The COVID-19 Impact Survey for Artists and Creative Workers

Note: Data has not been cleaned and may include outliers, inaccuracies, and typos.
1.

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Section 1: General Questions
1. Please select any of the following that you would say describe yourself. (please select all that apply)

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2. You identified as a practicing artist, creative worker, culture bearer, educator, or teaching artist. Please select any of the following that you would say describe yourself. (please select all that apply)

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3. You identified an entrepreneur, business owner, or operator. Is your business incorporated as a non-profit?

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4. Please select any of the following that you would say describes your business. (please select all that apply)

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5. Please select any of the following genres in which you work and/or teach. (please select all that apply)

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6. Who pays you? Please select any of the following parts of the creative sector that you earn revenue from through your creative practice. (please select all that apply)

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7. Do you have a full-time job that is directly correlated with your creative/artistic practice? (e.g., you are a full-time artist and support yourself with that work; you are a musician, but you also teach music full-time at a university; you are a playwright and a full-time Artistic Director).

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8. Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, what percentage of the total time you worked in a “normal” week was devoted to artistic/creative work?

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9. Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, what percentage of the total money you earned in a normal week was derived from artistic/creative work?

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10. Are you member of a union or trade association?

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11. Please list unions or trade associations that you are a member of:

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Section 2: Financial Impacts

12. Have you experienced a loss of income from your artistic/creative practice as a result of the coronavirus pandemic? (Examples might include cancellations, project delays, illness, etc.)

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13. Have you experienced any unanticipated expenditures to your artistic/creative practice as a result of the coronavirus pandemic? (Examples might include travel, adopting new cleaning/disinfecting protocols, adopting new strategies, unexpected marketing or technology costs, etc.)

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14. Estimate the total financial loss (in dollars) that you know you have experienced in your creative/artistic work as a result of the coronavirus (between 1/20/2020 and today). Your answer should include the sum of both lost artistic income as well as any unanticipated expenditures that you have experienced. We recognize that an exact figure may not be available.

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15. You indicated that you have experienced a decline in your artistic/creative income. How do you plan on supplementing that lost income (if at all)? (please select all that apply)

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16. How many months of savings did/do you have?

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17. Please select any of the following that you had prior to COVID-19. (please select all that apply)

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18. Please select any of the following that you have now, in the midst of COVID-19. (please select all that apply)

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19. Do you work non-creative jobs?For the purposes of this survey, we ask you to self-define a “creative job” as one where the income is derived from the use of your artistry or creativity, and a “non-creative job” as one where the income is derived from non-artistic or non-creative outputs.

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20. Have your non-creative job(s) been negatively affected by COVID-19? (please select all that apply)

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21. Have you become fully unemployed because of COVID-19?

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Section 3: Creative Impacts
22. What has happened to your creative productivity in this period of social distancing and quarantine?

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23. You indicated a decline in your creative productivity. What do you attribute that decline to? (please check all that apply)

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24. You indicated an increase in your creative productivity. What do you attribute increase to? (please check all that apply)

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25. Recognizing it is early in the crisis, do you have a plan to financially recover from COVID-19?

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26. There are many reasons why planning for the future right now is hard. Please select any of the reasons below that make it hard to think about planning for financial recovery. (select all that apply)

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27. [Optional]: Have you experienced any of the following circumstances at any point in your life PRIOR to the pandemic? (check all that apply)

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28. [Optional] Have you experienced any of the following circumstances at any point in your life SINCE the onset of the pandemic? (check all that apply)

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29. Please RANK the 3 MOST HELPFUL things to sustaining your creative life and work during the coronavirus pandemic.

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30. Were you/are you utilizing online tools to share/distribute your creative/artistic work (including both new and existing work)?

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31. Roughly what percentage of your creativity-based income was generated online PRIOR to the arrival of COVID-19?

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32. Roughly what percentage of your creativity-based income is generated online since the arrival of COVID-19?

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33. [Optional]: Please describe how you were/are earning revenue through the online deployment of your art.

