Surveys Say Cincinnati Arts Community is Eager to Return, but Wary of Being in Crowds

The Cincinnati Business Courier has reported that as the country begins to reopen from lockdown, the Cincinnati arts community is eager to return to business as usual, but wary of the health risks that come with being in a crowd.

Read the full story HERE.

Local and national surveys are asking Americans what will make them feel safe attending events again. Museums are set to reopen first, followed by theaters and concert halls.

Despite the fact that people are eager to return, many say they will only feel save once there is a vaccine for COVID-19.

Cincinnati Community Orchestra player Karen Kruse shared that she won't feel 100% confident going to a live performance until there is a vaccine, but she "may be willing to take some risks if the concert is compelling enough."

She continued to say, "I'm kind of waiting to see what happens with the virus as we open up this summer. If it seems to be working, I would consider going to a concert if people were masked, and there are attempts to socially distance the audience members," she said. "But I imagine I will be cutting back on activities to limit interactions and will probably choose fewer concerts."

Alecia Kintner, president and CEO of ArtsWave shared: "We'll be asking our local audiences how they feel about resuming all kinds of activity, including arts activity, using that information to inform the reopening strategy in our largest institutions... What has become clear to us, is that the reopening really varies by artistic discipline, so the survey is going to audiences of different kinds of organizations. Because museums will reopen sooner, knowing how museum patrons will feel about that will help theaters understand what they can do to make people feel comfortable when it is safe for them to reopen."

Check out the full story HERE.