Voici les réponses non éditées, non censurées, non évaluées (publiées dans l’ordre de réception, les plus récentes en haut, à partir du 5 mai 2020) à la question de :
Quel impact le coronavirus / COVID-19 a-t-il eu sur vous, personnellement et/ou professionnellement ? Racontez-nous votre histoire.
Profondément. 3 Tournée de danse contemporaine annulée jusqu’à maintenant avec les compagnie de Catherine Gaudet et Mélanie Demers.
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Je produis des concerts auxquels je participe également. L’année 2020 devait être l’une des plus fructueuses de l’histoire de ma petite compagnie de concerts, avec un calendrier de représentations incroyablement chargé. Ma société emploie 8 artistes pour ces concerts, et nous donnons habituellement environ 150 concerts par an. En raison de Covid, presque tous nos concerts pour les 6 prochains mois ont été annulés, et il est fort possible que nous ne nous produisions dans aucun des 26 théâtres qui nous ont engagés pour 2020, et que toutes les représentations soient reportées en 2021, ce qui représentera une perte de revenus de mars à décembre pour 2020.
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Ma pratique a été durement touché. Bien que j’aie la chance d’avoir un emploi de jour relativement sûr, je compte sur le revenu supplémentaire que me procure ma pratique pour survivre à Vancouver en tant qu’artiste. Ce revenu permet non seulement de financer ma pratique, mais aussi de réduire la dette que j’ai contractée à l’école d’art. Sans l’argent provenant de ma pratique, je suis au point mort. Je ne peux pas acheter de nouvelles fournitures sans la garantie d’un revenu ultérieur. Je suis équipé pour faire face à un mois ou deux sans revenus, mais je ne suis pas en mesure de maintenir un cabinet après cela. Les dépenses liées à mon activité continuent de s’accumuler, même sans rentrée d’argent. J’organise moi-même une exposition chaque année et une grande partie de l’argent que j’y ai investi est maintenant gaspillé. Je dois payer un contrat pour un publiciste malgré le report de mon exposition. Des parrainages ont été perdus, des ventes et des commissions ont été annulées, des offres de conférences d’artistes et d’autres opportunités rémunérées ont été annulées, et les écrits pour d’autres sites web se sont taris. Je dois encore payer les loyers et les autres dépenses liées à ma pratique, notamment les abonnements aux logiciels, etc. Je suis très anxieuse et j’ai le moral à zéro. Je crains de ne pas être en mesure de me remettre de ces pertes.
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Sur le plan professionnel, j’ai été entièrement et complètement affecté, avec tous mes angles de travail arrêtés net. Au cours des dernières années, j’ai travaillé à Toronto en tant que tromboniste, compositeur, arrangeur, coordinateur de production et machiniste, en me diversifiant pour pouvoir prendre le relais lorsque divers aspects de mon travail s’affaiblissent. Cette mesure de protection que j’ai prise au cours de ces années de diversification n’a pas pu faire face aux effets de Covid-19 et je suis maintenant livré à moi-même pour trouver un but à mon temps, et pour trouver des sources de revenus qui pourraient survivre à ce genre de situation. Cependant, le travail de ma femme n’étant pas affecté financièrement et la PCU nous mettant à l’abri de la ruine économique.
Personnellement, je dois relever le défi de remplir mes journées de productivité, de bien-être physique et de perspectives positives. J’ai la chance de ne pas avoir ressenti les effets des virus sur ma santé ou celle de ma famille et j’en suis reconnaissant.
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Répétitions et représentations annulées pour la tournée canadienne d’une pièce de danse-théâtre dans plusieurs villes. Personnellement, je vis une rupture amoureuse et j’ai de la difficulté à passer à autre chose. C’est déroutant.
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Perte de tous mes contrats du printemps/été : Avril ; résidence d’artiste à Berlin suivi d’exposition à Londres repoussés donc voyage d’un mois en Europe annulé (financement confirmé, mais bloqué). Mai ; commissariat pour les oriflammes de la piste cyclable pour le Conseil des Arts de Vaureuil-Soulange, avec mission photographique repoussée (aucune date à venir). Mai, juin : Résidence de création avec la communauté et exposition d’été pour les 10 ans de la Rencontre Photographique de Kamouraska repoussé, possiblement carrément à l’année prochaine. En temps que collaboratrice pour le festival Phénomena, annulation des contrats photos (festival annulé, combat contre la langue de bois annulé). S’ajouteront à ça probablement quelques contrats de photo de plateau en cinéma et tout autre offre que j’aurais pu recevoir cet été.
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Mon nouveau roman, « The Sign on My Father’s House », a remporté le concours NL Reads 2020, mais à cause du virus, la cérémonie de remise du prix Margaret Duley qui en découlait a été annulée. Cela a tué la publicité engendrée par l’événement et la promotion de mon livre.
Mes séances de dédicace chez Costco, Chapters et d’autres librairies ont toutes été annulées. De plus, la fermeture de nombreux magasins a eu un impact négatif sur les ventes de mon livre.
J’ai dû annuler une tournée provinciale des librairies et des bibliothèques.
Le Woody Island Retreat avait prévu un séminaire d’écrivains du 24 au 26 juin, et m’avait engagé pour faire une formation de deux jours pour les jeunes écrivains. Je devais recevoir 500 $, ainsi que les repas et l’hébergement gratuits pour ces journées. Le séminaire est maintenant annulé à cause du virus.
Mon histoire « Pegasus » a gagné le concours des Arts et des Lettres de NL. La réception et la cérémonie annuelles de remise des prix étaient prévues mais ont été annulées. La publicité aurait aidé à promouvoir mon livre.
J’ai été obligée de promouvoir mon livre sur Internet et j’ai dû acheter du matériel d’éclairage, par exemple un micro à condensateur Shure MV 88 (242 dollars). Voir le lien vers mon site Facebook Live : http://www.facebook.com/thomasmoorewriter.
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Évacuation de la résidence à l’étranger. Rapatriement coûteux. Foire d’art annulée. Exposition du musée reportée. 1 exposition municipale et 2 expositions dans des galeries commerciales reportées. Doit un jour retourner en résidence à l’étranger pour remplir les conditions de la bourse, mais sans aide au voyage pour y retourner.
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Je viens de devenir résidente permanente du Canada à la fin du mois de janvier de cette année (j’étais déjà au Canada tout au long du processus d’immigration, car je suis mariée à un Canadien). Je me suis retrouvée légalement capable de travailler à nouveau – dans le domaine des arts et ailleurs – et je cherchais activement des expositions, des subventions et des emplois au moment où cette crise a éclaté. Et maintenant, il n’y a plus d’opportunités rémunérées à trouver, que ce soit dans les arts ou ailleurs. Comme je n’avais pas d’emploi ou d’exposition en vue avant le début de la crise du coronavirus (je n’avais pas encore trouvé d’emploi, ni reçu de subvention ou d’exposition, même si j’étais en train de postuler activement), je ne suis pas admissible au PCU ou aux fonds de secours d’urgence pour les artistes (car tous sont basés sur la perte de revenu). Je suis juste coincé… à attendre, sans opportunités ni revenus. J’essaie toujours de faire de l’art, mais sous l’effet du stress et sans savoir clairement à quoi ressemble mon avenir, il m’est difficile de me concentrer ou de faire quelque chose de significatif. Ma vie est en suspens, tout comme elle l’était pendant que j’attendais l’immigration, et sans fin précise en vue. Je n’aurai probablement plus de revenus, que ce soit en tant qu’artiste ou en tant que travailleur dans un autre domaine, tant que la pandémie ne sera pas terminée.
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Personnellement : J’ai perdu tout travail d’enseignement, qui était un contrat de 10 heures par semaine, et j’ai dû annuler un spectacle pour jeunes que je dirigeais. Valeur approximative de ce revenu de spectacle indépendant : 4 000 $.
Professionnellement : Mocean Dance est mon poste salarial, c’est stable. L’organisation a dû annuler des cours communautaires gratuits, un spectacle public et deux projets qui engageaient 12 artistes. Mocean a pu payer à tous les artistes une indemnité d’annulation de 50 % du contrat prévu.
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Les deux en fait et assez considérablement. Ce fut vraiment difficile car nous avons 3 organismes de bienfaisance canadiens et nous étions en effervescence. Au mois de mars et notre Compétition était le 2,3,4,5, avril 2020 à l’Université Laval car nous sommes partenaires avec eux. Un projet récurrent annuellement qui était complet. 50 000$ Une session Hiver non terminé 10 000$ une session printemps inexistante 50 000$ pour l’École de ballet du Québec des répétitions pour le Ballet du Québec Place des Arts – Blanche-Neige 50 000$ affichage à refaire etc… danseurs à payer tout recommencer…15 000$ de dommages collatéraux. (approximativement évalué le 15 000$) Tout avait le vent dans les voiles et ce Covid-19 nous a coupé la route littéralement. C’est très dommage. Il faut relancer ces merveilleux projets rapidement.
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Tous les cours de danses que je donnais ont bien sûr été annulé. J’ai la chance d’avoir un autre travail qui lui a pu continuer, mais mes revenus de mi-mars à la fin de l’été qui viennent de mon enseignement sont perdus. Je vis seule, ceci a aussi un impact sur ma santé psychologique, sachant que le contact avec les autres fait partie des besoins fondamentaux des humains. J’avais aussi des répétitions qui étaient prévues et tout cela a été annulé, la création en prends un coup. Mais vu qu’aucune représentation n’a encore été prévu, c’est comme si rien n’est perdu…
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Je suis interprète en danse contemporaine et j’ai perdu mes contrats les uns après les autres à partir du 5 mars 2020. Des contrats payants qui allaient m’assurer un coussin pour passer à travers les mois plus difficiles. Beaucoup de spectacles ont été annulés, des tournées et toutes mes répétitions. La vie de pigiste peut être parfois difficile à planifier. Nous comptons donc fort sur les moments à plus forts revenus tels que les spectacles et les tournées. De plus, le confinement crée une certaine léthargie qui est difficile à surmonter et la motivation de bouger se fait rare. Je me considère chanceuse malgré tout car je n’habite pas seule et je me sens supportée. Mais le moment où l’on bourra bouger ensemble me semble bien loin et les angoisses sur le retour en studio (qui est très incertain) s’accumulent à force de ne plus pouvoir m’entraîner. Pour le moment, l’aide gouvernementale est très utile, mais elle est planifiée jusqu’en juin alors que mes contrats sont tous annulés (ou certains encore en suspend) jusqu’à décembre…. comment ferons-nous pour survivre?
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Les impacts du coron virus sont multiples. D’une part, j’avais prêté mon appartement à une amie pour quelques semaines juste avant confinement. Elle y est toujours. Je suis demeurée chez mon copain où j’ai déménagé l’ordinateur de l’un de mes emplois. Mon atelier de peinture, lui, est dans cet appartement auquel je n’ai pas accès. Je loue également un atelier de céramique: nous avons reçu la directive de ne pas s’y rendre. Voici une dépense dans le vide. Perte de revenu, et défaut de production. J’ai perdu quelques événements de vente (seules source de revenu, d’ailleurs imprédictible*) pour ma production. J’ai été mise à pieds de mon seul contrat qui me paie décemment (technicienne, ville de Brossard). Malgré tout, je ne puis demander aucune aide. J’avais pris un contrat pour l’expérience (mal payé, mais potentiellement bon pour ma carrière). Celui-ci se termine en juin. Il s’agit d’un poste subventionné: je reçois moins de 2000$, plus de 1000$. Je suis coincée.
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La plupart des revenus que je tire de mon activité se sont taris ou se tariront dans les mois à venir. Mais le travail continue, car je m’efforce d’annuler et de reprogrammer les spectacles d’artistes que j’ai réservés. Mais je n’ai aucune confiance dans le fait qu’ils finiront par avoir lieu.
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J’étais en passe de connaître mon année la plus réussie à ce jour, tant en termes de qualité que de quantité de travail. En raison de toutes les annulations et de tous les reports liés au COVID-19, j’ai perdu une somme d’argent importante et des connexions futures potentielles avec des artistes.
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Je suis une artiste solo qui présente des spectacles sur les femmes noires qui ont marqué notre histoire. La majeure partie de mon travail est réalisée dans des écoles et des environnements éducatifs. Comme mon travail porte sur l’histoire des Noirs, il est très demandé en février et dans les mois qui suivent, de janvier à avril. Je réalise 80 % de mon revenu annuel pendant cette période et je n’ai fait que la moitié de ce que j’ai l’habitude de faire cette année. En raison du virus Corona, mes spectacles de fin mars et d’avril ont été brusquement annulés, de même que plusieurs spectacles publics que j’avais prévus. En tant qu’artiste éducatif, je suis extrêmement préoccupé par le fait que mon type de travail sera le dernier à se rétablir. Les écoles ne reprendront peut-être pas leurs activités avant l’automne et, lorsqu’elles le feront, les mesures de « distanciation sociale » feront en sorte que les étudiants ne se presseront probablement pas dans les gymnases pour voir des spectacles et que les artistes comme moi, qui se déplacent d’école en école, seront anathèmes pendant un certain temps. J’ai peur que mon potentiel de gain soit négativement affecté pendant un certain temps.
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professionnellement le manque de revenus et l’impossibilité de voyager vers le lieu de mon projet donc un avenir imprévisible. D’un autre côté, c’est une occasion de m’exprimer en ces temps difficiles et de donner aux gens des images de ce que nous traversons. C’est le moment d’éclairer mon travail artistique vers une expression plus positive dont notre communauté a bien besoin dans le monde entier. Cette situation est, à mon avis, un changement radical dans l’histoire de l’humanité et il nous faut beaucoup d’efforts pour gérer cette confusion massive. A mon avis et après mes études et mon implication dans ma culture et mon milieu, nous sommes dans la transition d’un cycle humain exprimé par nos ancêtres et mal interprété en 2012 par beaucoup de gens à propos de la cosmovision Maya ou du calendrier erroné.
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J’ai dû annuler 6 semaines d’ateliers, de retraites et de conférences en Europe, tous mes festivals et spectacles d’été en plein air sont annulés, j’étais sur le point de vendre 3 grandes peintures originales à un client, mais comme je ne peux pas le rencontrer, la vente est restée silencieuse…..
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– La tournée du ROSEQ du 14 au 23 mars a été annulée. Un seul lieu de représentation a été retenu.
– TanzBremen 12-16 mai Première allemande, éventuellement reportée à mars 2021.
– Les présentations du 2 juillet de 6.58:Manifesto et la résidence de deux semaines de nouvelles créations au Banff Center ont été annulées, sans certitude quant à une éventuelle réinscription pour le moment.
– Tanzmesser, Allemagne : présentation de 6.58: Manifesto, du 26 au 30 août, probablement annulée.
– Freiburg, Allemagne première internationale de 6.58:Manifesto le 16 octobre en attente, forte probabilité d’annulation
C’était une saison importante pour nous, car Parcours avait propulsé AP&A avec beaucoup de force pour notre année 2020, et était l’une de nos plus grandes années prévues à ce jour. Cela a donc mis un peu en suspens notre année 2021-22. Nous essayons toujours de réengager et de développer notre nouvelle création, car pendant ce temps, la création et la recherche en studio nous semblent plus réalisables en tant qu’artistes. D’un autre côté, nous allons très probablement perdre une partie importante de notre financement pour tous ces projets, car contrairement aux sociétés de fonctionnement, nous devons rendre les fonds pour les projets qui ont été annulés.
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Mon groupe a perdu une performance live et plusieurs sessions d’écriture et de répétition.
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À court terme, nous nous débrouillons bien, mon partenaire et moi travaillons tous deux à domicile et partageons la garde d’un bébé (pas d’obligation de scolarisation à domicile). Je suis préoccupée par le long terme. Mes revenus prévus cette année proviennent de trois sources :
Enseignement : j’ai enseigné à AUArts, ma charge de travail a été multipliée par 2 ou 3 car nous avons terminé le semestre en ligne, mais je reçois un revenu jusqu’au 30 avril. Je suis vacataire et je prévois moins de contrats, voire aucun, pour l’année universitaire à venir, en raison de la réduction des inscriptions au fur et à mesure que la pandémie se poursuit. Cela implique une perte de revenu d’environ 18 à 27 000 $ pour l’année universitaire 2020-2021.
Frais d’exposition : J’avais une exposition solo prévue d’avril à août qui a été reportée indéfiniment. Cela représente environ 3500 $ de revenus perdus ou reportés indéfiniment en frais de la Carfac.
Guide : Je travaille les mois d’été comme guide de randonnée, principalement pour des clients étrangers. Je prévois peu ou pas de travail de guide cet été. Cela représente une perte de revenu d’environ 16 000 $ pour 2020.
J’ai quelques économies, de sorte que je ne suis pas confronté à une crise financière immédiate. Cependant, lorsque je regarde l’année prochaine et que je réalise que je comptais sur un gain supplémentaire de 20 000 $ qui ne sera pas là maintenant, je suis préoccupé par le respect des obligations financières de base.
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Tout mon travail – ateliers, répétitions, représentations – a été annulé jusqu’en mai, et il semble de plus en plus probable que ce soit jusqu’en septembre. Cela inclut le travail en tant que metteur en scène invité dans une école de Halifax, en tant qu’acteur/lecteur dans un atelier, en tant qu’auteur dans un atelier d’écriture, en tant qu’instructeur à DramaFest, et très probablement en tant qu’acteur dans une compagnie saisonnière (d’été).
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J’ai perdu un contrat à la fin mai. J’ai perdu des auditions pour des spectacles d’été. Les spectacles d’automne semblent également être en suspens.
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j’ai perdu la capacité de jouer dans le groupe dont je fais partie depuis 20 ans. tous nos concerts sont annulés. je ne nous vois pas faire de spectacles pendant des années. je n’ai aucune idée du sens que prendra ma vie à l’avenir. j’ai une femme et un enfant. une hypothèque. l’avenir est effrayant et triste.
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Ces dernières semaines, j’ai vu la quasi-totalité de mes réservations – peut-être pour toute l’année – annulées. Pas toutes en même temps, mais une par une.
Ainsi, alors que l’un d’entre eux tombe et que j’essaie de trouver un espace pour faire mon deuil ou pour me faire à l’idée de cette perte, il y a toujours la crainte imminente de ne pas savoir si le prochain tombera, mais quand.