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34. Please select any of the following reasons that you are not currently deploying your creative or artistic practice through online tools. (select all that apply)

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35. Who has worked to distribute your creative product?

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36. You indicated that your creative product is being distributed by an organization. Is that work being sold for a fee by the organization or made available for free?

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37. Are you receiving revenue from the organization for the use of your creative work in their online streams?

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38. Is there a formal agreement/contract in place that dictates whether you should be compensated for the organization’s use of your creative work online?

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39. What does the formal agreement/contract say about compensation for online use of your work?

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40. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:

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41. Have you used/do you plan on using your creative or artistic practice to address the needs of community? For the purposes of this question, “community” means any group that you are a part of (your neighborhood; yoga group, social club, or book club; your organization or union; family and friends; your school; tribe, etc.)

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42. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.For the purposes of these questions, “community” means any group that you are a part of (your neighborhood; yoga group, social club, or book club; your organization or union; family and friends; your school; tribe, etc.)

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43. Understanding financial compensation may or may not be desired in this case, have you been compensated for your time and/or materials or hard costs for artistic/creative activities you’ve done with or for your community? (select all that apply)

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44. Please indicate whether you would take advantage of the following opportunities to support the recovery of the United States in the aftermath of COVID-19.

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45. [Optional]: We would like to hear the personal stories and experiences of artists and creative workers, and also to gather anything else you think it is important to share. Please share here.

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46. [Optional]: Where do you see opportunity as an artist or creative worker in the recovery that will occur after COVID-19 is resolved? Have you begun to lay the groundwork for taking advantage of that opportunity?

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47. Are you interested in becoming a free member of the Arts Action Fund, which allows you to get advocacy alerts about policy and funding issues related to arts, culture, and the creative economy?

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Section 4: Optional Demographics
48. [Optional]: Which range of years listed below includes the year that you were born?

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49. [Optional]: Do you identify as a person with a disability (a sensory, physical, mobility, health or age-related, cognitive, mental health, or other impairment or medical condition)?

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50. [Optional]: Which category/categories best describe your race/ethnicity? (please check all that apply)Why are we asking this question? COVID-19 is disproportionally affecting people of color and we need accurate data to ensure that the true severity of the crisis is measured. If you do not wish to answer, please feel free to skip it.

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51. [Optional]: What is the highest level of education you have completed?

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52. [Optional]: What is the ZIP code in which you do most of your work?

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53. [Optional]: Please select which of the following best describes where you predominantly live/work:

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54. [Optional]: With which gender do you identify?

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55. [Optional]: Do you identify as transgender? (A transgender person’s gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth.)

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56. [Optional]: Which of the following categories best describes your annual total household income prior to the impacts of COVID-19?

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57. Map of Respondents

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Checking for new responses...

1.

1. Please select any of the following that you would say describe yourself. (please select all that apply)

2. You identified as a practicing artist, creative worker, culture bearer, educator, or teaching artist. Please select any of the following that you would say describe yourself. (please select all that apply)

3. You identified an entrepreneur, business owner, or operator. Is your business incorporated as a non-profit?

4. Please select any of the following that you would say describes your business. (please select all that apply)

5. Please select any of the following genres in which you work and/or teach. (please select all that apply)

6. Who pays you? Please select any of the following parts of the creative sector that you earn revenue from through your creative practice. (please select all that apply)

7. Do you have a full-time job that is directly correlated with your creative/artistic practice? (e.g., you are a full-time artist and support yourself with that work; you are a musician, but you also teach music full-time at a university; you are a playwright and a full-time Artistic Director).

8. Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, what percentage of the total time you worked in a “normal” week was devoted to artistic/creative work?

9. Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, what percentage of the total money you earned in a normal week was derived from artistic/creative work?

10. Are you member of a union or trade association?

11. Please list unions or trade associations that you are a member of:

12. Have you experienced a loss of income from your artistic/creative practice as a result of the coronavirus pandemic? (Examples might include cancellations, project delays, illness, etc.)

