Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, And Atlanta Opera Collaborate To Create PPE For Hospitals And Community

Three pillars of the Atlanta arts community have joined forces to produce hospital gowns for Grady Health System.

Eighteen full-time artists and 27 part-time and volunteer staff who work in the costume shops of Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, and The Atlanta Opera are working from home to sew and deliver approximately 500 gowns per week while their respective performances are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The gowns will help relieve the shortages in hospital supplies affecting hospitals nationwide. The joint initiative is scheduled through June, and the organizations are pursuing additional funding to continue throughout the summer.

While this collaboration represents a new initiative, all three organizations have been actively producing personal protective equipment (PPE) since the pandemic began to spread in the U.S. in mid-March. The Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Ballet's costume shop artists began by producing medical mask covers for Grady Health System, while Alliance Theatre's costume and production artists worked to produce protective mask covers for Emory Healthcare.

To date, the Alliance has delivered over 3,000 masks/400 gowns; the Atlanta Ballet has delivered over 2,256 masks/600 gowns/250 scrub caps; and The Atlanta Opera has delivered over 1,700 masks/505 gowns. All three organizations will continue to provide mask covers as well as the gowns. Fabric face masks are also available for sale to the public on the Alliance Theatre's website.