Arts centers look to the future

The marquee is shown outside Woodstock Town Hall Theater, which is operated by Pentangle Arts and currently closed due to the pandemic. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

When the state clamped down on public gatherings in late March, one of the hardest-hit sectors was the arts. Now, two months into the shutdown and with Vermont abuzz about reopening, arts centers are confronting survival in an economy that was leveled by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On Tuesday, that conversation was brought to the masses as part of a series of online forums organized by the Montpelier-based Community Engagement Lab.

Six leaders of local arts centers joined the discussion, facilitated by engagement lab co-founder and arts educator Eric Booth. The panelists: Jody Fried, executive director of Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury; Doreen Kraft, executive director of Burlington City Arts; Danny Lichtenfeld, executive director of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center; Steve MacQueen, artistic director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington; Hope Sullivan, executive director of Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe; and Alita Wilson, executive director of Pentangle Arts in Woodstock. 

From the start of the shutdown, these organizations have explored ways to engage with their communities and offer some entertainment through online platforms like Zoom, while keeping their doors closed. Now, as budgets grow tighter and summer looms, the question is how to do business with smaller gatherings, or none at all, when most revenue has stopped. Planning is also a hurdle, as arts centers weigh what to schedule, or not, with this year half-gone and all or most of 2021 booked out.

Alita Wilson, executive director of Pentangle Arts in Woodstock, noted the challenge of balancing the need to run programming with the ability to afford it. And of course, state restrictions are in play. 

“Are we safer staying dark? That’s what keeps me up at night,” Wilson said.

Each of these centers are weighing what can be done with smaller crowd sizes, which Fried said may be the reality for some time. Catamount Arts’ board is led by a doctor, Fried said, who has warned the pandemic’s impact will last beyond summer. 

“He’s saying we’re going to be limited to very small groups for the foreseeable future,” Fried said, adding that means until 2021.

Sullivan wondered about the public’s response once reopening is possible. 

“Even once things open up and are allowed to, what’s the public’s comfort level to gather?” she asked. 

All organizations are looking for solutions, and panelists agreed the key to future success, now more than ever, will be partnerships. 

“Our survival is really dependent upon all of us,” Kraft said. “One of the things I’m feeling is that the community has really re-valued the role of the arts.” 

Some have begun exploring that. 

“We started reaching out across sectors, for business leaders to start weighing in,” Sullivan said. 

Overall, any new partnerships with other sectors will need to be financially beneficial for arts centers, too, panelists noted. 

“I’m hoping the other sectors will work to find a way it can benefit both of us,” Wilson said.

Fried thought the creative sector could certainly complement education in the fall, with schools also facing a changed world. Some of that interaction has occurred at the student level, with local families taking part in online events from their homes. 

As the quarantine period took shape, online activities and events have enabled these centers to reach new and bigger audiences. MacQueen said that presents an opportunity for arts organizations to explore models beyond the longstanding donor-and-member system.

“How do we make the arts affordable and accessible to people, instead of doing these old paradigms?” he said. 

Coming out of the first two months of shutdown, people are thinking about events very differently. For example, Catamount Arts created an online film slam, in which families made and submitted their own content, and they ended up with 80 films and numerous interactions. Fried said this “hybrid” model, pairing online engagement with home-produced content, could be the wave of the future.

“I think that’s the balance we’re going to have to find,” he said. It could also cut through the “Zoom fatigue” many experience from just watching a screen, he added. 

Lichtenfeld said he is exploring the possibility of mixing local art with outdoor experiences, since it blends two aspects of the state locals and visitors enjoy. 

“I think there’s room for us all to get incredibly creative with programming we can do outdoors,” he said. 

Like many sectors, the arts face many challenges and are trying to quickly discover new possibilities for fulfilling their mission. Tuesday’s discussion was fruitful and gave hope. It also highlighted some of the biggest hurdles Vermont faces, such as the need for more access to broadband and the need for more federal aid. However, it also put the spotlight on how creative we are as a state. With collaborative energy, innovation and creative resources, our communities can make progress through this challenging time, with the arts being at the forefront.

— Gareth Henderson

All eyes on business

In a week that brings the reopening of several more sectors in Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott and his team unveiled a $400 million relief package on Wednesday to help businesses survive the pandemic.

The package is funded through the federal CARES Act and includes two phases: $310 million for immediate relief, and a $90 million investment to help the economy. The overall approach focuses on financial, technical and housing aid, combined with marketing and consumer spending assistance. Officials hope it will help employers and small businesses plug financial gaps and begin to stabilize their operations.

“The storm is not over, but this is our first collective step towards repairing economic bridges and ensuring the survival of our business community,” said Lindsay Kurrle, the secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. 

