Commentary: As coronavirus threatens the arts, paying for them has never been more important by Ethan Van Thillo

For the Media Arts Center in North Park, the coronavirus pivot happened at whiplash speed. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for postponing all non-essential gatherings came on March 11, the day before the opening of the organization’s 27th San Diego Latino Film Festival.

The film festival — which was scheduled to screen more than 175 films over 11 days — had to be postponed, and the Media Arts Center had to figure out how to cope with the loss of its premier fundraising event. The state order also meant that revenue from the center’s now-shuttered Digital Gym movie theater, its video-production unit and youth filmmaking would not be coming in either.

Twenty years ago, the great Gillian Welch wrote “Everything is Free Now” when musicians’ livelihoods were upended by new online music sites. Now this devastating health crisis and its growing financial consequences force the nonprofit arts world to consider Welch’s bold statement once again.

In an effort to make sense of these time of crisis, fulfill promises to funders and connect with audiences we truly miss, there has been a mad rush to create virtual content and offer it to the world, for free.

It’s beautiful to witness how resilient our arts community is in this time of crisis. But what is the long-term ramification of giving away all this content?

Now is not the time to give away the creative output that artists work so hard to produce, art that has such incredible value. Now, arts nonprofits need to find new ways to earn income via online ticket sales for dance and musical performances, live theater and art exhibitions, etc., as a way to sustain jobs, the organizations and communities themselves.

The arts reach and connect us at all levels, personally and collectively, and their true value propels us forward even and especially in the darkest of times. Let’s explore this value.

What does it really take to play songs live on your social media feed, teach a filmmaker workshop virtually to students, provide dance classes, present a movie online, and more?

We realize that it’s years of education, thousands upon thousands of hours of practice, research, culture and traditions based on generations of knowledge and teachings from previous generations of artists.

It is job creation, innovation and people’s livelihoods, whether those people are production designers, graphic designers, audio engineers, art directors, dancers, visual artists, musicians, actors, filmmakers, arts administrators, workers in facilities and development, curators, docents or volunteers.

Art is the unique, universal, soulful center that expresses and allows us to feel who we are individually and collectively as human beings.

During this time of crisis, we’re personally feeling the value of arts in our lives through movies, music, TV shows and more. So now, how can we collectively honor the value of the arts, and support arts organizations in these new, changing times and for generations ahead? Will we do our best to pay for and to virtually view and attend live events, concerts and movies in the upcoming months or year?

At least once per week, we can collectively unplug from Amazon, Netflix and the large multinational services to find independent online music sources showcasing live performances, independent or foreign film streaming sites, on-demand theater and stage offerings and individual artists’ donation pages that go directly to supporting local filmmakers and artists.

Necessity led to our invention of “DGC@Home,” a virtual theater experience that brings the foreign, independent and offbeat films that would have screened at the Digital Gym to your in-home device. Ticket prices generally run around $12.

For those saddened by the sudden postponement of this year’s 27th Annual SDLFF in March, we’ll be bringing back in May a film festival favorite by local filmmaker, Paul Espinosa, entitled “Singing Our Way to Freedom,” about the life of acclaimed Chicano singer and activist Chunky Sanchez.

In addition to individual community member support and increased engagement during this crisis, foundations and government funders can and must step up with new support for artists and arts organizations to be able to build new structures and platforms needed to present and earn income virtually. Coronavirus realities make new revenue opportunities imperative.

With public venues closed, and the inevitable budget crises at city, state and federal levels, now is not the time to give away everything for free.

Ethan Van Thillo is founder and executive director of the Media Arts Center San Diego, the San Diego Latino Film Festival and Digital Gym Cinema. He lives in Golden Hill.