2023 Barnett Symposium

 The 2023 Barnett Symposium takes place October 27 and 28 under the theme Artists’ Challenges and Resilience: A Post-Pandemic Symposium.

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare inequities that have long existed in the arts sector, including economic, social, and accessibility structures. While already existing on a precipice of sustainability, many were pushed past the brink in March 2020 and the subsequent years. Artists were challenged, but they were also resilient, both individually as they persisted in their work and collectively, as they contributed to community leadership, healing, and active participants in imagining a “new normal” post-COVID.

Led by Dr. Rachel Skaggs, the research team in Arts Administration, Education, and Policy at The Ohio State University have been listening to artists. Starting in November of 2020, they asked artists, arts leaders, and leaders in higher arts education to tell them about the impact that the pandemic has had on their creative life and work, on their organizations, and on their arts students. They have conducted 100+ hours of formal interviews and have published data briefs, book chapters, and scholarly articles outlining the impact of the pandemic on artists. The research teams has served as thought partners for individuals and organizations trying to make sense of the post-COVID arts landscape.