‘Storytelling is medicine’: For Canada’s performing arts organizations, shows are an essential service

Author Brennan Doherty
Non-profit arts leaders say the sense of community fostered by performances are crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why It Matters

Non-profit arts organizations are in an especially precarious financial position right now. During a global pandemic and high-profile acts of systemic racism, the sense of community, solidarity, and expression fostered by the arts are more important than ever.

var TRINITY_TTS_WP_CONFIG = {"cleanText":"\u2018Storytelling is medicine\u2019: For Canada\u2019s performing arts organizations, shows are an essential service. Just days after Factory Theatre\u2019s production of \u201cLady Sunrise\u201d came to a victorious end last year, artistic director Nina Lee Aquino and the rest of her crew, ensemble, and staff watched as Canada\u2019s entire performing arts sector came to a shuddering halt.\u00a0 The COVID-19 pandemic had been spreading through Asia and Europe since December 2019, but it was only a day after the World Health Organization declared it a global pandemic on March 11 that Canadian officials began to take drastic action. For Canadian theatres, music venues, and art centres, the public health restrictions that followed closed the curtains on live p

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