News…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History and the State Arts Office will be facilitating a series of free-form and topic-focused discussions via online conferences centered around the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on artists and arts organizations in West Virginia. Each session will be approximately one hour long and free to join. No reservations are necessary.

Schedule of Sessions:

Friday, July 24, 10 a.m.: Free-Form Discussion for Arts Organization Staff. Share with fellow West Virginia arts and culture organizations staff how you are doing, what struggles you are having, what information you need, or what resources you have discovered. In turn, you can hold space for others, provide support, listen, and learn.

Wednesday, July 29, 10 a.m.: Free-Form Discussion for Artists: Share with fellow West Virginia artists how you are doing, what struggles you are having, what information you need, or what resources you have discovered. In turn, you can hold space for others, provide support, listen, and learn.

Wednesday, August 5, 10 a.m.: Fundraising During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Join marketing and management consultant and Peer Assistance Network Advisor Terri Cutright, of Terri Reed Cutright & Associates, for a presentation and discussion centered around fundraising during the pandemic. The presentation will cover several fundraising ideas, grants and government assistance, as well as strategies for communicating with donors. It will end with a Q & A session.

Tuesday, August 11, 2 p.m.: Adapting Arts Programs and Presentations to Virtual Platforms – What Are We Learning? This will be an open conversation facilitated by Community Arts Coordinator Jack O’Hearn. What is working and not working about moving your artistic presentation or programming into virtual platforms? How will virtual presentation and programming influence the way you work post-pandemic?

Thursday, August 13, 2 p.m.: Arts and Social Distancing: Returning to a New Normal. Wondering what re-opening guidelines are going to look like? Have you begun planning? Join Director of Arts Lance Schrader and Community Arts Coordinator Jack O’Hearn for a discussion that looks at best practices and strategies for reopening safely and responsibly. If you are an arts organization that has been able to resume in-person programming in some way, this will be an opportunity to share your experiences with peers throughout the state.

Details on how to join these discussion are below and for more information contact Jack O’Hearn, WVDACH community arts coordinator, at (304) 558-0240 or Jack.J.Ohearn@wv.gov.

To join a Peer Support Session, open the Zoom app or visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/join

Enter Meeting ID: 835 0292 7243

Enter Password: 734833

To join the session by phone, call: +1 646 558 8656

PLEASE NOTE: All peer support sessions will be recorded for future uncommercial use by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. By entering into a session, you grant the WVDACH permission for the use of your image from the sound and/or video of the Peer-to-Peer session. If you would like to participate but wish to remain as anonymous as possible, it is suggested you call-in or disable your video during the session.

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