Like a bridge over troubled waters, many individuals and organizations are reaching out to offer help and solace to their communities in these challenging times. With many of our industry colleagues sidelined due to the cancellation of so many events, from concerts and industrials to theatre, dance, and opera productions worldwide, this is a time to make sure everyone in your orbit is okay.
It is also a time that can be used constructively, with online learning opportunities, keeping in touch with clients and colleagues, updating your resume for future employment, and if you are a union member, staying in touch with your local. Maintaining relationships and cultivating new ones will be important when business takes off again sometime down the road.
If you are in a situation where you have time to watch online videos, Live Design invites you to browse our sessions-on-demand, recorded over the past few years at LDI, as well as recent webcasts. There are many informative sessions here on many different topics, featuring industry experts and top designers.
Our market leader, Marian Sandberg, chatted at length with Bob Bonniol on his keys for survival in this state-of-the-industry video, definitely worth a watch. And Bonniol offers more advice on his personal strategy in this video message to his peeps.
On March 16, Howlround's Livestreaming Panel: Artists In a Time of Global Pandemic (ASL & Captioned) For US-Based Freelance Artists and Cultural Workers in all Disciplines featured artists and arts administrators discussing how COVID-19 is impacting freelance artists (those who identify as independent contractors) from all disciplines and where artists can look for support in this complicated moment. The conversation focused on shared resources (legal, advocacy, how to take your work virtual, finding emergency funding, and financial best practices in crisis) and building and grounding our national community. The panel can be seen in Howlround's video archive.
People in San Francisco, for example, have been busy getting organized to help each other, and this article includes a list of ways to help those in need. Ditto for Hawaii, where our friend Jay Robert Harmon posted this GoFundMe page for Hawaii Artists and Entertainment Professionals. Texas Thespians have also published a list on online resources primarily for the theatrical educational community, and these are but a few of the many examples of initiatives across the United States.
And for opera lovers, the Metropolitan Opera has announced streaming presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure. The new offering will begin on Monday, March 16 with the 2010 HD performance of Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and starring Elīna Garanča in the title role and Roberto Alagna as Don José.
At Live Design, we’d love to hear from you and see how you are faring in these challenging times, and we’ll continue to post useful information and links. If you need help, please don’t be afraid to ask; we’ll do whatever we can to make sure our little universe stays as safe as possible.