Photo courtesy Visual Arts Center of Richmond
Like other arts organizations, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, which serves 7,000 people each year, offering classes in clay, decorative arts, drawing, glass, metal, painting, photography, printmaking and writing, has felt the impact of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had to cancel 900 student registrations for spring classes,” says Executive Director Stefanie Fedor.
“So much of our work is based on being together and working side by side,” she says, making and creating art. Instructors and students are taking a crash course in transferring their teaching and learning skills to online platforms.
The VisArts staff of 20 is working at home and still on the payroll — for now. Staff and teachers are providing online classes for students, as well as some free workshops for families. Spring classes have moved online and begin on May 4. Summer programs are still being considered.
Fedor closed the studios on March 13.
She had reason to be cautious; some of VisArts’ students belong to vulnerable populations, such as the elderly.
To meet the current needs, VisArts has developed family art projects that use everyday supplies people already have at home. They have also partnered with Plaza Art, Clay Works and Oakwood Arts to create art-making kits to be delivered to students within a 10-mile radius. Some kits will be available at sites where students and families pick up school-provided lunches.
“Supplies have not yet become a problem,” Fedor says.
