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All posts by Andrew Warshauer

28 Aug 2020

Arts organizations statewide partner to launch Missouri ArtSafe

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Create Safely. Present Safely. Attend Safely.

When it comes to the arts, it’s as our trustee Nancy Kranzberg says: “There ain’t nothin’ like the real thing.” Here at the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, we have always loved gathering people to experience the best of our thriving arts community. And while we’re amazed at the new and exciting ways that arts organizations have been able to present their work digitally, we can’t wait to bring people back to our spaces while still respecting the current public health emergency.

Since early May, we’ve been working with the Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC, Regional Arts Commission – St. Louis  and twenty other organizations from across the state as part of the Missouri Arts Safety Alliance to help arts organizations prepare to reopen. Together, we’ve launched Missouri ArtSafe, a certification program promoting best practices for arts and cultural organizations designed to protect the health and safety of artists, staff, volunteers, and guests. Based on eight universal measures and a commitment to publically share their plan, organizations of all sizes will receive support to develop their reopening plans including a free training video to use with frontline staff and volunteers. We know from our experience how much time and effort it takes to create a safety plan. Our hope is that Missouri ArtSafe will help other arts organizations learn from our work, and when the time is right, be able to safely share their work with the public.

Organizations that become Missouri ArtSafe-certified demonstrate that they’ve strategically planned how to reopen safely. And guests will benefit from a centralized location to learn more about an organization’s safety policies before they walk through their doors.

Organizations looking to develop their own plans and become ArtSafe-certified can learn more at missouriartsafe.org. Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts has put together a list of resources on developing your plan. And the Missouri Arts Safety Alliance will be hosting a series of webinars to help organizations create their plans, work through HR issues, develop strategies for de-escalation, and public relations.

It’s important to note that Missouri ArtSafe is not an endorsement to reopen, but a call to be prepared to reopen safely. Art is critical to our lives and well-being, but we all need to do our part to keep our community healthy and safe.

Visit missouriartsafe.org to learn more.

Photo credit: Ian Burt

26 Jun 2020

June Coronavirus Survey Results

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As we enter the 5th month of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Kranzberg Arts Foundation is continuing to survey our guests to understand how the pandemic is impacting engagement with the arts. Our audience is a useful composite of the larger St. Louis arts ecosystem, and we’re sharing the results to help better inform other arts organizations as they build their plans to reopen. We’ll continue to survey and share the results on a routine basis on our blog. This survey was conducted June 15-18 and received 819 responses. If you’d like to stay up to date on future surveys and to learn more about what we do, sign up for our email list here.

Some takeaways:

  • 74% of guests anticipate returning to in-person arts events within the next three months or later, compared to 26% who plan to return within the next month.
  • We split out our question on the largest size audience guests would feel comfortable in from our May survey to have an indoor and outdoor question. What’s interesting is that the number for indoor track closely to last month’s numbers. With 50% of guests preferring to limit audience size between 0-25 compared to 47.5% last month. Moving to outdoor venues increased most guests’ max audience size.
  • Similarly, 83% of respondents said they’d are more likely to attend an outdoor performance. In response, we’ve created the Backyard Jazz BBQ at The Dark Room at The Grandel. We’ll continue to evaluate and develop opportunities for outside arts events as we’re able.
  • While masks have become a polarizing issue for some, 72% of our respondents said they’d feel more comfortable returning to our venues if everyone was required to wear a mask. 86% of our guests say they always wear a mask while in public with an additional 11.3% saying they wear one if required.

June Coronavirus Survey Results

01 Jun 2020

Statement of Solidarity

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The Kranzberg Arts Foundation stands in protest of racism in all its many forms.  We stand in solidarity with Black people all over the world and with all of the Black artists, staff members, and colleagues that make up and represent our St. Louis arts ecosystem. We stay committed to making our venues and workspaces equitable, diverse, and inclusive and understand we have a responsibility to use our resources and influence to help break the cycle of systematic racism and build a more equitable society.

11 May 2020

May Coronavirus Survey Results

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The arts are a vital part of our city, social life, economy, and sanity — and in times like these, we feel the importance of art that can inspire us. But, when it comes to reopening our spaces, we know we only have one chance to do it right. Ensuring the safety of our guests, cast, and crew is of the utmost importance before we open our doors again.

Last week, we asked our audience what they would need to feel safe returning to our spaces. This information will be used alongside guidance from our local health and government officials to continue preparing to safely bring the arts back into our spaces. The survey went out to our email and was posted social media. It was open May 4 – 6, and received 915 responses.

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