THE SHOW MUST GO ON

The coronavirus pandemic may have put the arts in San Diego on pause, but in this time of crisis, organizations big and small vow to continue doing what they do best

If we have nothing to write about, will they still read us?

That existential question quickly became all too real on the morning of March 12 when the San Diego Latino Film Festival announced it was canceling its massive celebration of cinematic arts due to coronavirus concerns.

One by one, arts groups informed us about cancellations, closures and postponements.

It was Thursday, the day our weekly entertainment guide, Night+day, publishes. By mid-morning, it was becoming apparent that many of the events we’d written about that day were going the way of the Latino Film Festival.

By early Thursday afternoon, the San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Music Society, San Diego Opera and La Jolla Playhouse issued a joint statement that they, too, would be shutting down productions.

“While we are deeply saddened to take this action, we feel it is imperative in the effort to safeguard the health and well-being of our patrons, performers, staff and volunteers,” the statement said.

With one announcement, those four San Diego arts organizations opened the floodgates. One by one, arts and entertainment institutions announced temporary closures or permanent cancellations altogether. First, a trickle.

The Old Globe. Rolando Street Fair. San Diego Music Awards. San Diego Rep. Then a downpour.

San Diego Zoo. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Cygnet Theatre. Warwick’s. Poway Center for the Performing Arts. Centro Cultural de la Raza. Belly Up. North Coast Rep. Pechanga Resort Casino. House of Blues. Choral Consortium of San Diego. San Diego Museum of Art. California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

On and on and on.

The list grew. Quickly.

By Friday, the entire arts and entertainment team had been forced to work from home. So by email and through phone calls, we talked about what we would write about.

The arts, suddenly, were on pause. For how long, no one really knew.

We were, as a group, anxious, confused. How about the rest of the arts community? How were they feeling?

What would a spring without the arts look like — and how will they cope?

We asked, and some of them share their thoughts in these pages today.

Collectively, artists are resilient — creative, industrious, easy to adapt, open to reinvention. That’s what I see in the following essays. There’s still a lot of uncertainty. But past that, there’s a lot of talk about looking ahead. Making new connections. Creating safe havens. Finding light in the darkness.

We must move forward. It’s truly our only choice. And move forward we will.