April is typically Dallas Arts Month, with an international art fair and a slew of museum and gallery programming, public events, lectures and workshops bolstering the local arts economy. Instead, during what should have been a boom time, many local creatives and arts-related business owners find themselves without a source of income for the foreseeable future, and educators are scrambling to adapt in-person instruction to a virtual environment.
For these people, social distancing may mean more studio time or a much-needed break from working around the clock, but it also means no audiences, no access to facilities, and no paychecks.
Here’s how some local creatives are handling the situation.
Jason and Nancy Koen, owners, The Box Company
As an art handling and installation company, we’ve been fortunate to be busy enough to welcome a break, but this also means most of our immediate work has completely dried up. There are a lot of projects postponed with TBD dates. So much of the timeline is unpredictable as we all wait to see what degree this pandemic develops into and how long this takes to overcome, but at this point we do expect to encounter further financial strains. Everyone’s existing problems related to income, resources and amenities are immediately amplified now. We’re all in survival mode.
Hannah Fagadau, co-owner, 12:26 gallery
“Work From Home" [an ongoing, online-only group exhibition] was totally a spur-of-the moment response to the current crisis. We had to postpone our April shows to January 2021 and probably will not open a new show in the space until May 30th, should everything return to normal. We knew we needed to figure something out to not only help us stay afloat during this emergency, but also stay engaged with the arts community and continue to support our artists. This show is primarily a “works on paper” show, considering many artists don’t even have access to their studios at this time. All works are responses to the crisis and made during this critical time of self-isolation. We kicked things off with works by Dallas artists Keer Tanchak and Austin Eddy. We hope this initiative boosts morale and inspires people to create even through these bleak times.
Andrea Tosten, artist
I work at The Book Doctor, where we continue to ship out finished work, and teach calligraphy at Oil and Cotton, where we are now distributing art packets and streaming classes instead.
My solo exhibition “Martyrdom” opened in early March at Mountain View College’s Cliff Gallery, and we were due to have the reception and talk later this month. Alison Starr, the director of Cliff Gallery, and Fabiola Valenzuela, the gallery assistant, have been wonderful in helping brainstorm ideas about how to continue to share the show with the community. We will most likely have a digital/social media presentation available in the coming week or so.
The most pressing issue for freelance artists and creative workers is that when services are shut down, they don’t get paid. For instance, I didn’t realize the main reason Broadway was trying not to close is because most of the cast and crews are freelance. I’m hoping local, state and national leaders will support people in this line of work by asking them what they need. Perhaps paying for classes, lessons, shows, projects, art, etc., and to not ask for refunds or credit for future services.
John Pomara, artist and painting professor, University of Texas at Dallas
School has drastically changed. Everything is closed, and we’re shifting classes online. This is a weird moment in history, and we’re just having to deal with it as best we can. Thankfully, working from home affords me more time to paint since my studio is in my home and I’m in the process of preparing for a show in the fall. I do know that a lot of local artists are experiencing financial hardships because of cancellations and closures, but I have no doubt the Dallas arts community is going to rise to the occasion and help each other out. We genuinely care about one another.
Alicia Eggert, artist and sculpture professor, University of North Texas
I’m lucky because I still have my salary and benefits from UNT, but in terms of actually doing my job … well, that’s another story. Most of what I teach is taught and practiced in our facilities — the wood shop, welding studio and digital fabrication lab — and involves the hands-on learning of software and equipment. We still have five weeks left in the semester and want to be mindful of giving students the best education possible in light of these circumstances. We also have MFA students whose thesis shows were next week, and graduating seniors who are trying to finish work for their portfolios. The UNT faculty are especially trying to figure out how we can accommodate these students.
But, looking at the situation positively, I’m also of the mindset that there’s actually a lot we don’t get to do in sculpture classes because we focus so much on making. There’s now an opportunity to think more theoretically and critically about what we’re doing as artists, and how we’re doing it. I want my students to see the value in taking the time to sit, think and reflect. That’s really important work we often don’t have time for. So much creativity comes from boredom and necessity.
Clyde Valentin, director, Ignite Arts Dallas, Southern Methodist University
We had one public program postponed to the fall, and the second week of Playwrights in the Newsroom was canceled. Aside from that, our other work this semester is research-based and will continue remotely as-is. The ongoing work with the CultureBank Dallas — all individual artists living and working in Dallas communities — will be most affected. The very nature of their respective practices relies on some level of public engagement, and that evaporated almost overnight. Of course, they are not alone in this new reality.
I think Ignite Arts will continue to follow the lead of the artists. There is a lot information right now, but the truth is we don’t even know what to react to yet since the situation is still evolving. We know the immediate impacts to artists and other creatives who rely on the gig economy is devastating in the short term. What’s the long term?
We need an immediate infusion of cash into people’s checking accounts, that’s for all working people in America, including artists and other creatives. As the weeks and months pass and we begin to see what is on the other end of what’s still coming, arts and culture investment needs to be an equal factor in the formula of rebuilding communities through the use of new imaginaries. Artists can be the engines to revitalizing culture, helping to shape new meanings, and continuing to ask important and critical questions.
