March 18, 2020
Dear arts education community,
During this unprecedented and uncertain time, we want you to know that we're here to help.
We see the very real and complex impact that the coronavirus outbreak is having on our communities. We also understand the risks that many of our organizations are now facing. Because of this, the Guild is urgently ramping up our efforts to support arts education providers in their response to the health crisis. We are inspired by the immediate ways we've seen our community help one another, and we're striving to amplify those efforts and create ways for our field to connect.
We're still figuring things out (as is everyone), but here's what we can share right now:
- We urge all community arts education organizations to act in ways that mitigate public health risks: to limit in-person work, and to postpone in-person programming.
- We are working as fast as we can to respond to the urgent requests we're receiving for support. We're responding to the need for virtual peer gathering and learning spaces for arts educators who are courageously solving challenging problems in real time.
- We're building a knowledge base of relevant resources drawn from our members and others, on topics such as crisis management; supporting youth, families, and teaching artists; equitable access to emergency relief funds; distance learning; and more.
- We have closed our offices to work remotely, and we are re-evaluating upcoming Guild programming in light of the situation. We’re still very much available, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
In this time, we hold our core values of leadership, community, creativity, and equity as more important than ever. We believe in the power of the arts and collective action to help sustain our communities, and we're committed to supporting those who make that possible. Thank you for your important work.
We'll continue to be in touch with more updates. If you're not signed up for our email list and would like to join, you can do so here: https://nationalguild.org/forms/join-our-email-list
Wishing health, safety, and peace of mind to all,
The National Guild Staff
Published: March 18, 2020