Je crains que les autres n’annulent dans les prochaines semaines. J’ai à peine le temps de reprendre mon souffle qu’un autre courriel arrive.
Mes contrats sont en grande partie saisonniers et sont réservés de 6 mois à 1 an à l’avance. Je compte réaliser la majeure partie de mes revenus annuels lors de festivals en plein air en été et au début de l’automne.
Une fois la quarantaine levée, le rétablissement ne se fera pas en quelques mois, mais en un an ou plus (potentiellement plus longtemps car de nombreux festivals s’inquiètent du risque d’une seconde vague).
Je n’ai aucune idée de la façon dont je vais couvrir mes frais de subsistance après les 4 mois de la PCU, sans parler des frais d’exploitation courants de mon entreprise.
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1) emploi à temps partiel à la Winnipeg Art Galllery (400 $/mois).
2) Report ou annulation de l’exposition de la thèse de maîtrise – l’université exige 900 $ de frais de continuation puisque je ne peux pas terminer ma thèse à l’heure prévue (studios, laboratoires, galerie fermés).
3) Exposition collective au Conseil des arts du Manitoba (340$ – reportée indéfiniment ou annulée)
4) Sessional Teaching contract cancelled (10,000$)
5) Solo exhibition planned for Fall (previously booked, now may be postponed indefinitely or cancelled, (2000$)
6) Perte de l’accès à l’espace de studio et à l’équipement pour terminer les œuvres d’art destinées à ces diverses expositions.
7) 500$ de dépenses pour transformer la salle de bain de la maison en chambre noire/studio temporaire
8) Difficulté d’approvisionnement en matériaux pour remplir les contrats
9) La fermeture des écoles, les difficultés à travailler à la maison avec 3 jeunes enfants et aucun espace de studio. Dangereux aussi, avec les outils et les produits chimiques et les dommages aux œuvres d’art.
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L’un des impacts les plus importants a été que, à la mi-mars, deux clients ont annulé d’importantes commandes de peinture en raison du COVID-19 (ils s’inquiétaient de la possibilité que le virus reste sur les articles postés, c’était avant que les autorités sanitaires ne soient certaines de la possibilité de le contracter à partir de surfaces). J’avais compté sur ces deux commandes pour pouvoir payer mes factures de mars et avril. De plus, un festival de musique et d’art populaire sur la côte ouest de Terre-Neuve a été complètement annulé pour 2020 – ce qui signifie que l’exposition annuelle LAWN à ce festival n’aura pas lieu cette année, ce qui était une autre occasion pour moi de montrer mon travail et d’en tirer un revenu. Ces deux dernières années, j’ai eu une exposition solo de mon travail au centre des arts Rotart, qui n’aura pas lieu non plus cette année. Ce n’est qu’un petit échantillon de la perte d’opportunités et de revenus qui m’affecte directement. En tant qu’artiste indépendant émergent, je n’ai commencé à montrer publiquement mon travail que fin 2018, je ne suis pas éligible à la PCU car j’ai gagné beaucoup moins de 5000 $ en 2019, et au cours des 12 derniers mois. L’exposition LAWN et le Rotart Arts Centre ne paient pas les frais d’artiste CARFAC, et je n’ai pas encore réussi à demander un financement artistique ou à obtenir une résidence d’artiste. Je n’ai pas les moyens de payer mes factures.
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Je suis un acteur et un créateur de théâtre. Je répétais un spectacle qui était à quelques jours de la première lorsqu’il a été fermé. (Heureusement, notre formidable théâtre a payé les contrats de chacun au moment de l’annulation. ) Depuis, mon spectacle d’été a également été annulé. J’ai aussi une subvention du Conseil des arts du Canada, avec laquelle j’ai développé mon propre travail, qui devait culminer par une performance publique cet été. Non seulement cette présentation est impossible, mais le travail d’atelier et de répétition qui l’aurait précédée l’est aussi maintenant. J’ai l’EXTRÊME chance d’être mariée à quelqu’un dont le salaire fait vivre notre famille. Nous sommes en mesure d’absorber la perte de revenus. Pour moi, cette situation est très sexuée, et je le constate pour beaucoup de personnes. Je suis « prise en charge » financièrement par mon conjoint, mais je ne suis plus en mesure de travailler – non seulement à cause des annulations d’événements, mais aussi parce que je suis, une fois de plus, la principale personne à prendre soin de notre enfant. Je venais juste de commencer à récupérer ma carrière après les premières années de la parentalité, et maintenant ce progrès est effacé, et je vais devoir recommencer. Je ne peux pas travailler efficacement sans garde d’enfants, à laquelle je n’ai bien sûr pas accès pour le moment, et l’école est déjà annulée pour le reste de l’année dans notre région.
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Perte de plusieurs contrats
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I had several contractual partners from university institutions, community schools, churches, artist run centres and corporate sector. Majority of these have been stopped indefinitely. I do zoom gatherings for a few educational institutions (one was non-paying). I was planning to do a land-based language week in June with a national park which suddenly stopped emailing me. Most income from zoom gigs are honorarium that might bring 5-700 for this month of April. I’m in the acting, storytelling, entertainment, cultural and educational field which require me travelling to sites and being with people. I’m approached for prayers and spiritual support and as an indigenous person we gift this to anyone who requires this kind of support. Rarely do I make money in this spiritual support i am requesting to do. The understanding from my cultural and spiritual training is if I take care of fellow human beings I will in return be taken care of. So far so good. Spirit knows who lives within the truth and purpose of my journey as a fellow human and how that translates; distance healing, moral support or ceremony.
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My work is devided between being on staff (casual) in a theatre and working for festivals and other arts organizations on contracts. The closure of theatres and other arts facilities has led to my hours having been reduced to 0 as of April 10, 2020 with the expectation that I will return to work, once events can take place again. It is still unsure, if festivals that are scheduled for later this year will take place or not.
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I am a commercial photographer, specializing in event, product, and fashion. I was laid off my part time gig shooting product for a company, and all of the events I had booked to shoot up until June have been either postponed or cancelled altogether.
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I am an Independent Arts Educator, I write musicals for children and facilitate after school drama programs in several schools and an adult special needs facility. My classes met once before spring break, the thought was that actors would be given music to learn on the break and audition up on return. When the quarantine was announced I immediately pieced together a plan; actors could audition by video, scripts could be sent virtually and I sent out choreography instruction. I estimated this would give us four weeks of time. The extension of the quarantine was a game changer, the end of the programs and all of my work. I believe that if the program was part of the school curriculum, there may have been a way to incorporate a reading or perhaps even a virtual play. However, with the learning cure and the timing so close to the end of the year drama was canceled. I am teaching virtual classes in writing for the stage, reaching out to families and staying contacted. I am thankful to have a place to live, and food to eat, I am incredibly stressed about work prospects, and what the future will mean. As an educator who teaches compassion and interaction, I am in a whole new arena looking for new ways to connect and interact.
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I would normally attend events and shoot video of the events and conduct interviews in form of journalism or make a presence in the community to show interest in the community. I attend many trade shows,expos and festivals include Winnipeg Folk Fest which has now been cancelled and shoot extensive video at the 4 day event.I also cannot work on film productions as thery are shut donw as I work in crew side and background work.
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I am an entrepreneur who does many things to make a living in my very small community. It is situated in the middle of several larger centres each about .75 – 1.25 hours away. I publish tourism booklets. This year has been very stressful with businesses backing out at the last moment. Other publications I work on have been cancelled by me, due to COVID-19. There is no point when no one can travel. I’m worried that a lot of businesses listed in one publication won’t pay me. It is hard to get paid at the best of times.
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I just released a new album in February and was supposed to head out on a national tour to promote it in mid-March. The tour dates were cancelled. I booked local gigs to make up for the lost earnings from my cancelled tour but then those were cancelled too with all the venues closed. I’ve been doing live streams but I’m not sure how to get my music out to Canadians. I’ve been making my living as a musician for the last decade, but now I’m out of work and not sure when I’ll be able to perform live again.
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Lost work coordinating a recording session, all guitar students cancelled, and lost a speaking honorarium, just in the first month. Tough to say what other work would have arrived in the coming months. I’m in the middle of trying to find legal help to recover money from a company illegally exploiting my music, and the legal aid office shut down.
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Personally, as a newcomer living in a bachelor apartment the isolation and staying home part has been detrimental to my mental health. Professionally, I have two exhibitions that have been postponed until further notice, both of them paid. My customers have all expressed financial concerns and have put some commissions and sales on hold due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19. My paid gig at a stationery printing place as a production assistant has been put on hold as the studio is now closed. My income is zero at this point.
I am using this time to work on myself and my art business, I am painting a lot more and have more focus. Yoga and meditation have helped in a major way.
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J’étais supposée faire une tournée dans le nord de l’Italie au début du mois du mai. J’ai perdu mes billets d’avions et $1300 pour 3 shows. Après, j’étais supposée faire une tournée en Australie et en Nouvelle Zélande (commençant avec un show à Vancouver) avec mon trio. J’essaie de me faire rembourser mes points Visa auxquels j’ai pu acheter mon billet aller-retour mais Air Canada ne veut pas me rembourser pour les billets d’avion que j’ai acheté pour mes deux musiciens (un totale de $4400.00 + 3 billets d’avions pour les vols internes en Australie, ce qui veut dire qu’on a perdu tous nos revenues ( $3000 chaque approx + $5000.00 en billet d’avion environ). J’ai aussi perdu une gig à Montréal au mois d’avril et je vais surement perdre un contrat d’enseignement dans un camp de jazz qui aurait eu lieu au mois d’août. En tous, je perds autour de $11,000.00 sans compter les pertes d’achat de merchandise (les cds etc.)
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Nous avions un lancement prévu dans le cadre du Salon du livre de Trois-Rivières. L’un des auteurs du numéro de la revue que nous devions lancer était invité d’honneur et nous avions bon espoir que cela ait une incidence positive sur les ventes. Malheureusement, la revue n’a pas pu être lancée et elle ne pourra pas non plus être vendu dans les librairies, même en ligne, car le distributeur n’a pas pu la livrer à temps (la livraison était prévue le 24 mars). Un de nos auteurs était aussi un invité d’honneur dans un autre Salon ce printemps. Malheureusement, tout a été annulé. De belles vitrines et de belles opportunités de vente ont été perdues pour nous… Toute la chaîne du livre est un peu paralysée.
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my rehearsals and shows were cancelled as of Friday March 13, I have been out of work since then. I applied online last week with no payment. Today I used the online service it it showed I had not applied. It gave me a start date of today.
What happens to the last month I have been out of work? Why is this just starting for now?
Also, my daughter just turned 18 a few weeks ago and I have lost her child benefits- but she is still here with me and she cannot do any babysitting now to cover any payments. Child benefits should not be stopping now – I believe they should be extended by 6 months, they can’t leave, they don’t have a summer job to go to, and I still have to support her.
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The whole industry is shut down. And probably will be for a year at least. So, that’s something.
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I am a playwright and actor; I work several dayjobs teaching and doing standardized patient work around Toronto. I opened a new play on March 13 at a small regional theatre after 3 years of development and workshops, 2 1/2 weeks of rehearsals and 2 previews. We closed that same night. I came home to cancellations of 2 small voiceover gigs, and in my dayjob work I lost 3 weeks of teaching that I regularly do every May; a rental of my 3rd bedroom to a stage manager; several standardized patient gigs that I do annually; a few proctoring jobs at licensing exams; as well as any auditions coming up. I am married to a performer who was in my show so he lost the income from performing in my play, all his subsequent dayjob work and and we are waiting for the inevitable announcement of the loss of his summer theatre work (a directing gig and an acting one). Our household income dwindled to nothing in a week.
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Yes. I was working at a small live theatre venue in London. The final months of the season were cancelled and so I lost my job. I had another job at a live theatre venue in Stratford that was to start in March the season so far is delayed to earliest June.
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As a visual artist I have been immediately and massively impacted by Covid-19. With almost immediate effect, all of my gallery reps closed their doors. They can no longer sell their art, even though some are attempting online endeavours. To date, none of them have advised of any sales. One of my main dealers said they had had not sold one painting of anyone’s work in this manner. In addition, one of my most important art festivals has been cancelled this summer. This is actually for 400 artists so the reach is enormous. This single festival can reasonably represent up to 50% of my annual income. I will have to find alternate ways of trying to market my art, but the cancellation of all and any art shows such as this is massive. The collapse of the stock market has also created financial fear even for those that still have their jobs. There is an immediate fear response, and people tighten their purse strings; fine art is one of the first things to go.
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I share a studio space in an arts collective and have a day job which takes some pressure off but i still rely on gallery sales , exhibitions , and shows to pay for the costs of creating and bring in some extra income. The funds from ei will not cover even basic expenses let alone studio costs. …i may have no art sales until December as all shows have been scrubbed until July. Making art benefits the maker and society in general but its such a struggle to keep afloat even in good times…insure what will be left standing after all this
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I am a visual artist, I sell most of my art through craft and vendor shows. Spring and summer are a very busy time. In April alone I had three shows booked and from doing the shows in other years I can say I lost about $5000 in expected income. The one show was a studio tour that involves people coming into my studio. They are suggesting we do it in the fall but I don’t think there will be any shows for a very long time and I have no interest of having strangers in my space any time soon so will likely back out of the show if it does proceed. There are other shows I have lined up for the summer that I have already paid the fees for, hopefully they will be returning the money because again I don’t see these festivals taking place this year. I’ve shut down my Etsy site for the time being, I don’t want to go to the post office or strain the system for unnecessary things. In a couple months I may turn it on again but it only accounts for about 1/12 of my usual yearly income from selling art and I don’t see it being very busy at this time anyways. I don’t see there being shows at all this year to be honest and if that is the case I’m out roughly $20000
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Personally I am not terribly affected by the fires. I work in Walmart as it is and essential service. Professionally my music has been eliminated and I have lost at least three booked shows and several more potential amounting to approximately $600 to the end of April.
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Complete shut down of my business, loss of 100% of my income, required to refund deposits to clients resulting in additional loss if thousands of dollars. Fear of building back momentum of my business to where it was before, watching 18 years of hard work doing what I love going down the drain. Inability to qualify for EI, but I do quality for CERB which does not cover my losses and will taxable. Inability to try to make revenue from sales of past clients to taking deposits for future ones. Depression and anxiety. Children at home missing school causing them to be sad, afraid and lonely. Daughter missing her Grade 9 grad. Concerns about entering high school with loss of education. Fear of paying future bills. Only gloom in the media, projecting this to continue until there is a vaccine which could be 6-18 months. Missing grandparents, loss of freedom. Anger at irresponsible initial reaction from government causing this to extend longer than it has to. Economic loss to the province and country – how will we recover? Deferral of mortgage is short term solution with long term problem if interest being charged on top of interest. Feeling like we will be so far behind we will never get out of this.
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I’m an independent artist and band leader (no label, no manager, no booking agent). I am female-identifying and have been releasing music and playing live for 13+ years. After several US based festivals inquired about booking my act, I invested personal money and secured P2 work visas for myself and my band members from November 2019 until August 2020. We were able to use the visas twice, but have now cancelled dozens of shows and festival offers (like everyone). I have also been laid off from the part time non-musician work I was doing, in order to afford things like union dues and covering tour costs. There does not seem to be any help offered by the union towards any aspect of the lost revenue of cancelled gigs and the loss of the upfront cost to obtain the work visas in the first place.
I also was notified at the beginning of March that I was a recipient of a career development grant to fund a marketing campaign for my finished, unreleased new album. Now with the CERB status I currently hold, I may be forced to forfeit that grant money. This is still being looked into.
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I have two business locations with overhead I can’t bear on my own without income.
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Within days of the weekend of March 15, I had lost three jobs for the remainder of March and 3 in April. Much of my work is booked shortly before it takes place so I know there are other jobs that people did not book as well.
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In the winter months I paint new paintings for the summer sales and I teach painting. I was scheduled to teach three classes during Jan to April 2020. One was cancelled after the first class, another was cancelled half way through the series and the third course was cut short with only one more class to follow. That is a loss of $1300 in teaching fees. The galleries where I consign my work may or may not open for sales. Nobody knows. I am not at all certain if I want any visitors coming to my in home tiny gallery due to Covid-19 this summer. So presently the future looks bleak for income from art sales.
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As a musician, all live gigs got cancelled. About two third of my students chose to cancel lesson. With the rest I do online lessons.
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I have been laid off and stuck at home. Professionally, this affects my income. Personally, this affects my mental health and the undenying fear of the future.
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See previous, a mix of impact story laid out to frame the message of encouragement
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My income is dependent on my work as a freelance performing artist (actor, director, choir director). 2020 was shaping up to be one of my busiest and most successful yet, including a tour to the U.S. to remount my first original play in a co-production with a small theatre in Massachusetts. That was the first of my gigs to cancel. Over the course of the next 48 hours, every one of my gigs got cancelled, and the two choirs I direct got suspended indefinitely.
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I am an artist, art instructor, and a dog sitter on the side. I had several thousand dollars in dog sitting bookings get cancelled, with no potential of more bookings in the foreseeable future. The same could be said for any income. My artwork is featured in a group online exhibition through an art gallery platform that focuses on online sales. Although the exhibition is live on their site, there have been no sales and I have no expectations of any at this time. I cannot teach any classes. My main income from teaching would be in the summer, however at this point it is unclear whether that will be possible. I had a special workshop planned for Mother’s Day, and I know that will not be able to run. I was hoping to be in an artist in residence program over the summer, which is a paid opportunity through a local arts alliance. There was a second paid residency opportunity that I thought I would be getting because the local organizers personally invited me to apply. I have been waiting all academic year to apply for any openings at the local university to teach a course or two in their fine arts program. No openings in any department have been posted. Lastly, I am a landlord and had to dramatically reduce the rent for my tenants.
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Mon contrat finit un mois après le moment où la crise débute: je ne perds donc pas mon contrat en raison de la COVID (car j’ai fait du télétravail, jusqu’à la fin). Comme je suis contractuelle pour peu de temps, je n’ai pas droit à l’assurance-emploi, mais pas plus à la PCU (parce que je n’ai pas perdu mon emploi en raison de la COVID…). Je ne peux pas me chercher un emploi, car les institutions muséales sont fermées par ordre gouvernemental.
