Survey of US Arts Organizations Points to Devastating Losses During Pandemic

$4.5 billion: that’s the estimated financial toll of the coronavirus outbreak on the US cultural sector to date, calculated based on data from an ongoing survey by Americans for the Arts (AFTA). To put the figure in perspective, it is 22.5 times the combined $200 million allocated to the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the stimulus bill passed by Congress two weeks ago.

Gathering responses from 11,004 arts organizations as of this writing, AFTA’s survey looks not simply at dollars lost, but at other important indicators of the sector’s health, such as attendance. Economic impact is measured via three categories: loss of admissions revenue (ticket sales, memberships); loss of non-admissions revenue (gift shop sales, contributions); and unexpected expenses (including spending on cleaning and disinfecting protocols, new technologies, and cancelation fees for postponed events.)