Arts Workers Unite on Labor Day to call for emergency relief
By Deb Miller, originally published in DC Metro.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 62% of arts workers report that they are fully unemployed, 94% have reported an income loss, 41% of arts and culture institutions are not confident that they will survive the pandemic, and 90% of music venues report that they will not reopen without relief. To shine a spotlight on these devastating statistics, Be An #ArtsHero – a 100% volunteer-run intersectional grassroots campaign comprised of arts and culture workers, unions, and institutions in the US, entreating the Senate to allocate proportionate relief to the arts and culture sector of the American economy – has designated Labor Day (Monday, September 7) as a nationwide Day of Action called Arts Workers Unite.
Across the country, in front of US Senate offices in all 50 states and at The Capitol Building in DC, arts workers will assemble to urge their Senators to advocate for arts and culture workers and institutions. The largest demonstration will take place in Times Square, where Broadway luminaries will join the #ArtsHero cause. The socially-distanced and masked in-person demonstrations will be accompanied by streamed online events, including calls to Senators on Instagram Live, and culminating on Tuesday, September 8, from 8-10 pm ET, in “The Ghostlight Panel: Changing The Conversation About The Creative Economy” – a discussion by arts workers, arts leaders, celebrities, and economists on the socio-economic impact of arts and culture in America.