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J’offre des ateliers éducatifs en univers social dans les classes primaires et les classes de francisation au primaire et au secondaire. Je me déplace en classe avec des valises d’objets du passé à faire manipuler par les élèves. La fermeture des écoles empêche mes activités économiques. Le mois de mars et avril sont les mois les plus importants de l’année pour mois. Lors de ces deux mois je fais plus de 50% de mon chiffre d’affaire annuel.
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Yes. Visual artist. Lost all my workshop bookings and seasonal art market opportunities
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I was hired as the Assistant Set and Costume Designer for Ruby Slippers Theatre’s production of From Alaska. It was set to take place April 16-25, 2020, but because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the production was cancelled.
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Run a not-for-profit community comedy theatre.
Unable to program space and paying full rent during shut down. May not be able to remain in business if quarantine lasts more than a month or two.
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I have lost all my gigs from March 12-July 01. I make my income in the summer solely from my performances. To put this in perspective, I have 10 gigs approximately a month, so financially I have lost $26100. in contract income, and most likely another $1000 from one-off performances.
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I am an artist and i run a gallery and shop. I did not take enough in salary to qualify because my mum was ill.
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The next 6-12 months of work as a tour manager and day to day manager for an established band disappeared overnight. I currently am not employed and no one in my industry is hiring. I feel that my career in the music and events industry is genuinely over, as the industry will not recover in time for me to be employed in it again. I will be required to move into something else.
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I had to close my gallery due to covid 19. I had photos booked with playschool as well as school tours cancelled. I had my spring session art classes cancelled. My walk in business is nil. I have been doing a little custom pottery and framing work while I’m not homeschooling my children. The little income is not enough and makes me ineligible for CERB support.
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i run an event company where we book hundreds of performers and rentals into events each year. In addition to that i produce two major events, the Ottawa international Buskerfest (which hosts 50 performers, and has 175,000 visitors each year) and most recently Kidsfest Ottawa which is an educational festival / consumer show that sees approx 5000 people each winter.
All of the events that i would work in March / April / May / June have been cancelled, and I have no work or income (aside from CERB) for the foreseeable future. I have had to lay my staff off, and am currently still trimming expenses, and shutting down the office.
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The Months of March, April, May and June I have had in the neighborhood of 35 cancellations.
Tours in the US, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut plus a tour of BC Canada in May, cancelled. Plus my local GTA gigs. Probably 10 gigs a month shut down. Financially I haven’t had to courage to calculate. Obviously in the thousands of dollars. It has been pretty staggering for all of us. Plus all the peripheral people, promotors, ticket sales, planes, car rentals, hotels plus Back stage crews restaurant and back stage food and support. And all the folks that bought tickets to shows and festival organizers. It impacts so many industries. I am Very sorry for all those in our industry affected. A ride we will never forget or take for granted in our great profession.
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As a freelance performer, artist, and music tutor, I have lost my entire source of income, due to restaurants, bars, wedding venues, and high schools being closed. I do not have health coverage, or collect vacation pay. Working in the public was also a source of social interaction, and making professional connections. My ensembles are unable to record, rehearse, or perform. When venues reopen, they may not have funds to hire performers.
As the sole proprietor of Ted Paints Faces, private parties (birthdays) and family events (April, May) have been cancelled or postponed.
As a specialized tutor for GECDSB in the Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts, I am a non-unionized worker, and likely unable to receive compensation from the school board. I am also without proper resources for distance education, should classes resume, and my methods for contacting students is limited.
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Cancelled — NBTA Council Day, May 1, 2020
I was approved presenter, as an artist to introduce the attendees a fun day to get resources for their teaching classes. I am still positive that it may happen next year. But I have lost that income ($820) for this year.
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Both my husband and myself work in the arts. Like most of the world, I have had all my gigs cancelled or postponed till the end of May so far, and festivals cancelled in the summer. Some of my part time teaching has gone on line, the rest dropped out. My husband has has 2 tours cancelled as well as our gigs together, and now has no work till September. We are lucky to live with 2 kids in a reasonable sized house. We have set up cameras and have been live streaming, and also recording a 2nd duo album. Also a lot of sitting around contemplating the state of things.
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The impact is total, and devastating. I create touring theatre, and tour with theatre as a Stage Manager. I was under 2 long, active contracts. Within the week of March 9-15, I lost my current 6-week run, the following run, and the remainder of our US touring season. Because theatre is seasonal, employment currently at zero for 6 months.
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Lost the first show of my season so far. Won’t be back to work till May 3rd as of now, but will probably loose another.
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I am a maker. I rely on artisan shows/festivals to sell my handmade bags. These shows have all been cancelled. This translates into a HUGE loss of income for me. Yes, I have an online presence, but most of my income comes from in person sales at shows/festivals.
So, essentially, my business has been decimated. To date, the government measures for people in my situation are non-existent. I don’t qualify for the loans (not that I want them, why should I have to go into debt to survive this when my business is debt free?). The deferral of income tax does nothing for me because I still have to pay it in September. If there are no shows, how can I earn income to make the money back to pay my taxes in September? The government has touted the deferral of income tax payments as an “interest free loan”, which is incredibly misleading. If they want to characterize it as a loan, they need to actually extend the terms of repayment to when people like me can realistically expect to repay them. I can’t apply for CERB if my online store stays open, even for minimal sales. If I close it, I lose my customers and following. It’s a catch-22.
COVID-19 is being fought on the backs of people like me. We deserve compensation!
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The Company I work for has, so far, canceled the first 6 shows of the season, representing about 3 months of work. The production staff and show crew positions have been laid off. Personally that works out to about $12000.00 lost wages. The company is also hemorrhaging money, the venues still have costs, The company has lost +/- 60 000 seats, bar revenue, merch. sales etc. Spinning up after the all clear will take time and money, and getting the audience back in will not be easy after so much social distancing….
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Yes I have. I released my first solo album on March 6th of this year. I had a cross country 6 date tour booked. the first two shows were in Saskatoon and Calgary on March 11 and 13th. Those shows were not cancelled. the show in calgary on the 13th was quite poorly attended due to the WHO announcement that the virus was a global pandemic earlier that same day. As the day unfolded the 4 remaining shows I had were cancelled. These shows were in Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto and involved several booked flights. This was a big blow as I had put a lot of time and money into promoting the album and all of my live performances were then cancelled. I also had 3 dates in the East Coast with Rose Cousins on her latest Album release tour. I played on her record and have been playing in her band for this release. I was supposed to spend a week at the Banff Centre doing a residency with a dance group as the composer for a new work. This was of course cancelled as well. All of my work for summer festivals with Donovan woods is cancelled. Lastly, I have a studio where I produce albums for artists as well as myself. I had 2 projects scheduled for this summer which were also cancelled and no further projects can be taken on
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I’m a visual artist. All of my events for the first half of 2020 have been cancelled. At the time of writing this, I have a full-time job, but there have been layoffs, and we’ve been told there will be more.
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I teach fingerstyle guitar during the winter four days a week out of my house and one day in another town. These are all private lessons which I’ve been forced to move online as of about the middle of March. Aside from the huge learning curve and multiple headaches, I also lost about a quarter of my students because of this, which when you’re barely making it anyway, is a huge hit.
In the summer I’m self-employed building decks and fences. I usually have a few jobs booked for spring at the end of every season and now several of those have evaporated. Normally by mid April I’ve got lots of work doing quotes but so far I haven’t had a single call, which I totally understand since we’re obviously not looking to spend a pile of money either right now.
I got a notice in the mail the other day that I need to do a medical exam if I want to keep my Class 1 drivers’ license and that’s one appointment I’ll be keeping because I may end up driving a truck again if this doesn’t turn around soon.
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Today, I just lost my full-time contract at a theatre company that I love and respect. I’m at the beginning of my career in arts management, having just graduated from my program a few months ago. I am incredibly worried about this time, but also about what’s going to happen afterwards when the pandemic dies down. Will there even be positions open in arts and cultural organizations?
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No customers coming into our gallery, therefore potential sales are extremely reduced.
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I’m grateful to say that at this point in my personal circle there have been no instances of illness or death at this point, and the casualties in my area have been relatively low. However, within three days in March I went from an overwhelming amount of work in the coming months, to a complete lack of work until at least July or August. I work as a freelance classical collaborative pianist, and between an opera contract, university student recitals, a self-run mini-tour, a national conference, a national competition, and two music festivals, I lost upwards of $12,000 in projected income. Many of these projects will never be completed, and those that will are postponed to as yet unknown dates. It has been especially difficult to lose the ability to collaborate with others, as that forms the core of my practice; the restriction of not being in the same room has been challenging on a personal and professional level. I’m unable to do live-streaming, or even to rehearse, as the technology (to my knowledge) is not available to allow both hearing and transmitting sound at once.
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Initial impacts: had to cancel a weekend screen printing workshop in our studio (loss of $500); a group exhibition I was to be part of in April was postponed for one year (loss of <$500). This is the « shoulder season » where we live, so typically we don’t have a lot of traffic, but now, no customers whasoever are coming into our gallery to look or make purchases.
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I am a mature student that used to work for Inss Library at McMaster University. Because I am a student and in contract we were encouraged to renounce our job when the library closed to the public. I contacted HR for McMaster university to ask why we are asked to quit rather than getting a Record of Employment that said that our hours were cut. It was a bureaucratic battle. Thea rest of my coworkers are young students that live with their parents so when I was individually trying to organize with them they were so far remove from the social and financial problems of this pandemic. Now I don’t qualify for Employment Insurance and I am hoping there is a criteria I can fit. Also I was promise a job this summer that will no longer happen.
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A 6 week contract for live theatre has been postponed until October.
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My main source of income is selling artwork at art and farmers’ markets. All markets have been cancelled due to social distancing requirements, so my main venue for sales is gone. I am still available to do commission work, but in this time of great financial hardship and uncertainty many of my neighbours have lost their jobs or job prospects. Because of that, my commission business has been extremely slow. I’m concerned that there won’t be demand for the work of artists and artisans for quite some time due to the need for all of us to buckle down and remain frugal until our economy recovers. I completely understand the need to prioritise food and shelter over beauty – but I think art is an essential component of the human experience that allows us to process and move through our grief during this excruciating turmoil in our world.
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2019 was a year of rebuilding for me as I had been off with cancer in 2018. 2020 was shaping up to be the best year in a very long time. Stock was up in the galleries I supply, I had a couple of promising shows booked, and wedding season was fast approaching but I was ready. Now, all the galleries are closed and shows are cancelled. I am working to establish online marketing, but it takes time to get to a place where I’m more visible.
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I make many of my sales through meeting people at exhibitions and events. Cancelled shows, residencies and demonstrations all mean missed opportunities. The galleries and gift shops that sell my work are closed, hopefully temporarily but with no sign of reprieve. I’m planning for classes that might not go ahead in person, and wondering if the summer’s major art events will proceed. I’m battling with sub-par wifi as the libraries and coffee shops are closed, trying to keep my website up-to-date and put together appealing social media posts to continue selling my work online. Thanks to the dedicated staff at the post office I can still ship artwork, but the printers I use to produce cards featuring my art are closed. The part-time job I have at an arts centre ended when the centre had to close, and with it went my source of steady income. I’d be eligible for the CERB but I have a couple of small commissions lined up and am making small sales online. It’s not enough to live on, but shutting my website and cancelling the commissions feels like giving up. Sketching has long been the core and inspiration for my painting practice, but I feel guilty about even thinking of drawing on the beach or in the forest.
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I had been working full-time as a film freelancer and freelance researcher in Toronto for the past year (2019), which eventually led to an opportunity to work full-time in post-production (VFX) that I was very excited to start in January of this year. The intention was to work a 6 month contract with them and gain more industry experience so I could return to freelancing. Everyday at work I was learning something new, steadily and speedily climbing the ladder (I’m only 22, so I was working as a Production Assistant, but was beginning to get larger responsibilities, such as intaking camera data, ingesting preliminary VFX assets like rotoscopes, and delivering final content in the I/O department.)
This was all swiftly snatched away from me, right after I had finished probation. To my knowledge, my contract had been frozen until forced social isolation ends. I got sick before I knew COVID-19 was in Toronto, and since I had started this job in January after I was not able to get EI. My employer has largely been very supportive and responsive to my needs, and for that I’m grateful.
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I was on contract as an actor in my home province of SK when the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic. We stopped production a week before opening, and I was just going to stay at my parent’s place until my originally scheduled flight home. I was paid out of my contract (we were on an honorarium- $1,500 plus travel for six weeks). My roommates in Toronto, who are both immunocompromised, told me that if I came back to Toronto I wouldn’t be allowed to touch my partner, even if we met outside my house. It became clear that my roommates are such high risk that it is unsafe for me to try to reintroduce myself into our apartment, but I am still paying rent there because there is no rent relief. I have moved my flight back to June 1st, and am just staying with my parents. It’s been really hard not to have my own space (my childhood room is gone), and I spent a lot of time getting new training (as a Script Supervisor) and setting up life and opportunities in Toronto. I feel like I have failed, and am back to where I was a year ago. Jobless, distressed, depressed, hopeless, directionless.
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I work as a foley artist in the audio post aspect of the film/television industry. I also occasionally work as a media composer and a musician. Due to the nature of my foley work which involves at times working with another foley artist in a confined space, as well as touching innumerable objects and surfaces, neither physical distancing nor disinfecting surfaces are possible.
As well, my wife has a pre-existing and serious lung condition (bronchiolitis obliterans), which means going to work and risking her health is not an option.
Audio post is one of the last stages of film/tv production, so there are still productions in the pipeline until at least until the end of April or later when we catch up with the work stoppage that has occurred in production. I am missing out on all of that work (currently being done by the other foley artist at the studio), which amounts to thousands of dollars.
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I have been impacted for sure. I have already lost one show and will probably lose the other. We had to shut down www.firstsaturday.ca which invites the public into over 120 artists studio spaces. My husband who is also an artist lost his residency and a year’s worth of pay as his gallery will not be able to buy any art this year. I own and manage an art studio with four artists renting. The studio is in the building but with separate washroom and entrance so have allowed them total access. Right now they are good but will they be able to stay renting from us? I am in a relatively good place as I do own my own studio, as does my husband and they are in the building we live in so that is our salvation! Both our mothers are in assisted living and that is hard as they cannot have visitors but they are safe and fed.
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My entire summer tour which is the bulk of my income is either cancelled, postponed, or still in jeopardy.
Within the first week, before we even knew what this was, I lost my highest paying client as their event is in the US.
I have no idea when I will be able to do a live show again, let alone if people will feel comfortable enough to come.
As a gig worker, I am used to going through periods of intense work followed by periods of time off. The difference between that and now, is that there is typically a cheque or a show at the end of this. This is going to be the longest period of unemployment I’ve ever had.
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Yes, I usually work three jobs, two of which are self employed. One is a homecare job that barely makes above minimum wage. My two self employment jobs are pretty much done for with coronavirus and my homecare job has gotten more stressful. I also lost my childcare and have to stay home with my son when I’m not working.
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I’m a multi-disciplinary artist and work at several ‘jobs’- primarily creating puppets, masks and set pieces. I work from project to project. I was in the middle of creating a set for a short film that was scheduled to shoot scenes at the of March and again in early May. We have rented temporary studio space to build in but with the shoot postponed I don’t know how long we can keep the studio beyond our original timeline. I don’t know when and if I will be able to finish the set and get paid.
In addition, I work in Toronto with a young client to develop his artistic skills. This has come to a halt.
I live with my 95-year-old mother and am very concerned about bringing disease home to her. Just going out for groceries is stressful I was conscious about this even before Covid19 as a virus can be dangerous for someone her age. Many of my family members, colleagues and friends have underlying health conditions as well.
I continue to work part-time from home with the local University (on contract) but the community work that we were in the middle of planning has been postponed so my hours are reduced. Because I am still working though I don’t qualify for the CERB and the work i have left doesn’t cover my bills.
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Covid 19 has been destructive to my professional career and obviously financially crippling. The adjustment from being mobile to kept at home has been a mental and emotional challenge but I feel I have made positive progress in this area by building positive routines and making adjustments to meet my needs and when possible fulfull my wants. I am thinking of returning to the health care field should my services be required in future.
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I work as a commercial photo retoucher, as a college Photoshop instructor (contract position), and as a visual artist represented by a gallery. As there are no commercial photo shoots happening, I have no retouching work. As the gallery is closed, I have no income from art sales. I am continuing to teach (via Zoom) at two schools. At one the semester is just ending (no guarantee I’ll have any classes next semester), and at the other school the term has just started, but I’ll only be teaching one class a week. Soon, the $165 I ultimately make per class at the one school will be my weekly income, which is enough that I don’t qualify for CERB based on its current rules. Unless the rules change, the incentives will align such that my best course of action would be to quit my teaching job, leaving my program coordinator and students in the lurch. I very much don’t want to do this, but then we need to adjust the CERB eligibility rules.
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March was supposed to be a big month for me as an artist. I personally had art in three venues at the time that the initial COVID-19 cases were announced in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I had the small wall at Wayne Arthur Gallery, 186 Provencher & and that show was meant to be a fundraiser (20% of sales) for the Never Alone Foundation. So, in addition to my loss of sales, the Never Alone Foundation which supports cancer patients in Manitoba will not receive funds for their charity.
I was involved in MAWA’s (611 Main St) annual fundraiser, their Art auction and cupcake party as an art donor. That event has been postponed indefinitely. MAWA will not receive funds until they can reschedule this event. Also, it was a 50-50 donation so I will not receive my 50% from the sale of this donation.
I also currently have art at Access Art 4 U, a Community gallery in the Pets 101 on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg. Pets 101 is considered an essential business as it supplies pets food and as such is still open. However, I doubt that person’s entering the business are going to be looking for Art at this time. Therefore, it is doubtful that any sales will be made there until COVID-19 is over.
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I was scheduled to appear at Long John Jamboree in Yellowknife on March 25 – 29 to carve ice at the DeBeers Inspired Ice event. It and the Long John Jambore were canceled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I looked upon the event with great anticipation and excitement with the hopes of adding an epic ice carving project to my portfolio.
It was like winning a spot to perform in the show, only to have it snatched from under the nose at such short notice.
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I travel to teach workshops all of which have been cancelled for the next 6 months. Additionally, at these workshops I am able to sell my work directly. This all accounts for probably 70% of my income. Also, no new workshops are being booked as the future is so uncertain. I normally sell a large portion of my work at a big conference in the US every spring, which was cancelled. That work is already in the US, but is siting largely unsold at galleries. I am also having trouble sourcing materials to continue making work. Lastly, I received an OAC grant for an event that is now postponed over a year out – I’m not sure if I’m able to keep that funding or if I will have to return it which would be a big financial blow.
