A Seattle-based advocacy and support group for nonprofit arts organization has attempted to quantify just how devastating the pandemic has been for the city’s cultural organizations and artists.

According to the study from ArtsFund, across 121 reporting organizations, there was a 21% decrease in overall revenue in 2020 as the pandemic and COVID restrictions shuttered venues, closed down productions, and canceled events and showings.

According to the study based on surveys and polling, the declines are continuing. “The pandemic has indisputably changed us forever, and many of the longer-term impacts have yet to fully reveal themselves,” the study’s results conclude. “Though limited, our survey data shows that organizations are far from recovery and running out of options.”

Among recommendations, the study’s authors call for legislation to increase financial support for the arts, efforts to protect worker wages and wage stability, an increased focus on equity in arts funding, and an elevation of “arts and culture” in government decisions to “center the cultural sector in economic development strategies, encourage cross-sector partnerships, and generate new audience research.”

You can read the full study here.

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