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Art & Soul: The Visual Arts - Health Pandemic Has A Dramatic Impact On The Arts

Omari Rush
Lisa Barry
/
89.1 WEMU

This week, "Art and Soul" is about the visual arts.  WEMU's Lisa Barry is joined by Omari Rush, the executive director of CultureSource and chair of the Michigan Council For The Arts and Cultural Affairs to talk about the impact of the current health pandemic is having on local artists and arts organizations.

Saying ultimately his hope is that the current health crisis we are all going through, Omari Rush says it is his hope that this moment is generating thoughts "that is asking us about what it means to be human" and inspiring artists to create beautiful works inspired by the wide range of emotions we are currently experiencing.  Rush says the impact from the coronavirus has been pretty dramatic on individual artists, as well as local arts organizations.  He encourages everyone to reach out to your favorite artists or arts organizations and ask how you can help or get involved.

He says the pandemic has resulted in artists looking at digital innovation for sharing the visual arts now and in the future.  He reveals that the National Endowment for the Arts released their grant program a month early offering $50,000 grants for arts organizations

He says more arts resources are going to be coming and they're going to be coming quickly, adding there is also a new, national artist relief fund that is now available.

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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu

Lisa Barry was a reporter, and host of All Things Considered on 89.1 WEMU.
Omari Rush has a continually expanding role of service as both an artistic administrator and community leader, in part through his work as curator of public programs at the Ann Arbor Art Center.
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