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Unfortunately I own a large gallery in winnipeg that has shit down as of March 18 when we were told about flattening the curve in Manitoba. Our next show was to open March 20. Since then we have cancelled shows up to the end of May. We don’t know yet if we can reopen in June or July. This is making it hard to pay our rent as we have over 8000 square feet of space. Some artists are carrying their rent forward to a show time in 2020 so we need to be careful that the money stays in our account. One of the beautiful things that has happened is that members of our community have donated money and have taken out memberships for others they wish to support. As owner and well respected person in the arts community I feel like I need to be strong. I’ve written my MP, contacted a lawyer, and contacted my insurance company and my landlord. The lawyer and the MP were the most helpful; however, I still feel concerned and overwhelmed at the idea of losing my business. I’m not eligible for the CERB or EI and because I live with an auto immune disease I have huge medical bills. Nothing is covered by pharmacare at this time so I am also worried about my health. We have a 5 year lease to pay! Will people buy art after this?
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I have lost all of my gigs. Everything. From 12 March to whenever this ends. I have gone from earning to not earning and it is terrifying. I postponed some shows to June but we all know now that we won’t be able to have large gatherings by then. Essentially I am losing six months of work and I don’t know how I am going to feed my family and pay bills.
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I teach at child cares, nurseries, elementary schools and run my Confidence In Movement programs for ladies, couples and youth. Due to the closures of schools, dance studios and the social distancing I have had to provide refunds and be out of work until schools re open and can go back to my studio. Summer events I was scheduled to perform for are now cancelled, tours and rehearsals I had scheduled have also been cancelled. My sole income relies on the jobs I get through dance so everything has been shut down thus causing me to have no income
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Before COVID-19, I earned a living teaching private music lessons (at a music school, a private elementary, and at my own studio), playing gigs, and working in a cooking school. With all the measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19, my employment is currently down to two private students taking online lessons (a medium that is no where near as good as in class lessons).
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Before the outbreak, I was receiving EI. And in April it was supposed to be done and I was planning on starting my own business as a lifestyle and wedding photographer based in Montreal. I’m also a freelance retoucher for other wedding photographers. The virus has definitely impacted my ability to work and my income. As a photographer, my income depends on ability to be outside and interaction with clients. As a retoucher, I depend on other photographers to be able to take pictures of their clients. Right before the outbreak in Montreal, I was supposed to meet up with a new photographer to start working with them for this season. Now… I just don’t even know how I’ll be able to pay my rent.. I also live alone. And being isolated without being able to see people I love and care about. With my family living in another country. It is mentally hard being in self isolation. Financially and mentally.
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I had an exhibition of my work scheduled for May/June and it may be postponed or cancelled. This would have been important income and publicity for me.
Secondly, patrons of my work visit my studio regularly. This has suddenly stopped due to concerns for social distancing and also possibly for those who might be less confident about their money. One collector of my work has a piece at his house that he was considering buying for $3,500.00 but his investment portfolio has taken a beating and he is now not too sure. Another collector had planned to come and view a few new paintings but was not able to return to Canada due to international flight restrictions. He consistently spends a significant amount in my studio adding up to $35,000.00 last year.
Covid 19 has had significant and immediate impacts on my income.
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COVID resulted in me losing all my freelance work: regular church gigs, ushering at a theatre, babysitting, temp office work, promo events and greatly reduced the amount of voice lessons I was giving. Literally everything was cancelled. As an autonomous and part time worker (not only because I am in the arts but because a bad burn out a few years back left me unable to work long hours), I am not eligible for EI. My roommate also left without any notice, as his work situation changed, leaving me alone to pay double the normal amount I would pay for rent in April.
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I chair Women in Film and TV Alberta & we had to cancel aMarch 18 event we had spent over 100 volunteer hours planning – & we lost all of our sponsorship. I have also been taking care of my 84 year old mother who lives 2.5 hours North of me. She is living with me as I take her for 4 weeks of daily radiation for breast cancer. I have also been doing lots of advocacy work & reaching out to people in the screen industries to see if they need any help, if they are okay. I personally purchased $700 worth of grocery cards (with my savings) to help people out. I am fortunate that I have savings but many others do not. I am helping to organize a national online conference to address what different orgs (like the NFB, Telefilm, CBC…) are doing to insure we have gender parity, diversity and equity during a time like this – and to ask what they are specifically doing to support women. On a provincial level I have organized some virtual coffees, met with Alberta film & am trying to organize a provincial conference for stakeholders. Through all of this I have no income into my household. All my projects funders were looking at have been put on hold. The financial future looks bleak. On the plus side, I have been baking…
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Yes, our residency out east has been cancelled and an exhibition has been cancelled. We have also had to cancel studio visits where we usually make income.
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I no longer have income from either of my part-time jobs. The plans I had to launch my creative business this year are moot because of impending economic collapse here and especially in the US, my major markets. I’m so worried about my friends and family that I can’t concentrate on writing, which is my release and, I was hoping, my way out of the gig economy.
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I am a visual artist, along with my wife. We have had our annual Studio Tour cancelled due to the virus, which usually will provide 3 – 4 months of income for our family of four. In addition we normally attend three or four outdoor festivals during the summer and although none of these has yet been definitively cancelled, the application process for these shows is coming soon. With no clear end in sight we aren’t sure if these events will go ahead, or if we should invest in the show fees, as we’re not convinced that many people would show up in any case. Alongside this we had a small mural project that was to go ahead this month, but has now been postponed. All of our local art supply stores are shuttered, so any supplies we need now have to be ordered from Toronto or Montreal.
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Personal financial income lost
As a musician all my Performances are
cancelled ( all of them )
Including tours,weekly restaurant shows and private events.
Music recording sessions and music video sessions were cancelled too.
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After 6 months on preparations and arrangements with artists and art venue for an upcoming art show that I have been working on, I had to pospone and change my entire timetable, as well as withdraw my applications to BC Arts Council and Canada Arts Council, as my planning included an international travel by the end of the summer.
I had to cancel a mural painting project in Leamington Ontario that was going to take place by the beginning of Summer.
Soon I will be struggling to cover my studio payments
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The cancellations started in the 2nd week of March with 2 Exhibitions they were to happen in May as part of Crafted Vancouver being cancelled. Out of the 6 spring wholesale orders for independent retailers and galleries, 3 orders were cancelled due to shops or galleries being closed. The other 3 are trying to facilitate online orders but wanted partial orders instead of complete. The most recent cancellation was a course I had been signed up to teach for the summer semester at Emily Carr University. The course, a hands-on 3rd year class can no longer be taught considering students can’t access the school or equipment safely. Amidst the professional cancellations and loss of income, I’m now home-schooling my teen sons, while still trying to maintain some work and sales online to be able to pay my studio rent, hydro, phone bills, supplies and my home costs (mortgage/food/hydro).
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I do workshops with/and performances for students. With schools & libraries closed, all of that work is cancelled. No indication if gigs will be re-offered after the pandemic eases up. I also do performances for adults, workshops, conference presentations. All cancelled.
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I am still gratefully employed, but working from home as a solo mom trying to run an art org.
My biggest struggle is housing: I am waiting for an occupancy permit on a condo that I purchased via an affordable housing program. I already moved out of my apartment before the outbreak hit and am staying in an air bnb (without any tenant protection). Occupancy permits were deemed non essential and apparently we are 1 of approx 45,000 families in Ontario in the same predicament.
Clearly, members of our sector were already vulnerable and are going to be impacted exponentially.
Through this continued housing crisis I will be expected to keep working, homeschool my child, move from air bnb to another and still apparently ‘stay home’. This all seems impossible.
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Like many Canadians , I have been personally effected by Covid-19 in a number of ways. I am fortunate to be supported by a wonderful husband but I have not hugged or read to or played with my grandchildren or children since March 14. We use phone, FaceTime and waving through the storm door window. As an artist , I have lost two Club spring shows( around 100 members in each) and a yearly April studio Tour( about 30artists participating.) Financially, the club shows usually provided $200 each in sales but the studio tour often provided $1000.00 in revenue. My Collage Collective group will not be celebrating World Collage day this year, nor having an exhibition in June. Additionally, all group meetings are cancelled, depriving me of much needed contact with fellow artists.
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every show, event, class that I had booked for the foreseeable future has been cancelled. Basically any way I make my income has been cancelled and I can o my make a living from online selling, which is never as good as the real life selling.
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I am an actor who has lost a sizeable gig with the Calgary Opera that was going to float me, economically, until June. The loss of this gig has obviously had adverse effects economically for me and my family. Luckily, the Opera gig is part of the Canadian Opera Agreement, and in concert with CAEA, the Opera is going to pay us 2 weeks of our 5 week contract- this is super clutch in keeping me afloat until I am able to apply for the CERB benefit. Following the Opera, I was scheduled to be working several Artist in Residency gigs in elementary schools across Alberta with Theatre for Young Audiences Companies based in Calgary. These have now all been cancelled, with no hope for compensation. I have gigs scheduled for teaching Theatre summer camps in July and August and I’m crossing my fingers that we’re all going to be able to leave our houses by then. In the meantime, I’m being a stay-at-home COVID dad with my 2 year old daughter (who can no longer attend her daycare and see her friends), trying to avoid the park (which is no longer accessible to us, of course), and trying to stay out of my wife’s hair while she navigates the very challenging world teachers are facing, trying to teach lessons from home.
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I am a professional actor living in Toronto. Due to COVID-19 I have lost a theatre contract with Canadian Stage after 3 and a half days of rehearsal and months of (paid) workshops and (unpaid) preparation, any potential Film/TV/Commercial work, and my “joe job” as an usher at Koerner Hall. I am one of thousands of actors across this country who have lost not only all of their current work, but any potential work for the foreseeable future. I haven’t had a single audition since the beginning of March. Work begets work and auditions beget work — neither of which are happening right now. It’s also true that most theatres whose seasons have been announced for 2020/21 have already cast those productions. So in all likelihood even if theatres were to reopen their doors by the fall, there would be no work for me until 2021/2022. My work is as an interpretive artist — I bring other people’s writing and projects to life. Acting is the most precarious of professions at the best of times and I will be completely reliant on CERB to pay the rent, my bills, and buy groceries as the months of this pandemic unfold.
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The cancellation of all live performances means I am 100% unemployed. My current stage management contract has been cancelled, and the opportunity to pick up work through IATSE is also gone. This is the time of year that I would start to look for work next season, but everything is so uncertain. There will be less work for everyone if/when live events take place again, and competition will be fierce. This emergency could affect my ability to work and make money for my family for years to come.
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I was halfway through an exhibit that got closed and my next show is in may and will likely be cancelled.
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I own and operate The Good Will Social Club in Winnipeg. We are a 200 capacity venue in the west end of Winnipeg. We are a for profit bar that focuses on community growth and development. Due to Covid-19 I had to lay off my entire staff (25 people) and be laid off myself.g business partners and I have lost over $54,000 in sales these past 3 weeks, we’ve been open for 5 years and we’re not getting rich off this place. We’re doing this for the love of live music and culture in our city and community. We’re currently unable to pay our bills now and are currently picking and choosing what vendors we can pay and we’re currently bagging our landlords not to lock us out since we currently can’t even afford to pay rent. Our industry runs on a shoe string budget, and bars/smaller cultural event centres like ourselves have no chance of surviving this without financial support from the government.
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I just moved to Halifax two weeks before the self-isolation policies began. I have a low-paying full time job and was relying on projected income from sales of my tapestry work through local cafes. All the cafes have been closed so there is nowhere to sell my work. I have also been retailing my work at a gift store in Edmonton, which has since closed due to self-isolation measures. Additionally, I was planning to participate in markets in Halifax in the summer, most of which will likely have to be cancelled.
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Under normal circumstances, I work as a Gallery Attendant in the Kamloops Art Gallery. It is a job I love and that has given me endless opportunities for creative inspiration and growth. As of March 17, 2020, my workplace had to shut down as per provincial health guidelines, and I as well as my coworkers have been laid off until further notice.
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I’ve been laid off with no potential for work in sight. I also own a small business that relies on the theatre and film industries being active, so my business currently has no income. Ive also had to cancel a vacation I’d booked 2 years ago, losing a fair bit of money in non-refundable purchases.
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I spent a good chunk of money on an Aussie working holiday visa, flights, accommodation. Spent 3 months trying to recoup my costs just to have to buy a last minute ticket back to Canada, with limited options and overinflated prices (thanks Air Canada). I had to cancel bookings, and now have $620AUD with Virgin Aus & $870USD with Hawaiian Air from my original return flight. Sussex Realty took its rent out on Apr 1, & I’m officially down to my last few dollars with the looming overhead that the government may never figure their stuff out, get the websites running properly, or actually provide competent support.
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I lost a theatre contract that I was contracted with until May 2021. My life revolved around the show. I had no other employment & it was my only income source.
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I teach crafting classes. These are usually groups of 8 or more. All of these have been cancelled, and it’s a significant loss in income. Rebuilding what I had before Covid will be very difficult.
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Yes. I worked in the cannabis industry and when I raised safety concerns I was terminated without cause.
I also started a small business last year with the intent on launching this spring 2020, going to markets, festivals and such. Not anymore.
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My April-May theatre contract was cancelled. The industry has shut down, so there are no auditions ie job opportunities/interviews for which to apply and submit. I am usually auditioning on a regular basis.
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My name is Tom van Deursen, I front & manage the band Small Town Artillery. I also act as an in-house booking agent for the band, as well as filming, directing and editing much of our video content. We have played roughly 150 shows as a group to date, and I am only able to work part time at a 9-5 job – at least 2-3 unpaid days per work week are fully dedicated to keeping the band alive and moving forward. This all balances out because we make 90% of our income from shows, and it’s part of the reason I work so hard as a booker. I spent the last 5 months booking us a 42 date cross Canada tour that would have started 2 weeks ago. We had $12,700 in confirmed income, and estimated our door deals to make us an additional $15,000. We are obviously unable to make this tour happen. None of the 42 shows will be going ahead. We are looking for ways to recoup some of our losses as we invested a lot into this tour and have zero return. Budget, contracts and email proofs avl upon request.
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My art activities make up the bulk of my income. I lost all of the craft sales this spring and think summer markets won’t happen at least into late summer. I don’t get arts funding, such as grants, and I am single, unlike many other artists I know who can rely on a spouse for income.
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Professionally speaking all my shows have been cancelled and also I have a studio/gallery that I cannot take and display my work in. I can still create but I do not have my major shows that I go to. I am looking at different avenues but most require $ and that I do not have. Personally I still have bills. As an artist I cannot apply for EI and getting onto websites for government seems to be a full time job.
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I have lost, or expect to lose, close to 30% of my income due to this pandemic (more if my church lays me off). All my solo gigs from mid-March to the end of July have been cancelled or postponed, as well as the remainder of the choral season for the group I accompany and the professional choir in which I sing; the latter group also cancelled its summer festival, a major source of income for me during an otherwise fallow time of the year. I have lost about 1/3 of my teaching studio (doing video lessons with the rest for the time being).
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Professionally, my career as a community artist has been completly put on hold due to the impact of the corona virus covid-19. The impact covid-19 my have on my work schedule, may last more than three (3) months. So far since, March 16, 2020, all community centers, schools, youth groups, churches, government organizations, seniors groups, have cancelled workshops that I was scheduled to instruct. Fortunately, I was paid prior to some of the workshops being cancelled (three (3) fit that category), and I was able to pay rent for April 2020. I just received my hydro and gas bills, and am able to pay those, as well and good for the next two months. My internet and phone bills will also be covered for the next two months. When the situation has been reassessed, I believe that three workshops (with multiple sessions each) will resume, including a youth group, community center, and government organization. As for other workshops with seniors groups, churches and schools, they have been cancelled indefinitely and unless there is arts funding in place for after the covid-19 crisis, may or may not be rescheduled. Regardless, that potential income from the March and April workshops and future dates will be lost completely.
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I have lost many contracts (3000$), plus all opportunities of getting new ones. I work on set, on stage, and within the events industry.
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It has caused me much anxiety and distress thinking about my immunucompromized and elderly parents. Financially, I have lost most of my dance classes. I have managed to maintain four classes a week going via video but it is challenging as making videos is so time consuming. Thankfully, my partner and I have some savings to hold us over for a while, but we need to start thinking about how we can create better online teaching content in a more efficient way for the coming months.
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I’m a freelance graphic designer. Because a lot of my clients are events, caterers, or other non-essential businesses, most have shut down or aren’t prioritizing graphic design spending right now. Because of this I’ve lost 90% of my income. That’s stressful enough. Thinking the government would help me since they keep mentioning freelancers in the speeches helped a bit, but then to find out that because I’ve lost 90% of my work and not 100% I and all the other gig workers qualify for no help from the government. The government doesn’t understand us or how we work. The hustle isn’t all or nothing.
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For the past 8 months, I have been working full time on an exhibition of original paintings to exhibit with a gallery that represents me. The exhibition has been in the planning since April 2018, and was to open on April 18, 2020. The opening has been cancelled and the gallery is closed for the pandemic, so the opportunity to connect with buyers and for them to see the paintings is simply not there. Sales will not likely materialize or if they do, they will be severely diminished. In addition to the direct exhibition costs already incurred including shipping and advertising, I personally stand to lose 8 months of income. The difficulty is that I do not have a monthly income, but instead make the vast majority of my income once per year through an exhibition. Canadian Governments need to think creatively to support artists. As an example, the United Arab Emirites is buying large amounts of artwork from their local artists (due to the cancellation of their annual art fair) and France is are giving artists 80% of their income averaged over the past three years. The current supports for self-employed people are not helpful to an artist who is generally a sole-proprietor.
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Having just come through my industry’s slow period (Jan-Feb), my savings that are made to last until March were already stretched and quickly approaching zero. I kick-off my arts and community projects in March and hustle hard to the end of the year. I had just started my first project of the year (4 weeks) and had other projects lined-up and in progress when COVID-19 hit. Not only have I lost my income for the remainder of the year (festivals, organizations, clients have all called off their events & projects for 2020), but my current clients are unable to pay me… So I’ve essentially made nothing this year.
