SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's culture and arts industry lost over $77 million from the restrictions placed on the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report shows, but officials are holding out hope for a better year.
"When we closed the museum in March 2020 to help slow the spread of COVID-19, we thought we'd be dark for just a week or two. By mid-April, however, it was clear our temporary closure was anything but and we began to prepare for an extended shutdown," according to Jason Cryan, executive director of the Natural History Museum of Utah.
According to the 2020 State of Utah Culture Report presented last week by the Utah Cultural Alliance and the Utah Department of Heritage and Arts, about $77 million in arts-related revenue was lost between March and November 2020. State data also showed more than 3,000 jobs in the culture industry were lost or affected by COVID-19, and about 22,000 independent contractors lost work.