Guild Family COVID-19 Update

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Dear Creative Arts Guild Friends and Family,

The Creative Arts Guild is mindful that over the past few weeks the COVID-19 pandemic has showered our community with fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. The virus has impacted the health of our neighbors, strained our medical capacity, and is even beginning to fracture our economy. We are all watching it unfold in slow-motion; some of our neighbors have already fallen sick, some have lost their jobs, and we are told things will get worse before they get better. As our global community battles the coronavirus, we are all forced to make changes. To slow down and even completely halt our normal lives - to physically distance ourselves from each other, and to wait until this virus runs its course and is defeated. For the arts, it is uncertain times like the present that offer the most opportunity for the power of our imagination to envision and our hearts to create, and so, we choose to be hopeful. Hopeful because the arts have intrinsic powers that prevail in difficult times. Artists, by their very nature, are problem solvers. Flexible, creative thinkers, our artists are adaptable and in uncertain times, often become our best leaders. It is times like these that the power of the arts is at its strongest as the arts are the universal language of expression for all of humanity. It is times like these that the arts bind us, calm us, and show us what it means to be human. From an impromptu opera belted from a balcony in Italy, to John Legend tickling the ivories in his living room, to live arts lessons and experiences shared on social media by our own Creative Arts Guild staff, the arts transcend fear and restore hope.  

Like everyone else, the Creative Arts Guild continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic closely in order to balance the health and safety of our staff, patrons, and community with the fulfillment of our mission to cultivate and sustain the arts.  

Here are the steps we've taken so far:

  1. In accordance with recommendations from the CDC, we closed our facilities on March 15, 2020 to do our part in stopping the spread of COVID-19. We now plan to keep our facilities closed through April 30. We will make a decision about May in the coming weeks and will keep you informed in a timely manner.
  2. We have suspended all in person classes and workshops for the month of April. The make-up dates scheduled for March classes missed will be moved to new dates once we know when we will be able to open again. We will be offering some new teleconferencing group arts lessons in this time apart and will send those details to you ASAP. In the meantime, stay home and stay well! We will look forward to seeing you soon! *Please see departmental details for April below.
  3. We have canceled our annual Spring for the Arts fundraiser which was scheduled for March 19, 2020. For ticket holders, we hope you might consider your ticket purchase a donation to the Guild in support of all of our Arts in Education programs including our part of the O.N. Jonas Artist in Residence Partnership as the fundraiser was intended to support. If you would like to receive a refund for your ticket, please contact Leanne Martin at leanne@creativeartsguild.org.
  4. Our staff has been directed to work from home.
  5. And, we have adapted. We are now providing online art content such as daily instructional and inspirational videos, which can be accessed through our Facebook page every weekday at noon – a series we are calling “Noon Arts.” Many of our instructors have added prerecorded classes to YouTube for students to continue their arts education at home. We have also compiled an incredible list of online arts resources that we have collected from our worldwide arts community that can be accessed HERE.

These have not been easy steps to take. The Guild is, after all, a small business. And like all the other small businesses in this community, these steps have caused, and will continue to cause, great financial strain. At this point, however, we are more concerned about the health of our staff, patrons, and community than the health of our bottom line. We will take each blind step forward knowing that the strength of the Guild’s foundation is nearly 60 years and our whole community strong and we have no doubts that we will be here as the community’s arts and culture partner on the other side of this crisis.

We hope you'll tune in to see some of our amazing teachers and artists working to inspire you and share the power of the arts over social media. Even better, we hope you'll tune into yourself and find the artist lying within you. In these quiet moments as we wait for the crisis to run its course (and it will), we hope that you will discover a bit more of yourself, express a bit more of yourself, love a bit more of yourself, and, in the end, truly find what it means to capture the power of the arts.

From the Guild's family to yours, may you stay healthy and safe, and we look forward to seeing you on the other side. #thisisyourguild

Warmly,

Amanda Brown

Executive Director

on Behalf of the Creative Arts Guild Board and Staff


DEPARTMENTAL DETAILS REGARDING APRIL CLOSURE

CULINARY ARTS – In person classes and workshops have been canceled and will be rescheduled once the CDC guidelines report that it is safe to gather. For questions, email leanne@creativeartsguild.org.

DANCE – No dance classes will meet in the month of April and no tuition will be billed. While recital will have to be postponed, we have every intention of still holding it. Our April and May dance months will be adjusted to become May and June (or June and July depending on when we are able to safely resume classes). New recital dates will be sent out as soon as we confirm them with the theatre, as they are working to reschedule all of their performance dates as well.  This understandably may take some time and we appreciate your patience. In the meantime, students should continue to practice their recital dances (all dances are on YouTube on the “creative arts guild dance department” channel) and maintain their classwork from home. Despite these hiccups, we intend to complete our year strong and are looking forward to the day we are all back in the studios together again! For questions, email jessief@creativeartsguild.org.

GYMNASTICS - As sad as we all are that we are not seeing our students and spending time in the gym, we know the safety of everyone is most important. The remaining 8 weeks of Session 4 will now be offered in the months of June and July: June 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd and July 6th, 13th, 20 and 27th. Students will remain in their regular scheduled classes and their time and day will not change. If you come on Tuesdays at 4:30 you will still come on Tuesdays at 4:30. There will be some more summer options added, but our summer schedule and camps will be reworked to accommodate the remainder of Spring session. We will still have our EXPO at the end of July and we look forward to gathering all together and sharing what we have learned all year long! Our timeline may different, but our commitment to our students and our love of gymnastics is still the same. We cannot wait to be back with everyone in a safe and healthy environment. For questions email amandaw@creativeartsguild.org.

MUSIC - Music Lessons will continue to be offered via teleconference. Any Music Lessons missed in March will be made up upon the Guild's reopening or through teleconference as arranged with your individual teachers. No pre-billing or auto drafts will be done for April. Lesson payments due for April will be determined at the end of the month. For questions, email lisae@creativeartsguild.org.

VISUAL ARTS  - The remaining 8 weeks of classes left in our Spring session will be moved to the months of June and July. We will additionally continue to offer all of our summer camp options. A few of our instructors will be offering classes through zoom teleconference and will contact you on an individual basis about participation. The Creative Arts Guild May Gallery Opening and Artist Reception has been cancelled; please join us on June 5th for our next gallery opening and artist reception. As always, our Robert T. Webb Sculpture Garden remains open Dawn to Dusk, 7 Days a Week, 365 Days a Year. For questions, email savannaht@creativeartsguild.org.