CommunityConversations: The show will, and must, go on for Dayton’s arts
The majority of the arts in Ohio are still closed to the public and the industry is suffering from the highest unemployment rate in the state.
Dayton Daily Newcommunity impact editor Amelia Robinson gathered Dayton’s leaders in the arts for a panel discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 15, about what thismeans for the Dayton region.
Speakers included Neal Gittleman of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, LisaWagner of Levitt Pavilion, ShaynaMcConville of the Kettering Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Dept., Tiffany Clark of TheMuralMachine, Eva Buttacavoli of TheContemporary Dayton, Ty Sutton of Dayton Live, Michael Roediger of Dayton Art Institute, Debbie Blunden-Diggs of DCDC and Bing Davis ofWillis “Bing” Davis Studio and Ebonnia Gallery.
“Will the Show go on?” was the question asked at the beginning of Tuesday’s discussion.
How does the community stop the curtain from falling on the arts in Dayton?
The hour-long discussion was hopeful and honest, and offered communitymembersnot directly involved in arts programs ways to help.
“There has to be an acknowledgmentthat the arts are anindustry,” Sutton said. “A lot of times, people just think that they’re ( just) this nice thing. We’re bigger than agriculture (industry), so when people start to see that and hear that, it starts to make them think a little bit.”
Pre-pandemic, arts and cultural organizations in theDaytonregion generated an estimated $214 million, and roughly 9,000jobs, said AngelaMeleca, Ohio Citizens for the Arts executive director.
“We aren’t facing an ‘arts crisis’ but a business crisis,” Meleca said. “Without emergency relief funding, our state is on the verge of permanently losingmany of its most iconic, historic, nationally
and internationally prominent arts institutions.”
The sense of urgency conveyed by panelists was accompanied by optimism. In addition to monetary donations, the leaders talked about ways the community has reached out to seewhat they can do to help.
On Sept. 1, more than 5,000buildings across North America were illuminated in red, including nearly 20 venues in theDayton region. The goal was to raise public awareness that the liveevents industry is on “Red Alert” for its survival and to raise awareness about the Save Our Stages andRESTARTAct aswell as extending Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
“Before that night, we had not gotten commitments from ( Senator) Sherrod Brownor (Senator) RobPortman to support the Restart Act or the Save Our Stages Act or continuing unemployment benefits," Sutton said. "They have both signed onto the Save Our StagesAct since then.”
Sutton encouraged residents to continue to contact legislators to voice support for the Save Our Stages Act and visit saveourstages.com.
The panel covered nearly all corners of Dayton's arts — fromeducation to concert directors. Each participant shared how their agency has adapted and survived this year.
Levitt Pavilion in downtown Dayton was just approaching its second full season when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
“We really were building momentum of having over 75,000 people downtown and the ripple effect of that in our community downtown,” Wagner said. “Everybodywas feeling really great aboutwhat was happening. I will share that you either feel paralyzed or you have to do something and (so) we pivoted into a virtual space as well.”
Putting to work as many of its crewas possible, Levitt has been filming four local or regional bands one Saturday every month on the Levitt stage to broadcast to Dayton as a part of the “Levitt on your Lawn” program. Performing artists, stagehands and film crew are all paid for their work.
“I will say it was bittersweet to hear Livemusic on the stage and not see anybody on the lawn,” Wagner said. “Thatwas really, really hard because there's a lot of love coming from that lawn when we're together.”
“Bittersweet” was a common theme throughout the discussion, as some new strategies that have been developed because of the pandemic might actually help programs post- pandemic, panelists shared.
“Our education team has created a whole stockpile now of virtual experiences that teachers can tap into ... they're hungry for that,” Roediger said. “I think we are going to grow from this because we're going to continuewhenwe're open (and have) live tours again, but this virtual content people are eating up and I think they will later, too.”
The region's youth was another big focus of the discussion, as many of the virtual programs have been geared to supplement the next generation of artists in the city. Lifting up young artists is one of the most important ways people can help the local arts right now, panelists said.
“I think the best thing parents can do right now is feed their kids' desire for art,” Roediger said. “We are going to see aboomofmusic and dance andmusic being written and art being made whenwe get through all this. It's happened over and over in history that there's these whole bodies of work built during a war, and we're going to have that during this. So feed those kids so they're ready to go into and beworking artistswhenwe get through this.”
It's no secret the arts are facing unprecedented challenges. However, people should know that Dayton has a powerhouse of leaders in our arts community who feel optimistic.
“It goes back to the question of, ‘ Will the show go on?' The show will go on,” Gittleman said. “It will look different, but one reason why it will go on is, all of us, whetherwe are performing artists or individual artists or whatever, we are not only creative people and imaginative people, we are stubborn people and we do not give up.”
Tuesday's panelwas a part of the Dayton Daily News Community Conversations, hostedbyRobinsonandLivestreamed on Facebook. It canbe viewed ontheDayton Daily News Facebook page.