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CAC COVID-19 Impact Summary Shows Cleveland Arts Sector Devastated By Pandemic in 2020

Photo Credit: Bob Perkowski

A recently released impact summary by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture shows the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for local nonprofit arts organizations and creative workers. Key highlights are below.

As of December 31, 2020, 65 Cuyahoga County-based arts and cultural nonprofits report:

Job Loss

  • Laying off, reducing hours, or canceling contracts of 3,157 people has resulted in a loss of compensation totaling $15,769,451.
  • 16% of full and part-time staff were laid-off, 38% of staff experienced furloughs or salary reduction.
  • Contracted workers were hardest hit, with 61% of all contracts canceled.

Revenue Loss

  • Organizations lost $119,001,653 in earned and contributed revenue (ticket sales, admissions, donations, etc.). This represents a 29.4% decrease in revenue from 2019.

Decreased Services for Residents

  • 6,539 events or activities were canceled or delayed indefinitely, ranging from music lessons to in-school arts education to large-scale festivals.

The update was featured in a February 5, 2021 ideastream article: "Report Shows Cleveland Arts Sector Hit Hard By Pandemic."

You can view the full 2020 impact summary here.

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CAC Staff