This year has been harsh for the performing arts. COVID-19 shuttered theaters and concert halls practically overnight in March.
At first, it looked like things might get back to normal in the summer. Then, there were hopes for a fall season. Now, here we are at the end of the year and even holiday shows, which can be lucrative for arts organizations, have been canceled or moved online.
What did 2020 look like for the performing arts? Amid the upheaval and loss, some artists and institutions continued creating online or in small outdoor performances.
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra have streamed live concerts.
MPR photo/Euan Kerr
The 2010 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival opens its doors Thursday night. For the next two weeks the St. Anthony Main movieplex will be awash in films, directors, and actors from around the world.
Organizers say they tried hard really hard to keep the number of films down. Then event director Al Milgrom went to Berlin and found a bunch of must-haves. What do you do? he asked. Deprive the active film claque in the Twin Cities the chance to have a life changing experience?
It s in that spirit that Milgrom has been programming the festival for decades, gathering films from around the world to show in Minnesota every spring.
Latest on COVID-19 in MN: December now Minnesota's deadliest month of pandemic southernminn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from southernminn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
394,635 positive cases (2,772 new); 365,620 off isolation (92 percent)
5.1 million tests, 2.8 million tested (about 50 percent of the population)
7.2 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent or more concerning)
Health officials said 1,144 people remained in the hospital with COVID-19 as of Thursday, with 270 needing intensive care. While that’s still fairly high, the seven-day trend for new hospital admissions has receded to fewer than 150 a day a level not seen since early November.
Some #COVID19 milestones today.
- More than 50% of Minnesota residents have now taken at least 1 COVID test this year
- December is officially the deadliest month to date, surpassing November’s 1,136 COVID deaths with 12 more days to go. pic.twitter.com/qDFk8PxsPu David H. Montgomery (@dhmontgomery) December 19, 2020
Latest on COVID-19 in MN: 65 deaths; hospitalizations, cases continue to ebb southernminn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from southernminn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.