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I rely on public events like art shows and craft markets to sell my products through the rest of the year. Many of those have been cancelled or postponed. No matter how much I try to hold on to hope, I think that this year will be a write off. Even if things get better by summer, I think the economy will not. People are losing their jobs, and even those who haven’t wont want to travel or spend money in a time like this. I have been trying to switch focus to online advertising and promotion, but its not the same.
There are some festivals and artists calls still accepting applications for as long as they can unless the pandemic changes that. This is the most stressful and creatively immobilising thing for me, because I feel like I have to plan for a dual reality. It is hard to maintain routine when I know my efforts may be for naught if the events are cancelled. How can I make art knowing that all of the money and time I have invested might not see any return?
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Yes I can not book dates for our performance and the dates booked will not be confirmed. I can not be proactive and advertise any of my events that may happen. I export some art product to the US and the businesses I deal with are closed and not ordering. I put on an educational and heritage retreat in Canada and USA that helps other artists. None of these can be booked either.
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I have a new musical that I wrote with the band « Library Voices. » It was scheduled to world premiere May 1, with a KICK ASS cast, for a full run at Dancing Sky Theatre in Saskatoon. It was the follow to my award-winning first musical « Us. » I had real hopes of it making the break out of Sask to other theatres. It has already been picked up by a second stage. The run had to be cancelled obviously. The cast got two weeks pay, thank goodness, as a kill fee, but I got nothing. It was my only income for April and May, as I was going to be locked in rehearsals for four weeks in April, and then writing the post-production script to send out to interested theatres in May. My take wouldn’t have been much, shared with the band, but it would have been enough to keep me going those two months, especially since I can sometimes pick up small gigs, like workshops, dramaturgy, jurying, or mentoring, during those times when I am too busy with a show to hold a second job. Plus, the potential of other runs on other stages made it a totally worthwhile investment, But that’s not going to be an option now, probably for the 18 months it will take to get a vaccine, so we can say put vulnerable people (60 yrs +) cheek to jowl in theatre seats again.
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I was supposed to start a new gig the week everything shut down. I work in the movies. I had been unemployed since December, taking some time off for my person art. The next gig was lined up. I’d sent in my hourly rate and got it approved. I’d gotten my start date. I’d looked through the art department designs. Then the week before I was supposed to start, the boss called me up and told me they were suspending the production for four weeks. Then a week later he called me, and told me the production was pulling out of Vancouver entirely, and not to count on it. So I went home and applied for EI. I’m lucky that EI will cover my bills entirely, but I have a lot of coworkers for whom it won’t. I worry about them. Now, I don’t know. I don’t have another show lined up. All shows are shut down for the foreseeable future. I don’t even know what’s coming down the pipes.
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I am a self-employed actor and educator, and I have lost all my contracts because all theatres, film productions and schools have shut down indefinitely. I do not presently have a source of income or a timeline as to when I will be able to start working again. I will be applying to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
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I am a seasonal worker. I have been for the past 13 years. I work one great gig that lasts from January until july and then I work pie e meal after that with the support of unemployment insurance. It is a difficult life to balance and precarious to begin with. This year that great gig is interrupted by all shows being postponed and what i likely think will be the whole season cancelled. I not only do not have enough hours to get ei, but won’t have that gig anymore. So the rest of the year i will need tonfind something else outside of my field to get work.
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I am a freelance writer, storyteller and children’s author. My income comes from contracts, author bookings and school presentations. Most of my school visits take place between January and the end of April. All my author booking and school visits have been canceled, as has my major communication contract that would have supported me through the spring and into the summer. As a self employed contractor, and gig-based performer/presenter, I do not qualify for EI nor do I have insurance benefits.
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I am a visual artist also a senior. I live on a small island now and mostly show and sell through studio tour events or organizing my own shows locally. We rely on visitors and tourist opportunities which will be lost if shutdown goes on into late spring and early summer. I had planned to do less this year and more research. I was on a waiting list for an artist residency abroad and also had planned and paid for a research trip. I am not sure I can get my money back. Supplies are expensive and I may not be able to replenish these.
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I have been impacted in a huge way. I am a drummer, singer and indigenous story teller. Most of my living in made from MCing, performing and arts events. As well as in the school system. All of my gigs have been cancelled and the arts are really suffering because we are not essential and rely on people attending in person to view what we have to offer.
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As a disabled writer, it is challenging for me to be able to make a living as an artist. One of the most pertinent reasons is because my medications for my chronic condition cost more than my mortgage. This makes me rely on the side-job of being a museum educator, part time. Now due to COVID19, I have been laid off, I have lost a roommate (which previously also supported my mortgage) and I need to keep in very tight isolation, paying to have food brought to my home because of my immunodeficiency.
Professionally, this has cancelled the contract I had to collaborate with 5 artists teaching folks in a community to improvise freely, without making the pressure of art rest on a final product. Our contract for one day a week of programming for 3 months has been cancelled. I had been selected to hold a writers residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in May, which is cancelled. And my anxiety in this stressful situation has left me unable to work on the project alone in my home. It is a collection of poetry about coping after sexual assault, and I was assaulted here at this house I’m trapped in. I wanted to go to Banff to be more removed and safe, to protect my mental health for this project. Im afraid I’ve lost career as an artist
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I am a potter on Denman island. My cash flow is seasonal at best. So Far 4 impactful things have happened since Covid 19.
My April wood firing was cancelled, so no firing of all of the pottery pieces I made for 2 months, so therefore none of those pieces in my inventory. Our May pottery Tour which has been going for 33 years has been cancelled. I usually Make around $1,000.00 during this weekend. Our Denman island Craft Shop were I sell my pottery has been closed since the beginning of March. So no income from here. I make a different amount of $ every month, depending on my sales. Any where from $200.00 to $500.00 per month. July and August $800.00 or more. Also I closed my own Studio. So varying amount of income depending on sales. So my income strewam, litterly has been stopped.
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The musicians I represent are all out of work. All my St Patrick’s gigs were cancelled – my band and others I represent.
I contacted all my musicians with a notice about assistance to artists. Don’t know how well this will work yet. I have a few pending gigs… but I’m positive these will also be cancelled.
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Both my company’s shows have been postponed or canceled. We had a new original immersive show about climate grief slated for the summer and a co-pro with Taipei-based Performosa Theatre slated for the fall. Now there is nothing. I was also going to Toronto for Tarragon Theatre’s Directors Lab North to represent Saskatchewan but this will now be digital only. I am currently designing an arts lab for SATP but now it too must become fully digital, preventing us from truly testing our booking model and space design & management plan. I have no income officially planned after June. I applied for creation grants to work on writing projects digitally and I’m working on my freelance portfolio but I really don’t know what I’m going to do. If I make more than zero dollars in any 14 day period I will remain ineligible for CERB, and I have no EI.
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I just had a successful show in a public gallery which resulted in landing gallery representation commercially. Unfortunately, the gallery is now closed and my art work is still in its packaging awaiting its next life.
I also had a teaching gig at a school. I was presenting on my work as well as art and activism. It has been cancelled for now.
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I have been a freelance professional artist for 20+ years. Due to Covid crisis, my job as an instructor at Forum Arts Centre has been eliminated indefinitely. I also have a job as Club Manager at my local community centre, which has shut down and my hours reduced significantly. All of our facility-run programs and rentals are halted. I will be keeping the community informed and occupied through social media and website updates. Before the crisis, I had just started my ‘dream job’ as Office Administrator with Paquin/KOBA Entertainment with many side roles within. That has been suspended indefinitely. My partner is a professional musician so our household income has been cut by 75% and none of the banks have been receptive to our requests for loan assistance. Our city has not agreed to relieve me of property tax payment. And, as I just pay minimum payment on a leverage loan for my house instead of conventional mortgage, I don’t qualify for any mortgage relief. I have yet to be successful in any attempts to get a hold of credit card companies to acquire payment relief or interest freeze on card balances. I also have to feed and clothe 4 children in shared custody situation. I have no medical or insurance benefits of any kind.
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Things went from business as usual to nothing in a heartbeat. On Monday, I was on set for the NFB, and we were speculating whether HotDocs would have to postpone. I didn’t think it would. On Tuesday, I worked with a crew from Seattle, then the centre of the US cases. They refused to shake hands with me, despite there being no reason to think they were sick. I thought that was overkill. On Wednesday, the first government measures started, and by the end of the day I knew I had no work for the foreseeable future. By Friday, 25 major film shoots had been shut down, with the rest clearly on the way. A gig I had booked on Monday on one of those sets quickly disappeared.
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I work in the event sector, coordinating operations and Logistics for conferences, trade shows, outdoor festivals, Community Gatherings, and so on. Without exception, everything and all of these events have been postponed or downright cancelled for the spring and summer season. In previous years, I may have worked three up to six different contracts over the spring and summer, this year there will be zero.
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I rely on two part time jobs and 1 casual job for my income, in addition to being an artist and newly selling work through 2 commercial galleries. I am losing income due to galleries closing to the public, and I have lost 1 part time job. My spouse has lost his job. We are taking care of our parents (4 elderly people) who are vulnerable to the virus, running errands and getting prescriptions. Professionally it’s difficult to manage everything – one job requires me to work from home and be partly “on call”, the other is a cleaning job, and making artwork is a challenge. Personally it is overwhelming, we’ve lost money and don’t know what our next year will look like. It’s difficult to be motivated
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Yes. I have lost all my income from music gigs and teaching, leaving me to rely solely on my income from renting out the rooms in my house.
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I have lost a sizable contract and all of my private studio teaching. I have also had to cancel/postpone multiple events from my company and likely need to cancel/postpone more including our annual fundraiser. In the long term this could be devastating. In the short term, I have personally lost income that would have seen me through part of the summer – but because I am still teaching part-time online until the end of this month, I cannot get anything from CERB. The future looks a little frightening.
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Book tour, 3 gigs plus sales, canceled. Research trip funded by provincial arts funder, postponed. Can’t use the grant money for anything but what I’d put in the grant app. Hadn’t sought out contracts for spring or summer, expected to be using funding for living. No income. But, thankfully, my spouse is a civil servant and our kids are employed adults, so we’ll get by.
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I was in London, UK for Ceramic Art London. All my work already shipped there, invested about $15,000 to do the show that was in turn cancelled by the organizers only days before the opening. By the time of the cancellation, there was next to no opportunity to recoup the investment. I had to book an emergency flight home for about $2000 and am now shipping a never opened crate of my work, back home for about another $2000. I have had all my teaching gigs cancelled for the indefinite future (a loss of around $5000). I have all my spring shows cancelled (a loss of est. $6-7000). I have a workshop to attend in July at medalta and a workshop to teach at Canadian clay and glass in September that I am hopeful will still run.
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As a quilting educator, I rely on workshops and presentations at quilt guilds and quilt shows for my income in the form of teaching fees and in-person sales of my quilt patterns. These opportunities also give me much needed exposure to new customers via word of mouth. All in person events have been cancelled or postponed. While I attempt to pivot to teaching online, I need to invest significant time and effort into setting up and promoting this new format and ramping up on technology platforms. With 2 young children at home, I have less than 2 hours of productive time per day.
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Professionally/Financially:
The show we were working on was cancelled before tech week, before we moved into the venue space. The work put into the show by all the creatives involved may never have a chance to shine on stage in front of an audience. It was my director’s Toronto debut, being an artists from another province.
The two gigs I was scheduled to work on immediately following the run of my show is either going to cancel entirely or no longer require my involvement as it may operate entirely online, remotely. I was relying on these finances to carry me through April and May.
I have signed a contract to begin my prep in May with rehearsals commencing in June but no one can anticipate what the future of theatre will be like, of how long social distancing is required, of when a vaccine will be available, of when people will feel comfortable entering a theatre atmosphere where they are in close proximity with others.
Personally:
Negatively impacted my mental health; depression and anxiety.
Unable to travel and visit my family (my sister lives out of province) and friends.
Lacking a routine I so heavily rely on.
Being a stage manager I cannot exercise my creative role remotely nor without other artists.
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I have lost one performing contract so far. I was supposed to be performing in Crazy for You: In Concert with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, contracted from March 31st-April 19th. Winnipeg is my hometown so I was looking forward to working at home and being able to be with my family for a few weeks.
I have another theatre contract coming up which I am waiting to hear about. I am supposed to be performing in 42nd Street with Drayton Entertainment, set to start rehearsals May 21st and run at two different theatres until July 18th. This will be a large portion of my 2020 income lost if this gets cancelled, which I’m assuming it will.
When I am not working theatre contracts, I have many side jobs, all of which have come to a halt. I substitute teach dance at many studios across the GTA. I had many dates lined up to teach throughout the second half of April and beginning of May, which have been cancelled. I also work as event staff for large galas, which are not happening, and retail at a dancewear store which is temporarily closed.
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I’m a freelance percussionist, show designer and music teacher (piano and percussion). I also do education outreach with a music organization, that work has all stopped. My husband is a recording engineer and we live rurally with 2 kids. All gigs have stopped for both of us (cancelled performances, recordings, festivals all summer). My teaching students has been cut more than in half as younger kids struggle with online teaching. I’m not billing for teaching at the moment online as the quality of the lessons isn’t great and scared to take payments that can’t support my family until government money rolls out.
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I am a musician. And like most musicians I don’t work a single job. I work a multitude of either staff or (mostly) contract positions. I am a voice teacher (self employed), a church office secretary (salaried), and a performing singing, mostly choral. I have had all of my performing gigs cut. That amounts to about 600$ a month and I just got word that my big summer contract was « postponed » but it sounds like cancelled. That’s about $3000 of lost income. During the summer I basically have no students, so that festival is how I pay the bills. I don’t know how I am going to get through summer.
I’ve lost a few students who can’t do online lessons, they don’t have the capability or they really don’t do well with it. I don’t get reimbursed for those losses.
Luckily my church secretary job is stable now. But as churches are closed, they are losing donations so I know I might not keep that job forever.
Because I have other income streams I currently don’t qualify for the CERB benefits. But being a former student, I am drowning in debt. Every income stream is accounted for.
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I am 47 years old, and for 25 of them, a professional theatre artist.
For the first time in just under a decade, my entire Spring, Summer and Fall were filled with money-making work and contracts.
On March 23rd, I was to begin a contract at the National Arts Centre. Due to COVID19, that was cancelled, costing me $7500 in wages.
Since 2015, my partner and I have run a very lucrative Airbnb operation out of our home in Stratford, Ontario. Because of the number of tourists through this area, and because of the theatre-goers to the Festival, we have enjoyed 5 years of wonderful income during the summer and fall months. On May 15th, we were scheduled to open. Normally, we have over 120 bookings. This year, due to the cancellation of the Festival season, and COVID19, we have 6 — two of which have cancelled.
On July 22nd, I am to begin an acting contract with the Thousand Islands Playhouse. This is to run until August 29th. If it is cancelled, I will be losing $4,875 in revenue.
On September 1st, I am to begin my very first performance art/theatre piece at Gallery Stratford. This is to run to September 27th. If this is cancelled due to COVID19, I will lose up to $10,000 in potential grant money and income combined.
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On March 18th I was suppose to install our group exhibit at the Guild. The group and I have been preparing for this all winter and the day before our exhibit got cancelled. I was counting on that income for the next few months because I would be finishing up the self employ program the same time and was planning ahead.
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I immediately lost my entire season of work, with no idea of if or when I will be back, along with all my health benefits, and access to mental health supports.
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I was performing in a show that was on tour when suddenly all theatres were closed. I lost that revenue, as well as a recording contract that was to follow. I also have my own small production company which had booked several acts for a theatre space that I rent… obviously, everything had to be cancelled. The revenue dried up. I am responsible for ticket refunds now that my online ticketing partner (Brown Paper Tickets) has apparently gone bankrupt. Overhead on my theatre space is weighing heavily on me… it’s just not good all around. It’s very hard to be an Artist right now. The money is low… so low… and the daily cost of living, well, that stays the same, whether I have money coming in or not.
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The suppliers I rely upon to do my work have been shut down due to the virus, and in one case US government ruling on non essential services. The shipping company I rely upon to deliver my work to clients has sent out a disclaimer re: possible delayed deliveries, and in addition, I was just given a special discounted shipping rate based upon a minimum amount of shipping per month. Do not know if that will be in place when the situation rectifies as I am a small business. My shipments that have gone out have been recieved only to have the venues close down due to virus, so although I have the bills to pay for supplies, utility (kiln firings) , shipping, and my time, I do not have the income to balance this out. I have refinanced my credit card with a lower rate bank loan. I entered an international design competition which took some time to complete, and not sure if the event is continuing. I have other commission work in process, but do not have some of the supplies needed to complete them, and do not know if the businesses will still want the orders when or if they reopen. The income I earn from my work balances out a partial pension I recieve. I did teach post secondary art courses, but my age has made me unemployable here.
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Although I am laid off from my full time job (just last week), it does not impact my project for Sat. Sept. 26th. I sell cemetery monuments, have done for the past 10 years, and have been told that I’m in the right kind of job because my passion is Canadian vets from the time of our country’s birth to our « peacekeeping » operations of today. I still get orders for monuments for local cemeteries by email, but more importantly, I can still progress towards September as if nothing has changed. I am putting on a display in the Clifford Community Hall on the 26th and thanks to my local council, am getting the hall at no charge because I’ve made the display to be part of Culture Days. I still have so much research to do because I’m not having « the usual » type of Remembrance display with images and stories about Vimy Ridge, Dieppe and D-Day at Juno Beach. I’m portraying the stories about the vets you rarely hear about and I won’t give away any more than that. There will be more than just display material too. There will be crossword puzzles, and other activities with prizes to encourage everyone to learn about some new old sides of our military history.
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I’m a full-time student working to complete my BFA. I lost access to school, to my studio space, and the resources (wood and metal shops, ceramics, technical help) that I depend on to create my work. I also can’t access library resources.
I had two residencies and potentially two internships for the summer that have both most likely been cancelled
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I’ve been a full time performer, my sole source of income, since 2008. My work is now entirely gone. Gigs are cancelled, festivals and potential gigs are cancelling, and even street performing can’t function right now (due to health reasons but lack of tourism would stop it even if I didn’t care about other people’s health).
I generally have a one to three months extra saved up, but currently only about one. I can pay rent this month but next month without help will be a real challenge.
