeds until mid-September. Already, the survey respondents reported losses totaling tens of millions.
