Reflecting back, looking forward
Arts organizations refl ect on 2020
BY ZOË BUCHLI
Local arts businesses have had to adapt
in a number of ways during the coronavirus
pandemic. Whether hosting virtual events or
drastically reducing customer capacity, arts
businesses faced unique challenges and suc-
cesses in 2020.
Don Nisbett Art Gallery
For Don Nisbett, co-owner of Don Nis-
bett Art Gallery in Ilwaco, Washington,
one of the largest obstacles introduced
by the pandemic was a reduced supply of
materials.
“Besides the obvious impact of having
to shut down or reduce capacity, one of the
biggest impacts to the gallery has been hav-
ing trouble procuring the base materials I
use to manufacture some of the products I
sell,” Nisbett said. “Some of our best selling
items are still unavailable and it is very frus-
trating and also affects some of our whole-
sale accounts.”
Nisbett said his customer base was a
huge source of support in 2020.
“When we were shut down I started call-
JULIE ADAMS
ing existing customers to offer gift certifi -
cate specials. Most people that I called pur-
chased one. A few customers even called us,
just trying to help by placing orders and pur-
chasing gift certifi cates for future visits to
the gallery,” he said. “Every purchase, big or
small, helped us make (it) through.”
Nisbett’s gallery features virus-in-
spired art, including t-shirts embellished
with “social distancing” with spaced-out,
COVID-safe crabs, an idea he said came
from his wife, Jenna. The gallery also is
selling shirts with “essential worker,” which
Nisbett said came about from a commission
from one of his local customers.
“One of my customers saw some of the
‘essential worker’ art on Facebook and com-
missioned me to paint her daughter, a nurse.
The painting is a likeness of her daughter,
a Rosie Riveter-style nurse, with a mask,”
Nisbett said.
The piece was posted online. The Ocean Coast Community Radio in Astoria.
Beach Hospital and Medical Clinics bought
shirts for their crew. “It’s a great piece and
from his family and community, and ability
continues to be a best-seller,” he said.
to keep creating throughout the year.
Nisbett said he is grateful for the support
“I’ve been saying that 2020 was the best
and the worst. I think one of the biggest fac-
tors in our ability to make it through these
tough times (was) the ability to adapt and
stay relevant,” he said.
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Astoria’s prolifi c Liberty Theatre closed
its doors on March 12, 2020.
Jennifer Crockett, executive director,
said the main challenge posed by 2020 was
funding.
“We, like a lot of the bars and restaurants
and tourist things in town, were coming off
of a slower than normal winter, and so we
were hit (by the pandemic) at the worst pos-
sible time,” she said. “We did temporarily
furlough staff, including my own position.”
Crockett said the theater had successes
with fi nding fi nancial support through a
variety of grants, private donations and
fi nancial aid programs, which allowed them
to make some building improvements to the
theater.
Staff and volunteers used the downtime
to tackle lingering maintenance projects
around the building, including building a
new concession stand and box offi ce.
Crockett said another silver lining of the
pandemic was the success of virtual events.
Her personal favorite was the theater’s vir-
tual gala in November.
“It’s kind of a funny story because we
didn’t expect as many people to watch it as
Caitlin Seyfried
they did and it absolutely crashed our web-
site,” she said. “It was a great problem to
have and we were excited that so many peo-
ple wanted to watch it.”
Virtual events were a new addition to the
theater. Virtual programs will continue after
the theater has fully reopened, Crockett said.
“There are a lot of people in our area
that either don’t have access to cars or can’t
afford ticket pricing or transportation,” she
said. “We are always trying to include as
many people as we can … I think virtual
programming is a great way to do that.”
The Liberty was able to help other per-
forming arts organizations in the area.
“We knew if the Liberty was struggling,
everyone else must really be struggling,”
she said.
By leveraging the Liberty’s relationships
with elected offi cials, donors and the the-
ater’s larger network, the theater become an
agency for 17 performing arts organizations
across Clatsop County, known as the North
Coast Performing Arts Alliance.
“We adopted a new mission during the
pandemic and have been working to keep all
of the performing arts organizations alive.
It’s been really rewarding work,” she said.
The theater plans to start bringing back
small shows with limited audiences indoors
and is planning a summer fi lled with pro-
gramming in outdoor venues, including a
block party in July.
See Page 5