2021 REOPENING GUIDE

ARTS ORGANIZATIONS & VENUES

TOGETHER, WE WILL RECOVER AND REOPEN

ArtsBoston appreciates the hard work that goes into your planning for this challenging season. We’ve been doing our own reopening plans while being a source for clear and updated audience data, advocacy on behalf of the sector at the municipal and state levels, and convening our membership to share vital best practices as we all navigate this new landscape.

ArtsBoston is at the center of reopening planning for Greater Boston’s arts and cultural community. We’ve gathered these resources for you about public health protocols at live performances around the region, updated arts news, and tools to help you feel ready for your next arts experience.

Looking for Audience Info? CLICK HERE

THE HUNTINGTON: REOPENING TO LIVE EVENTS WEBINAR

As arts and cultural organizations are re-opening with COVID safety protocols, we know there are many questions about how best to communicate with the public, training front of house staff, and managing expectations with artists and production teams in real-time. On September 27, we partnered with The Huntington to share their experiences with COVID safety protocols and reopening the Calderwood Pavilion to live performances.

WATCH RECORDING (1 hour)

FRONT OF HOUSE COVID SAFETY VERIFICATION GUIDE (pdf)

DOWNLOAD SLIDES (pdf)

THE LATEST DATA ON AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS: Audience Outlook Monitor

ArtsBoston’s survey of audiences with national consulting firm WolfBrown has been going for more than a year and the data has proven helpful to members across the ArtsBoston member spectrum.  Learn more about what audiences are thinking and feeling about their return to performances, and what they expect from venues and organizations like yours.

VIEW THE LATEST LOCAL RESEARCH (updated as of 11/23/21)

WATCH WOLF BROWN’S EXECUTIVE BRIEFING: NOV 15 (30 minutes)

PRESS RELEASE ARCHIVE

SOCIAL, BLOG AND WEB CONTENT TO SHARE

We’ve created a variety of informative and fun infographics, blog posts and other materials you are free to use on your social media platforms, in organizational newsletters, on your website, in the theater, and anywhere that’s helpful. We’re updating these regularly so check back often for new stuff that you can use.

Infographics

Pulling from crucial audience data as well as other sources, ArtsBoston has created these infographics that you may use in your digital communications. To save the images: 1) click on the image you would like to save 2) right click on the image in the pop-up window that appears 3) select “Save Image As”. The corresponding caption is beneath each image.

Blog Posts and Newsletter Links

Want your audiences to know the latest news but don’t have time to write it?  Check out some of our pre-written content that you may use in your audience communications.  Have ideas of what might be helpful to you?  Let us know!

READY FOR SOME MORE IN-DEPTH EXPERTISE?

If you have a little more time and want to dive deeper into the issues about reopening, the latest thinking on COVID protection, and other key topics, think about watching these recent webinars on a variety of topics.  Before you watch, note the airdates; some situations have changed rapidly.  But there’s great information in each one below.

ArtsBoston Webinars

  • August 2021: “Towards ‘Normalization’ of Covid-19 as an Acceptable Risk”
    With venues reopening and nearly 100% of Boston arts audiences vaccinated, we have entered a new stage of the pandemic. A significant share of the audience is concerned about the Delta variant, is fueling this caution. Presented by ArtsBoston partner Alan Brown of WolfBrown, with guest speaker James Doeser, and a facilitated Q&A with Victoria Bailey, this webinar focuses on vaccine requirements, masking protocols, and whether COVID-19 is an ongoing but acceptable risk.
  • June 2021: Roadmap to Recovery and Resilience: Arts Reopening in Greater Boston  
    This webinar centered around a Q&A discussion with Dr. Joe Allen, Director Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Ryan McKittrick, Director of Artistic Programs and Dramaturg at American Repertory Theater.  Includes links to summary reports and other takeaways.
  • May 2021: Arts Sector Reopening: Update
    Led regionally by ArtsBoston, and conducted by the international arts consulting firm WolfBrown, the Audience Outlook Monitor (AOM) is a longitudinal survey to keep tabs on arts attendees’ thoughts, concerns, and intentions as the pandemic — and the state’s reopening guidelines — evolve.

RECENT NEWS COVERAGE

In case you missed it, here’s some recent coverage about how the sector and your colleagues with fact, figures and analysis about reopening the arts. Check back often for updates.