With nearly all concerts, festivals, and comedy shows canceled over the past year, the live event industry has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. And it’s been particularly tough for America’s small, independently owned venues—those like The Rebel Lounge on 24th street and Indian School. One survey in April found that 90% of these venues across America were in danger of closing. There was only one thing that could save them: unprecedented government action.

The arts and the economy are inextricably linked. The arts community creates 90,000 jobs and 3 percent of the state's GDP -- yet the state allocates less than one-tenth of one percent of the annual budget to the arts. As Arizona navigates a post-pandemic economic recovery, the local arts scene will inevitably play a big role in the state's future.

Even in the best of times, arts organizations sometimes struggled to stay afloat, despite their significant economic and cultural impact. The upheaval of 2020 has forced them to adapt to a world where revenue is even less stable than before, and even their most basic mission could be unsafe. Leaders of some major local arts nonprofits share their insights on the state of the arts in Arizona.