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I have had my very first runway show as a self taught fashion designer/wearable art maker, cancelled, the remainder of my term at my final year in post secondary cancelled, had multiple markets I was going to work at cancelled, loss of potential storefront space lost
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I was blessed to have been employed full-time in the theatre industry in arguably the hottest show in the country. Our contracts were terminated. I had a steady paycheck and comforts, a routine and a lifestyle, and dare I say, a purpose one day, and it was gone the next. My cast was like family. I had friends and family who had booked tickets and travel to come see me. I had started a conversation with casting and industry folk to come and see my work. I had just rolled into a new contract where I was doubling down and focusing hard, learning a lot more information and rehearsing a great deal, working towards a new role. I was energized. On top of my weekly pay, I had the opportunity to earn a significant amount of additional money and was scheduled to do so the following week, so from a financial standpoint, I lost THAT opportunity as a result as well.
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I’m working on legitimizing my business. I filed with the CRA, got my business registered, and I have been working on a website. I had firm goals for this year with regards to presenting my work. Bigger markets, gallery contacts, etc. Everything I signed up for has now been cancelled. The money I put up for booth registration had been withheld for some potential future date. So now I have lost hundreds of dollars to booths that no longer exist.
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I was let go from 3 jobs over 3 days. January / February and sometimes March are very slow times for me, I was just coming out of 2.5 months of very little work in to my busy season where I was to have full time work in the arts until for sure the end of summer. 4 days before one performing contract was to start it was cancelled, the other two were teaching gigs that by the end of the weekend were also cancelled. I’m now set to lose 30-40% of my yearly income.
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I was set to shoot in early March. The part would have been recurring. I turned the part down before the shoot to self isolate. The producers decided to go forward with the shoot instead of postponing it. I was on short lists for other things that just evaporated. I had projects of my own in development that have just indefinitely been put on hold.
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As a young professional musician, I am used to rehearsing with different choirs everyday of the week (except for Saturdays) which have all now been cancelled at least for the rest of the season. These are all professional engagements for me and as such the bulk of my income has now been almost entirely suspended. On top of financial impact it is also very demoralizing to not be able to pursue my passion for the foreseeable future. The communities built around the choirs that I work with are a large part of my social life which has left another significant gap in my life.
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Yes. After being laid off in Dec because of government cutbacks, I restarted my music lesson business this January. I got hired to contract teach early childhood music to a dayhome that had to shut down in the middle of March. I was supposed to make $400 more dollars for April and May. I also teach at a studio and lost a night of work because they cancelled lessons with no policy to pay teachers. Luckily they restarted online with lessons this week but the studio’s future is uncertain. I also had to cancel a parent child music class I was offering. It is difficult to plan going forward as I was hoping to make more money offering group classes this spring and summer. If my husband didn’t have his job i would be more destitute. So I am better off then some but it leaves me feeling very vulnerable since my work has been impacted twice in such a short time and I was trying to build up my home business again.
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Je suis finissante d’études de premier cycle en composition. Mon concert de fin d’année a du être annulé. Celui-ci allait être le spectacle le plus important de ma vie. Il y avait un momentum qui devait lancer ma carrière, à tout jamais perdu. Ce concert impliquait trente personnes et j’avais obtenu pour la première fois de ma vie des subventions qui ont du être remboursées. Je joue également dans un band d’indie rock qui prévoyait une série de concerts pour lancer le band et récolter des fonds pour enregistrer notre premier album. Tout a du être annulé. Outre financièrement, la plus grande perte reste celle du momentum, de l’énergie et de la motivation. Travailler sur des projets pendant des mois construit beaucoup d’anticipation et d’excitation, et ça, c’est perdu à jamais et ça ne se rembourse pas.
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I worked on dance-theatre production for one year with a cast of seven dancers and one musician. We were weeks away from premiering. The week we finished creating the piece we were going to do our first run through and film it. Due to COVID-19 never got to that day and so we do not even have an archive copy. I gave the theatre refund to the dancers so they could pay their rent. Without an archive copy I lost the work and now have no money to remount. I also ran the Toronto Wednesday Contact Dance jam every Wednesday for 20 years. It was canceled and I have been scrambling to provide an online version which has meant investment in sound equipment so that sound quality of live music is adequate. I am now homeschooling my two kids one of whom who high functioning Autism and so has special needs. All my paid arts gigs have been canceled and I now have no income. Also, I have no time to try to generate online income as I am taking care of my kids 24 hours a day. I am in a deep state of grief for my life as an artist and for the lost production yet there is no time to grieve as I am so busy with childcare.
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I installed my first solo show in March – and it closed after a week because of COVID-19. The gallery is doing their best to mitigate the issue and create awareness online but having a solo exhibition was a big deal to me personally and also career-wise and it’s been pretty heavily disrupted. I worked on the exhibition for two years.
Most of my income comes from teaching – all those teaching opportunities are cancelled. I have applied for EI for my main gig but I had other more casual contracts that it doesn’t seem I can be compensated for.
I have a lease on a large studio space and rent portions of it to my studiomates. They are also under financial duress and I’m worried they won’t be able to pay rent, so then I’ll be on the hook for their rent. I don’t want to ask anybody to leave and I can’t imagine anybody would want to move in at this time.
I had a trip to South America planned for researching pre-colombian ceramics – that’s not happening now and I can’t get refunded for the tickets.
I sell some of my work online but it seems like most of my customers are also under financial constraints. I also worry about going to the post office, sanitizing packages etc.
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I had the opportunity to give a lecture on my research the FORUM IRCAM that was going to be held in Montreal. This was a very good professional opportunity for me.
I was going to New Zealand for the ISCM Festival, to be at rehearsals for an orchestra piece of mine – and performance, I was also invited to give a lecture on my research work. I new work of mine was going to be premiered in Vancouver BC. We had planned a family reunion in Montreal for my mother (88 years old and losing her memory) before my nephew gets deployed to Afghanistan. 3 other performances were canceled in the Bay Area where I live.
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The gov should pay off ppl who enslave animals to either retire or switch to a plant-based solution <3
Ppl with the means / ability to follow through , I hope you have the chance to work on a petition ( for the gov to pay off ppl who enslave animals) calling for an end to animal farming/ slaughterhouse/ breeding/… _/|\_
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I’ve lost all of my teaching and some of my gigs. I’m expecting to lose all of my summer festival gigs as well which accounts for most of my yearly income. I am an aerialist and cannot practice my primary artform as our shared studio space is closed. This means I also cannot fully work on creative projects, even one solo show which I currently have grant money to work on.
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As an employee of a company I founded, I currently remain employed. We withdrew or canceled contracts with 24 professional artists and teaching artists. That hurt. (So some stress there) As to our five employees, we laid off two part-time employees, reduced hours for one part-time employee, and plan to lay off the other two full time employees (including myself) later in the year for periods of five weeks each. The wage subsidies of 75% may definitely alter this course, thankfully.
I lost casual work with IATSE that supplemented my income.
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All of my workshops in schools have been cancelled. This is my main source of income that supplements my art career. I don’t make enough in art sales to survive on that alone. In addition to the workshops that have been cancelled, school boards have also closed without paying any outstanding invoices. It is not known when these outstanding invoices will be paid.
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March 12th I was informed that my side gig contract with a major horticulture trade show event was cancelled so I would be immediately short of a significant payment I was relying upon to make ends meet at months end. March 13th, I was informed my modelling contracts and teaching assistant positions were all pending with potential income losses in the thousands stretched over the next few months. Within a few days some of the teaching employers were able to maintain my employ in spite of classes being cancelled, providing me with a bare minimum of income to at least ensure I can eat through this crisis but most independent contracts are impossible. I was very anxious for the interruption resulting in my not being able to prepare for potential 2 weeks of isolation as advised by our public health agency until a family loan was made a week later. Overtime, it became clear that my collaborations, mentorship, and events could now only exist virtually. As others scramble to activate productivity online, I was delayed due to then discovering my seasonal small business was also not to open, so now am preparing my Sm. Biz taxes 2 months early for funding, not building a viable online production. Finances in turmoil, I cannot persue art.
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The film industry has completely stopped. Not only are most crews too big, it’s nearly impossible to social distance in that setting, so everyone has stopped. This means all projects in production and upcoming ones have been put on hold. Everyone in film is freelance so this is quite literally a complete halt in revenue. I am still able to work to hopefully be in a good position when this is over, but there will be no possibility of being paid until it is.
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In my job as a Visual Arts Administrator, we’ve seen the loss of at least 12-24 bookings of travelling exhibitions. This is a large drop in revenue. In my artistic practice, I’ve had two exhibitions postponed, luckily not cancelled. Though the income from these postponed exhibitions is now postponed as well.
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I had 2 week theatre workshop cancelled between March 16 and March 27 – an Equity contract with Soulpepper/NFB. The full project is set to go into rehearsal in mid-June for a 4-6 week period. I am expecting this will also be cancelled. As a self-employed actor, of course one has many different gigs. I had just start teaching a class once a week. That work ended on March 14. I also have a part-time day job and have been laid off from that work since March 15. In April I was scheduled to teach at a Secondary School as a drama coach and those six days of work will also be cancelled. In March I basically went from having three jobs to having zero jobs.
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I lost the opportunity to teach/assistant teach a drama spring break camp and has made me very uneasy about my future theatre career. Personally my anxiety is quite high right now and I am finding it very difficult to create new work during this time.
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My gigs were all canceled. I went from doing an average of 5 shows a week to zero shows a week- which is obviously a huge loss of income. My side hustle is freelancing, which has also taken a huge hit, as companies are cutting costs as much as possible in order to combat losses.
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Tous les événements que j’avais de prévu en mars, avril et mai ont été annulés. Cela représente plus d’une douzaine de prestations publiques, rencontres de développement professionnel et répétitions. L’impact le plus significatif pour moi a été le report du Festival à haute voix à Moncton, NB qui devait avoir lieu du 16 au 19 avril. Ma première pièce intégrale y sera mise en lecture, mais je n’ai pas encore les nouvelles dates et cela étire donc le processus de développement de cette oeuvre, que je porte déjà depuis 2018.
D’autre part, depuis la mi-mars, je soumets des candidatures et des projets pour des initiatives à venir – dont certaines occasions virtuelles découlant de la pandémie. Je n’ai jamais eu autant de temps libre de toute ma vie adulte, et l’absence de vie publique me permet de me consacrer à mes objectifs futurs.
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My husband is a first responder so for two weeks he has been isolated from me and the kids and we expect this will continue for at least three months. I am holed up in the Bed and Breakfast I run that I can’t sell (1600/m) but grateful we have a place to be in isolation. As a writer, my world premier for my play for April 2021 has been cancelled so no advance royalties. (2500.00 lost this month) I didn’t have a theatre gig this spring but I did have simulated patient and justice institute sim work and corporate sim work cancelled (approx 1000.00) and of course no auditions now for film and TV (based on the past I’d probably make about 2000-4000 in March-April). I have another world premier of a play I wrote, one I am cast in and a remount of a play I am cast in that are all on the chopping block for 2020-21.
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I am an actor and a freelance ASL-English interpreter. In 48 hours I had 3 months of work cancelled. The provincial government shut down all theatre and cultural spaces for 30 days. I was booked to start rehearsals for a play which was cancelled. I also had weeks of interpreting booked which were immediately cancelled because everything non-essential in Montreal was closed. I have two degrees and both industries I work in have been completely shut-down.
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My time is usually split between working as a freelance drummer and either cooking or assisting in some capacity at a cafe and venue that hosts over 600 per year. As a result of the Covid crisis I will be unable to perform for the foreseeable future. Additionally the venue/cafe has closed and laid off all staff indefinitely.
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Not personally in the sense of my health, but yes, I’ve lost three teaching gigs so far, one exhibition is threatened, and all my galleries are closed.
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As of early April the personal impact is not great. I work alone so I can continue working and building up stock and my income at this time of year is usually minimal. If things continue for a very long time that will certainly change. If the US border remains closed and the Stratford Festival ends up cancelling its season I will have essentially no income as the Stratford Art in the Park brings in at least 50% of my annual sales. With galleries closed and other shows cancelled there is no outlet for sales other than the internet, which for me brings in maybe a thousand dollars a year.
The other issue will be that even though I can continue working at some point I will run out of materials and supplies and my suppliers are all closed.
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I’ve had one contract cancelled and am expecting a second contract that starts in June to be cancelled. I also work for an event staffing company that provides staff for conventions, all of which have been cancelled. I currently have no prospect of any future income. I’m 63 and have prescriptions that need filling but I won’t have my basic 8 weeks of work to get Equity insurance coverage for those.
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I work as a freelance stage manager in theatre and opera. I lost a 2-month stage management contract and have not yet heard anything from the company except the initial notice regarding the cancellation of the rest of the season. I don’t know what’s going to happen with compensation or with work for next season. I also work in the tourism industry as an auxiliary staff member at a museum and am unsure whether or not the museum will re-open for the summer season.
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I’m a DJ who does weddings, school gigs, clubs and corporate events. All gigs cancelled for high season; All weddings postponed indefinitely, all proms cancelled, all club gigs cancelled indefinitely, all corporate events cancelled. I have lost about 80% of my annual income because of this pandemic.
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Lost my main paying job as a graphic designer as the cafe that employed me closed down. Currently living off savings and family’s support and filed for EI but still waiting for results on that 🙁
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I have had two stage management gigs postpone (one was reschedule in June and I now suspect that we will have to postpone that one as well). I have had one assistant stage management gig in May/June be cancelled. I am a member of IATSE and can’t do any work with them. My side gig was working with students with disabilities at my local university write exams but I can’t do that since everything is now online. I suspect the fringe festival in my city will cancel but it isn’t until late July/August so i’m crossing my fingers. As far as nonprofessional impacts, two friends will have to postpone their wedding that I am a part of.
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Starting on March 13, most of my First Aid and CPR classes (my day job when I’m not acting were cancelled, amounting to 30 days of work in March and April 2020. Now classes are cancelled to the end of April, and it wouldn’t surprise me if these classes didn’t resume until June or even July 2020. My corporate training was reduced by 75% – from 5-7 days per month down to 2 days per month of work conducted online.
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COVID-19 has impacted my life drastically as it has many others. I am a performer who works contract jobs and was preparing to leave for my second summer singing and dancing at Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino in Dawson City, Yukon. It began with my joe job being cancelled for the rest of March leaving me with half of the money I was intending to make that month. Then my contract for the summer was postponed and a new date has not been set. It forced me to move back in with my parents as I was planning to leave on April 7th and had told my landlord I was moving out April 1st. Hopefully the show will still happen in some capacity but will mean a much shorter contract and less money. If it is cancelled entirely it is devastating for the small town in the Yukon which relies on the summer tourism from cruise ships and travellers to get through the harsh winter months. This also leaves me without work or a place to live and requires me to come up with a completely new plan when this is all over. Who knows what will end up happening but I know it will definitely leave an impact on the Nothern community regardless of what happens and change the course of my year entirely. If anything I hope that we can support to residents of Dawson City!
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The majority of my work comes from live performance and teaching drama classes on contract. I usually have 5 or 6 gigs on the go at any one time to make ends meet. All of my gigs are cancelled: a touring production of Screwball Comedy presented by Surrey’s Royal Canadian Theatre; teaching recreational drama classes after school in Burnaby and Coquitlam; teaching a weekly drama class at an Independent school; teaching workshops in schools through the Evergreen Cultural Centre including On The Road visits to K B Woodward School in Surrey. The film industry is shut down so no film work there either, including background. Bleak.
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As artist and professional photographer, the impact of the covid-19 emergency is totally affecting my work. No one is looking to book jobs now and a commissioned art work I was booked for has been postponed probably for next year. This commissioned art work was a big part of my revenue this year, so the loss is huge.
As new comer to Canada (I moved here just a year Jan 2019) and as self-employed, I’m worried that I won’t have protection during the emergency. The self-employed live is already tough, but in this circumstances I don’t know were I’ll be in few months.
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Lost three events and one contract in under three hours on Friday 13 – seemed fitting
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Loss of two gigs to date totaling around 1800$ in losses; probable loss of further gigs over the summer for a total of possibly 3000$+. Personally I am an introvert with little need for socialization; I am staying with my romantic partner outside of Montreal probably for the duration. I have some savings and credit so am able to survive several months, though it will cause debts on top of my student debt. In the meantime I believe I will be eligible for CERB in April, so I am somewhat optimistic.
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I am a theatre artist and arts educator who had recently relocated to a new city. This was a risky move professionally and financially. After much door knocking, I had put in place a series of gigs that would sustain me financially through to the end of the year. I finally felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief. And then the virus hit. Every gig I had set up was gone in 2 days. I lost thousands in potential income. Money aside, artistically I was devastated too opportunities to share my work both at home and in this new community had vanished.
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I had one large contract for a one night concert with orchestra in April. As is the custom with orchestras, this contract has been booked for two years! The money was going to support me for three months until I had some summer work. I live on a small widow’s pension and some private teaching. The auditions for the Fall and Winter jobs have all been cancelled so i have no idea when i will be able to make any decent money. It’s very worrying. I had been talking to a realtor about selling my home but now he says it will be impossible to sell and the price will drop anyway. Im not sure what to do.
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Well, I’ve never been a great book marketer, but my book series sells very well locally in print, on Prince Edward Island. My books are in four bookstores, and all are closed. There are fifteen books in my most popular series, and two in the second series. Without the bookstores, I’m losing the sales that were generated by my books under Christmas trees. I’m also losing all of the library borrows, and there are generally a lot of those on PEI for my seventeen books. Canada Council distributes an annual cheque each year based on library borrows, and I depend on that. Next year will be tough, as lends will be way down. It also decreases overall interest in my series when readers can’t access my books to see what happens next.
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I was meant to be part of the Bard On The Beach company this summer. The April 13 start date has been postponed until June 1 at the earliest. I have been out of work since October and was hoping this summer’s work would get me out of the red.
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I was in the middle of the biggest directing contract of my career at the Stratford Festival when all operations were halted and my contract was terminated. Also my upcoming directing gig in Toronto for a major theatre this summer was also terminated. Stratford hopes to resume production when safe to do so but we have no guarantees. The Toronto production is cancelled without any chance of revival. In both cases I have lost significant income which was earmarked for raising our baby coming in July, and to support my partner through maternity leave.
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I am an actor and choreographer who works at a theatre as my day job. Not only did I lose freelance work as a choreographer, I also got laid off from my day job because the theatre had to cancel the rest of their season.
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I work in heritage/tourism/visitor services as my « day jobe » and am a freelance artist (production designer, performer, visual artist) as my chosen vocation.