13. Have you experienced any unanticipated expenditures to your artistic/creative practice as a result of the coronavirus pandemic? (Examples might include travel, adopting new cleaning/disinfecting protocols, adopting new strategies, unexpected marketing or technology costs, etc.)

15. You indicated that you have experienced a decline in your artistic/creative income. How do you plan on supplementing that lost income (if at all)? (please select all that apply)

16. How many months of savings did/do you have?

17. Please select any of the following that you had prior to COVID-19. (please select all that apply)

18. Please select any of the following that you have now, in the midst of COVID-19. (please select all that apply)

20. Have your non-creative job(s) been negatively affected by COVID-19? (please select all that apply)

21. Have you become fully unemployed because of COVID-19?

22. What has happened to your creative productivity in this period of social distancing and quarantine?

23. You indicated a decline in your creative productivity. What do you attribute that decline to? (please check all that apply)

24. You indicated an increase in your creative productivity. What do you attribute increase to? (please check all that apply)

25. Recognizing it is early in the crisis, do you have a plan to financially recover from COVID-19?

26. There are many reasons why planning for the future right now is hard. Please select any of the reasons below that make it hard to think about planning for financial recovery. (select all that apply)

27. [Optional]: Have you experienced any of the following circumstances at any point in your life PRIOR to the pandemic? (check all that apply)

28. [Optional] Have you experienced any of the following circumstances at any point in your life SINCE the onset of the pandemic? (check all that apply)

29. Please RANK the 3 MOST HELPFUL things to sustaining your creative life and work during the coronavirus pandemic.

30. Were you/are you utilizing online tools to share/distribute your creative/artistic work (including both new and existing work)?

31. Roughly what percentage of your creativity-based income was generated online PRIOR to the arrival of COVID-19?

32. Roughly what percentage of your creativity-based income is generated online since the arrival of COVID-19?

33. [Optional]: Please describe how you were/are earning revenue through the online deployment of your art.

34. Please select any of the following reasons that you are not currently deploying your creative or artistic practice through online tools. (select all that apply)

35. Who has worked to distribute your creative product?

36. You indicated that your creative product is being distributed by an organization. Is that work being sold for a fee by the organization or made available for free?

37. Are you receiving revenue from the organization for the use of your creative work in their online streams?

38. Is there a formal agreement/contract in place that dictates whether you should be compensated for the organization’s use of your creative work online?

39. What does the formal agreement/contract say about compensation for online use of your work?

40. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:

42. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.For the purposes of these questions, “community” means any group that you are a part of (your neighborhood; yoga group, social club, or book club; your organization or union; family and friends; your school; tribe, etc.)

43. Understanding financial compensation may or may not be desired in this case, have you been compensated for your time and/or materials or hard costs for artistic/creative activities you’ve done with or for your community? (select all that apply)

44. Please indicate whether you would take advantage of the following opportunities to support the recovery of the United States in the aftermath of COVID-19.

45. [Optional]: We would like to hear the personal stories and experiences of artists and creative workers, and also to gather anything else you think it is important to share. Please share here.

46. [Optional]: Where do you see opportunity as an artist or creative worker in the recovery that will occur after COVID-19 is resolved? Have you begun to lay the groundwork for taking advantage of that opportunity?

47. Are you interested in becoming a free member of the Arts Action Fund, which allows you to get advocacy alerts about policy and funding issues related to arts, culture, and the creative economy?

48. [Optional]: Which range of years listed below includes the year that you were born?

49. [Optional]: Do you identify as a person with a disability (a sensory, physical, mobility, health or age-related, cognitive, mental health, or other impairment or medical condition)?

51. [Optional]: What is the highest level of education you have completed?

52. [Optional]: What is the ZIP code in which you do most of your work?

53. [Optional]: Please select which of the following best describes where you predominantly live/work:

54. [Optional]: With which gender do you identify?

55. [Optional]: Do you identify as transgender? (A transgender person’s gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth.)

56. [Optional]: Which of the following categories best describes your annual total household income prior to the impacts of COVID-19?

57. Map of Respondents