“I don’t want to lose music in America. It’s one of our most incredible assets, one of the most incredible parts of our culture in America, and one of our most successful exports to the world. It’s not only goodwill to the world, but it also brings in significant revenue to our country and jobs. And you can’t have creative music and allow new artists and people like Prince — before he was a superstar in our state — without venues where they can perform.”

As we continue to navigate through daily COVID-19-related difficulties, the arts and culture sector must also address disparate impact faced by certain communities. Whether confronting the disproportionate health impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, fears of organization insolvency, or hiring and layoff decisions making staff at institutions less diverse, our sector, policy-makers, and all those who contribute to the vibrant arts and culture scene in New York City must come together to protect the sector and give it a chance to thrive in a post-COVID-19 world.

On Monday, Johnson, the British prime minister, announced a bailout to keep the arts alive in his country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The package of grants and loans was “a much better plan than anyone expected,” Nicholas Hytner, the former National Theater director, told The New York Times. It was also far bigger than anyone dared hope: a startling 1.57 billion pounds, or about $2 billion.

The current public health crisis resulting from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has dealt a swift, heavy blow to the U.S. economy, and nowhere is this pain being felt more acutely than in the creative sectors. Moreover, despite accounting for a significant share of both U.S. and California GDP, the level of support being directed at arts and culture industries has fallen far short of other sectors.

People will travel a long way to see a play or other performance that they really want to see, said Patrick Brien, executive director of the Riverside Arts Council.

“People who go to a show usually have dinner at a restaurant first, or they stay at a hotel if they’re from out of town,” Brien said. “The arts bring people into a community, which is not something you can afford to lose.”

An estimate provided by the Newsom administration shows the final agreement relies on solutions that will shrink the projected deficit in the fiscal year that begins in the summer of 2021 down to $5 billion; the legislative budget plan would have left a shortfall of $13.5 billion.