I have lost all of my current and upcoming arts contracts, including a contracted rehearsal/performance period at Mile Zero Dance in Edmonton, an assistant-directorship with Teatro la Quindicina at the Varscona Theatre in Edmonton, and 25th Anniversary production contract with the Viter Ukrainian Dancers and Folk Choir, slated for a performance at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. I lost all income from the rehearsal periods in addition to the performance fees.
I also have art on display/for sale at the ACUA Gallery and Boutique in Edmonton, and the exhibition has been closed to the public – meaning the loss of all potential income through my art sales in the gallery.
As well, with all mass gatherings suspended and school closures, I have lost work with my day-job in visitor services.
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I lost 90% of my gigs, including demos, afterschool programs, in school programs and my part time job at a museum on the first day of announced closures. 2 days later I lost my restaurant job as well.
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Yes. I have lost 5 different gigs, which is all of my income for at least the next 5 months. Possible contracts and job opportunities for the summer / fall months are slowly falling away because normally this would be the time that I am auditioning and / or attaining these contracts. I have maintained an abnormally high amount of positivity throughout all of this but I am now losing hope as time goes on and the number of bad days is outweighing the good.
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The theatre show I was appearing in made it to opening night and then was postponed. The theatre very kindly paid out our contracts and continues to make every effort to reschedule the show. I was working under a CTA contract and so our fees were guaranteed. Waiting too hear whether or not the show was going to proceed was a great source of anxiety and uncertainty for everyone involved.
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I lost a touring contract, a spring camp teaching contract, a dance teaching gig, and 2 other show contracts I was supposed to be part of due to the corona virus. This has greatly impacted me financially, and has stunted my newly developing career. I am hoping I will still be able to connect with the new companies that I had been scheduled to work for once this all passes.
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I was booked to be the dialect coach on the production of Billy Elliot at Neptune Theatre in Halifax. It’s a freelance job so I was to receive a letter of agreement, and not an Equity contract. The show has still been slated as postponed, so I can’t call it lost income – yet. I am booked to direct a show starting the end of May and that has yet to be determined as to whether it will go ahead. I also am a private voice/speech/text/dialect coach, but my clients have had to cancel because their income has stopped so they can’t afford to pay me.
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We have made the difficult decision to consolidate our home and the studio spaces. For the past 2.5 years Studio M* has been located in the McHugh House Community & Arts Hub in Calgary and we realize we can no longer afford the space with the economic shift that is taking place in Calgary, Canada and the world. We will continue to operate Studio M* but now from our home space. We have moved our offerings to fully on-line.
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Both of my part time jobs cancelled shifts for the final two weeks of March. Those cancellations have since been extended to the beginning of May for one, and until the end of May for the second. There was also a touring contract in May where the training at the end of March was cancelled, and then the May tour itself. The company cannot promise me if there will be an opening for me for the postponed dates in the Fall as they do not know the team, as well as I still need to be trained. For at least six weeks I know that I will have no work.
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I was on my way to NYC to perform a concert reading / workshop presentation of a new musical when I heard the news that Broadway was shutting down. We turned back, having to cancel our other scheduled performance for the end of April in Toronto. My partner and I had been staying in an airbnb in Hamilton, where he was working a performance contract starting on the 23rd. This contract was cancelled. The work I had booked teaching a March Break was cancelled. I was working promo for dance competitions through the month of April and these have been cancelled/postponed as well. Knowing that it would be very difficult to work, we decided to cut our losses and move back to my partner’s family home in Kingston a few days later. I also run a theatre lab initiative that produces workshops with canadian creatives on their in development theatrical work, and I had to cancel my next collaborative workshop for March, and put the one slated for April on hold. I have been able to make connections with creatives, but cannot continue producing these workshops if there is no space to collaborate. While we are happy to be home, there are 8 of us staying here in this house, and creative development can be difficult with limited space.
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I was driving on my way to Edmonton from toronto on March 12 when things changed and everything started to shut down. I was driving to start a musical 3months theater contract in Edmonton and was told the show was canceled due to the virus and I had to turn back and drive back to Toronto.
Since then I have been at home with my wife and two boys, 10 and 13, who’s been home because of the school closure. Besides the contract in Edmonton I was starting another contract in June in Ontario until the end of August, which is now looking to also be canceled. My wife is also in the entertainment industry and she lost work as assistant choreographer on a movie that have been shut down. It’s been tough trying to figure out how to plan our finances, how to maintain our mortgage, homeschooling the boys and be vigilant about not going out and maintaining social distancing. This is our soul way of income, theater, film/tv, acting, dancing, performing… that’s it… we are trying to stay positive and optimistic both for us and the kids… but as two self employed artists this has hit hard. Thanks
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Professionally, the year long contract I was supposed to begin in March has been postponed until further notice. The production is unfortunately covered under a different union so I am unable to receive pay or any funds in the meantime. Personally, this has come at a bad time for mental health and the need to see friends and family members before my eventual move, due to the postponed contract.
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The cancelling of a major contract with the Canadian Opera Company that was supposed to get be financially back on track, cover my living expenses for 3 months. Almost all my work has gone wayside because of this virus, forcing me to try to create new content that can be sellable online so I can maintain some sort of income, while limiting available resources to achieve that task.
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I’m self employed in theatre, film & tv, and voice over. If I’m busier in one discipline I’m less busy in the others, etc. I have a couple industry-related standing “joe job” gigs where I can pick up work when I have free time to supplement my income. Every single gig, job, and work opportunity I had booked or could pick up in the next 6 months is cancelled or postponed. Even theatre gigs I have booked for the 21/22 season (an 8 week contract in October/November) has been postponed by another year as a result of prior cancellations. I could not be more unemployed and I have zero prospects of picking up any work whatsoever in my industry.
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ALL of my contracts for 2020 have been cancelled. A project that I have been developing for SIX years, with the Stratford Festival, has been cancelled. I was contracted as the director, an actor, and the playwright on this job…which takes 50K of work out of my life (rough estimate). I also run a small theatre company that had a 4 week booking in Victoria, at the Belfry Theatre in December 2020. This has also been cancelled – which impacts 4 other artists, besides myself. My financial losses for 2020 will be in the 65K – 70K range. Personally, I am decimated by these losses.
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I work at The Arts Club Theatre company as a box office agent, and have been laid off since they’ve had to shut down because of COVID-19. I am unable to apply for EI because I was away for 7 months last year on an LOA doing professional theatre around BC. Now, the summer show I have book at Chemainus Theatre festival has been officially postponed for at least one month, but that could go on for longer if COVID-19 persists. I have lost my every day joe job, and some, (if not maybe all), of my 4 month professional theatre job because of COVID-19. It is VERY stressful!
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Job loss – multiple contracts through until September, anxiety, savings almost obliterated (they are tied up in stock market). That’s the bad stuff. The good stuff – I have seen kindness, thought about community more and rediscovered my faith in people.
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I am an independent artist with income from
1) provincial, federal & foundation grants (project based, inconsistent, do not provide sustainable income)
2) fees from workshops, lessons, panels, guest teaching (irregular & minimal)
3) sporadic airbnb income from a spare bedroom (minimal)
My total net income is ALWAYS below the poverty line.
I live frugally, still volunteer, actively participate in art network discussions, organizing, & do A LOT of art work for free &/or w just expenses paid.
Coronavirus has resulted in cancellation of ALL of my income, including airbnb, for the next few months, w one exception: A writing gig that pays $600 probably in April.
Because of the climate emergency, I had already stopped flying, stopped buying clothing, changed my diet, & thus have modified the projects I will be involved in. I have envisioned more local & regional projects, amped up my online work (no income yet), & have stopped submitting work to international & too-far-to-drive-or-train projects.
I am moderately disabled, w mobility challenges.
I am planting a lot of seeds, rethinking planned proposals & projects, & scurrying to replace my income both short & long term.
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I worked over several years (because of studio problems and my husband being sick) to produce a show of 3x4ft portraits of Brave Women. Then last year I had a book, Capturing Crime published. So not producing as many portraits as I planned, I combined the show calling PORTRAITS In And out Of Court with books for sale. Opening cancelled, the the building closed. So although I can’t say I would have sold work, I am sure I would have sold at least 10 books over the 2 month period. It may be cancelled for May June in UNB Fredericton, Mem Hall too.
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I have two gigs that normally add up to full-time work, one as a Curator at an ARC and another as an educator running school programs at a mid-size public gallery. I love both of my jobs very much and have always felt so lucky to have them. While the curator job will keep going for the foreseeable future, I’m being laid off from the other because, of course, the students can’t come to the gallery anymore.
Because I still have one job I’m not eligible for CERB. But I depend on my two sources of income.
I am now also helping my elderly family members which I’m deeply thankful to be able to do but it takes quite a bit of time to do all their shopping and help with extra cleaning!
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A major solo exhibition of my work opened at Gallery@501, Sherwood Park on March 5th. It was scheduled to run until April 26th but closed on March 16th. An exhibition licence was negotiated by Copyright Visual Arts. This was paid by the gallery. Loss of direct income limited to a scheduled workshop and professional talk – approximately $700. Indirect financial impact is much harder to quantify. Gallery records suggest that I could have expected 1,000 visitors, including, schools and community groups. This should have increased interest in my work available through a commercial gallery. There was an expectation of attracting media coverage and also curatorial visits. The work that I’ve presented is the cumulative result of five years of my practice. Solo exhibitions like this are highly competitive and infrequent. I now face the uncertainty that it will not get the recognition and audience it deserves. As galleries begin to reschedule their exhibition schedules I have to wonder if my content will have the same relevance after a prolonged absence.
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I had a few gigs coming up, working with children and puppets, doing school tours, and the fringe. I had scripts in hand ready to begin and one day I get several calls saying we’re going to have to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. I was blown away that my passion and primary source of income has disappeared just like that.
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As a freelance musician, I lost a small tour and a few local shows. The tour would have brought visibility to my project and helped me make connections ahead of a planned full-length release in early 2021. As a freelance arts administrator, the hustle is now 10 times tougher. In-person networking events are where I’ve made a lot of promising connections, and it’s become delicate and complicated to follow up on leads with potential clients as everyone scrambles to figure out what’s going on. On both a personal and professional note, I’m worried sick for my friends and peers in Montreal’s independent music community. Many are service industry workers whose backup income has evaporated along with tour income they’d been counting on to make ends meet for the next several months. More broadly, our fragile ecosystem of small venues, independent promoters, and passionate volunteers – which runs on miracles at the best of times – is in danger of being decimated. And so many musicians will no longer be able to practise their creative work at a loss, which so, so many of us do.
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Hi, I am a filmmaker and have been fortunate to work for a production company doing what I love the most – content creation. But a while back the company stopped paying me and after a lot of fighting, I had to quit. The company still owes me $6,000 and over the winter I went into debt because winter is a very low season in my industry. Come spring though, I had my gigs lined up and were happy to start working again. I worked as a cinematographer for a company that films dance competitions. As well as I had a big gig filming a large corporate conference. These (not particularly artistic) jobs allowed me to earn money while working on my art projects as well as exercise my craft daily. However, once covid-19 struck Canada and the world, all dance competitions in Ontario got cancelled along with all the conferences, meaning with a debt collected over the winter, with my previous employer owing me my paycheques and the loss of all upcoming gigs this spring, I am left in a very precarious situation with no money and in debt.
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I lost all my concert gigs. Classical and Tango. I can’t teach, and haven’t been paid by the schools that I work for. My private students can’t come home, and I don’t feel comfortable teaching the double bass through Skype. Plus my daughters are home so I can’t practice or teach. I also had an administrative gig for music teachers, and that has also stopped. The first concert that was cancelled because of covid was in early February, for a Chines New Year’s celebration.
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I have stayed healthy but lost 95% of my livelihood.
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I’ve lost all my work a part from teaching about 3 hours a week, online. I rely on performing music for about 75% or more of my income in a year. This is an extremely difficult time financially and creatively.
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I work in live arts and entertainment. All my gigs have been cancelled until June and I am not eligible for EI or CERB. It is very stressful and I’m not sure how I’m going to come out of this.
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As a freelance AV, lighting, and theatre technician, I was within one of the first groups to lose work. Within 24 hours I lost all of the work I had lined up for March and April. As a contract worker there was no support in place for me when I was suddenly unemployed. I have not had work for two and a half weeks, and only sparse before that as my industry was just starting to come out of the slow season.
I am grateful for the upcoming CERB however by the time I recieve any benefit it will have been about a month since I have worked which is an obvious financial strain.
To add insult to injury, I had just signed a full-time contract for the summer at a theatre festival that was supposed to start at the end of April, and at this point it is unclear whether that festival will go on or if I will have work once the dust of COVID-19 settles.
Not to mention the stress and anxiety of a global pandemic with at-risk family members & my father being in Morocco when borders were closed.
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I own a retail shop on Danforth ave which has been closed since March 15th. We have one employee and are keeping him working during the closure at half his regular hours doing maintenance and inventory and are still making online sales, but overall sales are down 95% compared to just before the closure.
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I was on tour in Europe doing live 16mm projections as part of a live audio-visual duo. We were 7 shows in to a 23 date tour when we were forced to cancel the rest of our tour due to the impacts of coronavirus (bans on public gatherings, boarder closures). We drove 2 days to return our equipment and van and waited 3 days in an airport hotel for the first flight back to Canada. We lost the revenues from the un-played shows, but had un-refundable costs such as plane tickets and van and back-line rental as well as the costs of materials to create the show. We now face a significant financial debt. I had rented out my apartment for the duration of the tour, so I am now subletting another apartment until my renter leaves and I can return home. My other work includes documenting live events on video and working on-set in the film industry. Since both live events (theatre, dance, etc) and the film shoots are currently halted I have no work available in my field for the time being.
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We had to close our retail showroom since March 15, and started offering online orders only + free home deliveries for the local customers. However, as our goods are not essential our local sales were almost zero which before constituted about 25% of our revenue.
We are lucky to have online stores which are still working but sales there are also going down. Because our business is registered as a partnership between wife and a husband 50/50 neither of us is eligible for CERB or provincial support. Our business is a full time job for both of us and I feel like such micro businesses as ours are left behind. Right now we are thinking about the necessity to close our online shops at least for 2 weeks in order to apply for CERB which would mean much more income for our family than trying to survive with business income.
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Perdu plusieurs résidences et opportunités. Non confirmation d’évènements qui n’avait pas encore de contrat signé pour l’été. Report d’événements de l’automne à une date ultérieure.
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While I have a day job (which might be eliminated, I’ll find out this week, and it is also in the arts) all the other contracts I do add up and help my family live. It feels hard because my husband has a job which is still going on but the frittering away of these gigs I do in my profession are still eating away at our savings and impacting our finances. I’ve lost two gigs for sure that were significant to me and the potential to not be paid for the third.
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Being in between contracts and busily tracking down more, I have seen two good potential contracts disappear as summer theatre festivals are on hold and smaller theatres close their doors. Similarly, the service industry job at the Canadian Opera Company, which provides me with some bridge money, has cancelled the rest of their season.
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Yes. My solo exhibition would be installed by now, and opening night would be on Wednesday. I would have received an honourarium and an artist fee for artist talk.
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I was performing in a few good men with Drayton when all the theatres across canada closed. Our production ended its run early as a result. I was also scheduled to begin rehearsals in Soul of Motown in early April at stage west Calgary. This production has been moved to November of this year. I am doing the best with what I can but there is little to no way to get work between now and October in my field.
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I am currently the interim AD of a regional theatre in western Canada. I’m very lucky in that my contract is continuing at least for now. But what I want to underline is how difficult this situation is for the many artists who no longer have work ahead. I am particularly concerned that those who have not been fortunate enough to have earned $5000 in the last year from their work may not qualify for the CERB. I know of at least one artist who was to work at this theatre for whom this past year was particularly difficult, and the show she was coming to do was the first work she’d had a quite a while. Now she is without the work, and is not at all certain she’ll get the support many others will, and which she so dearly needs.
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I’ve lost all upcoming work for the next 3 months across multiple contracts, and as the next few months make up the bulk of my annual income I’m deeply concerned about how I will make ends meet. On a more personal note, due to the fact I was travelling for a tour just as this epidemic was coming to a head in our country I have not been able to visit friends or family in an attempt to help mitigate risks to them. I’m also finding it incredibly difficult to be at home and unable to work, being sedentary is not part of my normal lifestyle. All of this is taking a toll on my physical and mental health
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I am an actor/singer/dancer who has been profoundly affected by the Coronavirus. I had a daughter last year and so my finances were already stretched as I have just been able to work the past few months. I had work lined up teaching and choreographing at an arts high school which has been postponed, possibly cancelled. I also had 4 contracts to adjudicate dance competitions which have now been cancelled. My husband was employed as an actor in a musical which has also been closed. Beyond this currently the hope of securing any future work does not exist for us. I am a diverse person who works in many different areas to make ends meet, including live performance, education, and even restaurant work and none of these careers are possible at the moment.
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Side promotional gigs that suppliaient my income have been cancelled, a concert in May has been cancelled, no more auditioning, gig in August potentially in jeopardy
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Actors Equity Contract cancelled. Final 6.5 weeks of contract will be lost.
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I was supposed to start rehearsals in February for a show that was touring to China in April for 10 weeks. Because this all started in China, the rehearsal period was pushed back a few times, before finally being pushed back to the summer (starting after we would have originally gotten back from the tour).
After we found out that we were postponed until June, I was offered a tour based out of Toronto, which was cancelled. I didn’t sign contracts for either of these. I was prepared to be out of work for a month from mid January until mid February, but now I’ve been out of work all this year.
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Lost employment at the 2020 season of the Stratford Festival.
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I was set to start rehearsals for a 6.5 week gig on March 26th. It has been postponed and the co-producing theatre companies kindly gave me 2 weeks of pay. I was shortlisted for a tv role in a production that has now been delayed and I’ve gone from 6 film/ tv auditions in the first week of a March to now nothing on the horizon. My side actor gigs of doing background work and also actor simulations training police officers and social workers are gone indefinitely. Even my part time employment job of working in a furniture store is gone as she has closed because of Covid-19.
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Mostly the impact has been financial. I make pottery, and the summer tourism season is a major source of income for me. Last fall I bought a building in a tourist destination town, invested in renovating it, bought a second kiln and shop fixtures. I’ve spent the fall and winter investing in that building, setting up a second studio, cleaning up a little corner to live in over the summer. The plan was to sell to tourists.