Once the Legislature approves this funding, Kurrle said she hopes the funding can be turned around in less than a month, but there is no firm time frame. The largest portion of this package is $250 million in financial assistance in direct grants and loans to businesses. Of that total, $150 million will be used to provide grants to the hardest-hit sectors of food and accommodation services, retail and agriculture. The $150 million in funds will help with fixed-cost expenses such as rent, mortgage payments, utilities, inventory and other essential costs. 

Secretary Anson Tebbetts, of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, described the deep losses experienced by Vermont farmers, and said five dairy farms closed in the first week of May. 

“Now is our time to support the backbone of Vermont, so it can heal and create a path forward that protects those who make a living off the land,” Tebbetts said.

Also from the $250 million, $80 million in grants and low- to no-interest loans will be available for other sectors; and $20 million in loans and grants are allocated for small businesses and nonprofits with less than $1 million in revenue and five or fewer employees. Other funding in the proposal supports landlords and tenants and will provide aid to homeless individuals.

On the cusp of summer, the state is also providing funds to businesses in the tourism sector and is planning a marketing effort to encourage Vermonters to explore the state and spend locally. 

Today’s announcement was welcome news for the many businesses experiencing extreme hardships. Though some sectors have reopened, business owners everywhere face the impact of big losses in the last two months. This financial package — sure to see quick action by lawmakers — is only a small part of the solution. As the governor said, more help from the federal government will be crucial. But the state’s $400 million proposal is at least a step toward stemming the economic tide of the COVID-19 crisis. This effort, combined with efforts to buy local and help our neighbors, can aid the economy at a time when we badly need progress. 

— Gareth Henderson 

Reopening retail

Jeffrey Kahn, owner of the Unicorn in Woodstock, Vermont, talks about the store’s puzzles, which have been his number-one seller during quarantine. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Not every Vermont retail business reopened on Monday, the first day the state said they could, but those who did soon felt the love from eager shoppers ready to step out of the house and back into a store. 

In Woodstock, Vermont, downtown merchants reported fairly steady foot traffic on this momentous day during the pandemic. They mentioned that most customers came in wearing masks and gladly followed precautions the stores required. 

"People have been so appreciate we've been open," said Jeffrey Kahn, owner of the Unicorn, on Monday afternoon. "They've been very happy we have the station by the door with the antiseptic for people to sanitize their hands; no one's groused about that."

No more than four people were allowed into the store at a time, but that didn't limit the uplifting feeling of seeing others in person. Kahn greatly missed the interaction and conversation with customers in recent weeks, and on Monday, customers expressed that sentiment, too. 

"That really made my heart warm," Kahn said. 

Kim Smith, co-owner of 37 Central Clothiers in Woodstock, called it a busy Monday. 

"We haven't stopped all day," she said. "People are so excited to be out." 

Smith re-arranged her merchandise in the shop so people can easily browse while practicing social distancing of six feet. 

"We've seen a lot of moms and their daughters who are supposed to be in college but they're not," she said. "It's nice to see some locals, too. They've been very supportive through all this." 

The past two months have indeed been rough on merchants, but having people in the store was progress. 

"We're not looking to catch up," Smith said. "We're looking to survive right now." 

Some new additions to the local shopping experience might stick around. For example, over the past two months, Kahn has been using Facetime to remotely show products to customers with his iPhone, and plans to keep using that tool going forward. He said curbside pick-up is also continuing.

Some local shops, however, opted to remain closed to in-person shopping for safety reasons. The Yankee Bookshop's owners, Kari Meutsch and Kristian Preylowski, sent out an email to customers on Sunday saying they would not open their doors on Monday, but are taking steps toward reopening safely.

"We are getting our safety equipment in line, and reorganizing our workflow to be compliant with social distancing," they wrote. "There is a lot to figure out even in a small bookshop, but we are working on it." 

Meanwhile, the bookshop is still taking online and phone orders and will continue to offer curbside pickup.

In nearby Hartford, it was the same look during a beautiful sunny Monday: some shops opened up, others were in preparation mode. 

“It’s a mixed bag for sure,” said PJ Skehan, executive director of the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce. He noted there were a lot of regulations involved for the stores. “Overall, they’re eager to get going, but there’s a lot of concern over doing it right."

Some of that concern included having enough protective masks and gloves to operate, and others were working on signage. Skehan added that, for some of the larger retailers, opening with the required 25-percent limit on occupancy did not make financial sense. 

"There's definitely excitement in the air, but there's also apprehension," he said. "It's a whole new ballgame." 

Skehan encouraged customers to be patient, and he saw that in action during a recent trip to buy garden supplies.

"People were being respectful, which is great," he said. 

If Monday's visits to local stores were any indication, there is a lot of hopeful energy in the air, maybe even momentum toward better days. The progress made thus far is encouraging. Vermont’s progress, however, took weeks to secure, and each safety precaution is a step in the right direction. Let's work together to carry the state and the nation forward. 

— Gareth Henderson