My finances were getting stretched, but I was going to be okay. I was going to teach classes to tide me over until May, when my wholesale orders were going to be delivered, and in June the tourists would come. I was going to make back the money I had invested. Now there are no classes, so that’s a loss of 5K, and no shops can pay for their orders, so that’s a loss of 9K. And we’re only just getting started.
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I am an arts administrator and board member of several non-profit and community organizations, and everybsinw one is in crisis. I have been laid off indefinitely from my full time job, and have also lost all my contract work, making it extremely stressful and difficult for me to continue supporting my family.
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Yes, as a freelance theatre artist I’ve had one show cancelled well into production after we had spent 1/3 of the budget. The two gigs I had already signed contracts for as a Costume Designer have cancelled.
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All of my directing and theatre projects for the next few months have been cancelled and some in the summer have been delayed until the Fall. My three children are at home. We are all healthy and trying to stay isolated, fed and not drive each other crazy. My partner is a musician and has also lost all of his shows, tours and studio work for the next 5 months. My side jobs that are writing grants, writing for projects have also been suspended because of company inactivity and uncertainty.
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I was teaching art classes at 5 different locations around Toronto. One by one, they were all cancelled. I wasn’t surprised, as I work at 3 seniors centres, with children and at a college. One seniors residence has experienced a covid19 outbreak. I am worried about residents and staff there, as many are in fragile health.
I am also worried about my finances. Most of the upcoming art projects and assignments I was expecting to work on have also been cancelled or postponed indefinitely.
I’ve been trying to keep myself busy creating art, but it is surprisingly difficult to concentrate on painting, at this time.
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March 13 marked the last class I was teaching in a post secondary institution. I had two more contracts there that lasted into June. I was teaching at another smaller private school which would have started March 29 and continued into June. Over the course of the next few days I lost all of my gigs for the rest of March and April. Some were directly related to my industry and two were jobs paying minimum wage. Though these were all part time they were all cobbled together and budgeted into my expenses, especially for rent for April 1. I do whatever I can to bring in income to live. This has always been the way as an actor.
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I lost 2 months of work as a freelance lighting technician and now the rest of my planned out year is TBA.
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As an employee of a small creative agency that primarily serves events and community organizations and associations I have had many of my projects put « on hold » as a cost saving measure. I’m in the tenuous position of not having lost « enough » work yet prompt layoffs and benefits but feel like the writing is on the wall. Ironic since writing is what isn’t happening….
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In spring of 2019, I was living with my partner in Toronto – a time defined by a string of abusive landlords and high stress due to the exorbitant rental prices of the city. We are both artists, with very little income gained through our practices at this point.
I became pregnant. We were thrilled.
However, my body screamed at the idea of bringing a baby into the world a city where I felt so alone, uncertain and feverishly anxious.
We went through incredible tests of strength and dedication through the months of my pregnancy. but landed in Clinton BC (3 hours north of Hope).
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Yes, I have been impacted by COVID-19. My show at Soulpepper Theatre got cancelled, resulting in 6 weeks of lost work. After being paid out 2 weeks, I am still losing out on $4,600.00. My work for the summer (a 21 week contract at the Charlottetown Festival) is also hanging in the balance.
I also had to vacate my subletted accommodations as a result of the virus, as I was only slated to stay there until the end of April. With the future unknown, it felt important to find a place I could stay indefinitely – plus I could no longer afford $1200 in rent with no income.
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I am a recent graduate (2019). I started working in an Art Gallery last year (November) as a private intern. It’s a contract work term of 5 months but the gallery director wanted to extend me longer. However, i got laid off work in March due to Covid-19. Hence, I lost that extension opportunity. I had to leave the city where i was working and return back home because i wouldn’t be able to pay rent, bills and utilities if i stayed there unemployed. I felt i lost a great opportunity to further develop my skills and career. I was hopeful until the pandemic came in. I am home now temporarily living with my parents, feeling unproductive, stuck, and defeated
As a painter, I just plan to paint in our backyard once it gets warmer. This is my only way of coping and and my way of contribution.
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I have not been able to leave my house for 2 weeks. I am immunocompromised, so I am not taking any chances. As a full time teacher, I am teaching from home, fully online. As a choir director, I have not been able to rehearse with my choirs. We had to cancel our upcoming concerts and rehearsals, as well as a clinic with a clinician. As a private voice teacher, my students have cancelled (we are exploring the option of video lessons). As a performer, I have had many cancelled performances.
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I have been impacted because most of my summer markets have been cancelled, and I depend on them for a significant amount of my income. I also depend on the tourism market to sell my items at shops.
Many other events that are happening this year have not announced any cancellations, but with how things are going it seems this whole year may be a write off. This is very stressful for me to plan my workloads. How can I plan for events that I’ve committed to if they might not even happen, and what do I do with all of the time and materials I’ve already put in?
I also have to have plans in place to keep my business moving if everything does get cancelled.
It’s like I’m expected to live while planning for two realities, which feels creatively immobilizing.
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I am currently on a parental leave from my career as a technician for various museums and art galleries. When my EI runs out in a month and a half I doubt these institutions that hire me to install exhibitions will be open, and I worry in the long run that there will be less funding in the culture sector.
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I worked as an usher at a theatre, and as a cantor/chorister at two churches: these jobs went first. Then subsequently, my voice students stopped coming (mainly for monetary reasons as well as wanting to be cautious about travel). My promo gigs are large events were cancelled, and the temp job I had at a community centre also ended, as the workers began working remotely only. My part time roommate moved out with only a few hours notice – his company had mandated at home work so he returned to Brockville, leaving me facing double rent to pay as of tomorrow.
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I have lost approximately $20,000 worth of contracts & work. All dance competitions I was scheduled to adjudicate have been cancelled. All studios I teach at have been closed. All programming & workshops i run have been cancelled. While I have pivoted quickly to provide online content & classes, it is far from my anticipated income this year & the mental toll of our current circumstances creates a difficult environment to create within.
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I was told several days ago by my part time government job as an educator at The Rooms that I would receive my wages until June, and they retracted that today. Leaving me to apply for EI.
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Perte de tout mes contrats de concerts
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Mourning for lost opportunities leading to a potentially jarring switch of identity.
More time with my family. Time to rest and reflect.
I am a new (ish) mother and dancer and teacher. Some really exciting opportunities were arising for me. A tour, teaching at high levels, ambition was high. Now all my future is unclear, just when I thought I had things finally settled and organized as a working mother this upends my future.
On the plus side, I see my family more and it is very lovely. I’m not busy for the first time in my life.
I’m diving into full-time mothering and trying to keep fit and dancing as much as I can. I am doing alright right now.
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J’ai perdu environ 70 dates de concerts entre mars et août en Italie, en France, en Argentine et au Canada. Une perte de plusieurs milliers de dollars de revenu pour mes groupes et moi. Au-delà de ça, un sentiment que le secteur de l’évènementiel se remettra difficilement de cette crise, alors que ma situation des artistes s’était enfin stabilisée grâce aux shows live ces dernières années après la chute des ventes de disques avec l’avènement du streaming. C’est épuisant psychologiquement de toujours devoir réinventer son métier dont la monétarisation équitable est constamment menacée. Par contre, je trouve magnifique de pouvoir exposer massivement à quel point notre métier est précaire et que nous avons besoin d’établir un système d’assurance emploi ou d’intermittence en culture. Nous vivons généralement ce genre de situation horrible de façon isolée, maintenant, tous ensemble, nous pouvons espérer rebâtir un système qui nous protège et nous empêche de sur-travailler et constamment frôler le burn out.
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I’m a wedding photographer based in Edmonton Alberta. So far 3 weddings have cancelled, with another 10-15 to cancel. All weddings between now and mid August will likely reschedule, meaning I will have to move their weddings to 2021. But if any of them go through with their wedding, and having me photograph it (if they elope) I’ll have to accept their money for the contracted amount, and then will not be able to get assistance from the CERB.
My business in 2020 will likely just break even with running costs, that’s with the help of the CERB.
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I teach art classes and workshops. Every single one (which I spent hours creating and booking) have been canceled, no sign of rescheduling. Further more, it seems many venues are moving to providing classes online, which is not in the spirit of my career.
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I am a self employed stained glass artist. I make my living wholesaling small stained glass pieces through approximately 10 small shops across Ontario and teaching workshops at many of those same venues, and a few others. I had 8 workshops booked for March and April that have all been canceled. This is where the majority of my income comes from at this time of year. I am also not getting any wholesale orders, as all my shops are closed. I have been able to make up a small portion of my income by focusing more on my online business.
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I am a freelancer, working in both photography and video, where my entire income is based off of contract work. I also teach photography. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and community shutdown I have lost work, contracts and potential clients since March 9th, 2020. A lot of the ho
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I am an artisan jeweller, and make the majority of my yearly income by exhibiting at arts events and festivals. Several of my upcoming events have already been cancelled, and more are sure to follow, as it becomes clear that things will not be returning to any sort of normalcy anytime soon. While I’m able to work from my home studio and keep my online shop open, orders coming in are barely covering my business expenses, and I’m faced with a difficult decision: do I shut down my online store and stop working entirely in order to be eligible for the CERB, or struggle to get by on what little amount is coming in? And if I do shut down my online store, how will this impact my business in the future, when I am able to re-open?
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My wonderful, creative, thriving business has been completely shut down. Full Stop. From teaching art to 300-500 students each week at schools all around Calgary and area – to nothing. Sitting at home, waiting, trying to turn on the world news only once a day. Zero income. 4 consultants who worked for us, now out of work. My grade 12 student concerned with graduating and being accepted to universities.
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Cancelled my first scheduled international artfair. Unable to access my studio. I live in a small apt with young children – I cannot create, store, package, or ship work from home. Without studio, my biz is at a standstill.
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Professionally, I was in the middle of a job search and freelancing when the restrictions in Canada and the US toom place. I had multiple jobs I was working on lining up, provided quotes for, but hadn’t drafted contracts on yet. Every project of roughly five was backburnered, cancelled, or my contacts dropped contact.
As I had just taken up freelancing again I will not qualify for the CERB, and hiring has dried up in design and illustration where I had been focusing my efforts.
While I am lucky enough that I have family to provide modest help, I am ashamed that at as an adult I don’t know if I am going to be able to support myself if this drags for too long.
Personally, the bulk of my family lives roughly four hours away. Almost all of them either have underlying ailments that make them vulnerable. I just found out there is a case in my grandfather’s nursing home. I have no idea when it will be safe to see them again. I have also found myself in a surprise long distance relationship with my boyfriend, though he only lives an hour away in Toronto. Thankfully I have two roomates I get along exceptionally well with, but the unknowns have definitely exacerbated my struggles with depression.
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I have a theatre contract that is supposed to start June 15th, and end August 23. They have let me know that they are unsure yet whether or not it will happen, due to the fact that the pandemic is changing daily. If they can’t do the show this summer, they will postpone it to next summer.
Also, I work in the film industry, which is an industry that is not allowed to continue right now, due to the fact that it could cause the spread of the virus. So, I do not know how many auditions and bookings that I could have received during this time when the industry is shut down.
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I had moved from St. John’s about one year ago to take a position in a a small hotel/wedding venue…. a full time year round salaried position. The decision was a big one. After a busy wedding season the entire staff was laid off.. before we got into Christmas or fall events. This was a shock to everyone. In about Februaury I was told they had restructured and my position no longer existed. After a week or so I started putting out feelers and had a couple of consulting gigs set up…. and then enter Covid -19. Everything dried up and now it looks like all sources of employment are gone for a while. I am on regular EI and rhay is great but come October I will have zero income and will fall outside the parameters for help.
As well…. I had up a heritage group and summer is our fundraising time for the reatoration work we are doing. That will not go ahead in the foreseeable future and the Heritage Goundation wants to clue up our grant… which is matched money…. so there is a concern we will lose that opportunity.
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It took 9 years to get back to the Stratford Festival. Year after year, auditions, auditions auditions (maybe 30?). Finally made it back here, with my new son on tow, and now facing the idea that it may be gone. Our dreams are big, and it’s crushing when they disappear.
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I have lost 2-5 paid photo shoots. I had a photography workshop cancelled. I am not marteting my print sales or portrait drawings because of social distancing. I had intended to spend time and effort on these income streams now that I have a professional website in place. I can continue my work – as a volunteer. The work is the most important thing but continued volunteering as a middle aged woman does not help to showcase the value of what I do in my art and photography. I am using this time to upgrade my technical skills and add drawing and painting to my portfolio.
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Professionally COVID-19 has impacted every area of my freelance and contract work. My advertising sales work for a Craft magazine is on pause while the magazine cannot be published. I’ve recently completed a sales cycle for the issue but while it is not published it’s not clear how or when I’d be paid a commission for the sales work completed.
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Lost my job on March 15th. My bands first and second shows were cancelled. I have been isolating with my partner who was also laid off at the same time.
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I’m a visual artist. All of my upcoming events have been cancelled and the shops where I sell cards and prints are closed. Fortunately, I have a full-time job, at the time of writing this. There have been layoffs at work and we’ve been warned there will be more in the near future.
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I am a freelance advertising writer (incorporated) and visual artist. My advertising clients have officially cancelled/postponed contracts for at least 3-4 months. As a painter, I was participating in three exhibitions planned for April/May – all three have been cancelled/postponed indefinitely. I have a small financial cushion that will cover April and part of May. Have not yet applied for federal Emergency relief.
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I’m an installation artist and all of my projects including international residencies have been cancelled. I am old and feel like I am running out of time to do some of these important projects which deal with crucial issues such as the environment , immigration and race. Because my international residency has been cancelled I fear that I will never again have the opportunity to live in Berlin, and complete an important project that addresses race, refugees, migration and community.
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Professionnellement, les mois de mars à juin auraient été les plus chargés au poste que j’occupe comme technicienne dans une municipalité de la Rive-Sud. Triplant ainsi mon salaire pour cette durée, ce sur quoi je compte tout le reste de l’année. Ces engagements sont bien sûrs annulés. Sinon, en tant que technicienne, il s’agit aussi des mois auxquels je prends mes contrats de la saison estivale, qui font la majeure partie de mon activité. Cette année, rien.
D’un point de vue personnel, au mois de mars, j’avais enfin rendez-vous à la banque pour concrétiser l’achat prévu de ma première maison, incluant une ferme pour la subsistance et un atelier pour ma production. Cet achat aurait assuré mon autonomie à long terme. Face à l’incertitude, je ne suis plus qualifiable et devrai demeurer en ville où je ne peux me permettre le coût du loyer, ni ne nourrir, ni poursuivre mon activité, ni travailler. L’impact n’est pas que ponctuel, mais affecte un projet de vie.
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My husband and I are private music teachers, freelance musicians and touring artists.
Since the self-isolation has been in place we have had to rethink our ENTIRE living!! While the uncertainty of what was happening in the world and how long the isolation would happen we had to reinvent our whole approach to teaching. We lost 75% of our business. Instantly and then gigs and tours started dropping off. We had a two week tour designated for the end of April. Plane tickets purchased (gratefully fully refunded from the airline!).
With the uncertainty we wanted to help our student families by maintaining some form of regular routine and so after a week of not seeing them we offered what lessons we could. The government is going to punish us for this??? In that we we may have made a total of $500 for my husband and I together!!!!!! But because we worked at all we may not be eligible???
In the summer we rely on festival and event performances as we do not have students and now that income is falling away too.
The anxiety and desire to look after ourselves and think about our students could actually put us at a disadvantage … HOW is that right?
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Drumming and singing with Capital Beatles for four years in Ottawa ground to a sudden halt early this year: reformation and COVID-19. We were excited about the new ideas and energy infused rehearsals. Then the hammer hit and all was lost. We have a presence on Facebook and are beginning to record remotely, but it’s very difficult to keep up morale. I teach a handful of drum students online but it’s just not enough. Government money certainly helps in my wife works a little bit so we are still afloat. However, the future looks dark and foreboding.
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I was 3/4 of the way through my residency in a school when schools were all closed. We are hoping to renew the project in the Fall if we can rebook the theatre and if the same students are available and if, if, if, if… I don’t feel right charging the school for the full amount of the project because we haven’t made it to performance yet. I also lost a week-long tour to schools in Alberta that was planned and of course my regular presentations in daycares have all dried up.
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I have been laid off 8 weeks before the planned end of the season. I would have moved on to films in our area, and it is supposed to be a busy year, but now we wait for them to start up… don’t know when.
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As a sessional instructor, shifting to online classes significantly increases my workload. However, the general uncertainty and sporadic nature of my employment existed before the pandemic. I’m accustomed to not being able to plan ahead and to living without any job security.
A significant solo exhibition has been indefinitely postponed, this also results in delayed income.
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For the past year i have been preparing for a solo exhibition. Materials have been bought…frames being prepared…the frames Aline cost me almost $600…although I am continuing to paint, I know thst the opening and show are not going to happen…there is an expectation of sales at an opening. The amount of time and money spent cannot be recouped. As an art teacher I have had to cancel the art 12 exhibition…we did receive a grant but cannot use it now…there is a huge emotional and financial strain.
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I have had an art gig postponed with no guarantee that I would still get to do it when it is rescheduled. I have also been unable to work part time for another person that I had just begun working with and have had to delay moving which is costing me more in rent and utility bills. I do not qualify for any CERB aid as far as I know and am pretty anxious.
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In my work as a theatre designer and teacher, I have been involved with 6 professional theatre projects and one student project that have been cancelled due to COVID. Some of these projects had been in the planning stages for over a year. Some were scheduled to open in the fall. With each cancellation/postponement, I saw the ache and pain of my collaborators. Because of my teaching, I am not in as much of a precarious situation as so many others I see around me. I know I am very fortunate but my heart aches for those who are not so fortunate.
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Like many people, I’ve lost work and performances have been postponed indefinitely. My near future projects have all been put on hold and I’m skeptical about any scheduling before there’s a vaccine or the virus disappears.
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As a freelance musician, all upcoming performances have been cancelled. All amateur groups for which I received honorariums to help out, cancelled. Private teaching has moved online and is proceeding apace.
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As an agent for professional touring theatre productions I’ve had three tours cancelled. These companies lost a total of approximately $100,000 in gross revenue. It’s actually too late in the planning of the next season of fall 2020 into spring 2021 to rebook these performances. They may be lost completely.
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