Preparedness and Partnership: September at NCAPER
Updated: 22 hours ago
September is National Preparedness Month
Mollie Quinlan-Hayes, NCAPER Executive Director
Being prepared means thinking about what you will do if the unexpected happens. Making decisions ahead of time lets you act more quickly, more safely and more intentionally.
Small actions can make a big difference! Here are suggestions for whether you have ten minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour.
Less than 10 minutes:
Many of us move around when we work. Make sure wherever your laptop/device is plugged in, you’re using a surge protector. It’s a small investment to make sure your data and electronics don’t get fried. For your main workstation and WIFI, you might also want to install a UPS, an uninterruptible power supply.
30 minutes:
The smallest amount of water, or a recent infestation of moths, can create significant damage to your paper files, media-based records or textiles. Take a quick tour of your lowest level, your closets, your on- and off-site storage areas. Are boxes and cartons stored at least three inches off the ground? Are they away from water sources, exterior windows, pipes? Add a quarterly check in of your storage areas to your calendar to make sure you don’t lose valuable assets to water damage, mold or pests.
An hour: Do you know that every venue you work in has been recently safety-checked?
If you manage or rent a venue, this template has the basics to make sure your venue, no matter the type, size or age, is ready to safely welcome in artists and audiences. If you’re a renter, DON’T ASSUME that this is all taken care of for you! Meet with your venue contact ahead of time. Ask if they have this type of checklist. If so, who’s responsible for doing the walkthrough before EACH AND EVERY event? If the management is responsible, you should receive an ‘all clear’ report from them when you arrive on site. If you are responsible, you should have an agreement about how you report any problems and who corrects them before the event opens to the public. If you’re a guest artist or crew member, whenever you arrive at a new venue ASK for a safety and security walkthrough!
Tailor this to your particular situation, adding or eliminating as needed. Keep in mind your unique situation: if you have an outdoor space; if you have multiple programming spaces; if you work with children and parents; if your events are open versus ticketed; etc. This is just to get you started.
Arts Response Networks: What They Are and How to Build One
You know where your emergency exits are, and the fire extinguisher, right? You remember the evacuation drills from grade school. Having the basics drilled into your memory lets you react more quickly and more safely. An arts response network works the same way. If you agree ahead of time on who will do what, how you’ll be in touch with each other, and what each of you is able to offer, you’ll be able to react more quickly and safely, whether the emergency is a broken water pipe flooding one person’s rehearsal studio, or a heavy storm flooding your entire neighborhood.
And you can agree to help each other whether a crisis causes physical damage, or it disrupts network members in other ways - losing access to workspace, damage or loss of tools and equipment, standard communication channels are down, data and information are compromised. You decide what you’ll do and in what circumstances.
The key to getting prepared, and reacting to emergencies, is having local resources at hand. All disasters are local—even if it’s a large and damaging event, the first responders are local and local resources, systems, and connections are your first line of assistance.
An arts response network can be built from an existing professional network, expanding on how you support each other. Or you can create a new one with colleagues from your building, neighborhood, or other group with similar interests. The core purpose is to build linkages, knowledge, and trust; ensure you all have a greater ability to withstand a crisis; make action and response happen more quickly and effectively; and provide mutual aid and peer support.
Tips and tools already exist to help you get your network started, or to expand it—these have been gathered from the networks that have been around for years and been successful.
Start with a network scope that’s relatively small, simple, and self-contained
Invite peers with a common attribute: in the same geographic area, working in the same discipline, or with similar type or size of artistic practices
Gather your group together to explore if and how you want to work together. (It’s OK if someone says no, or not now! Everyone has different capacities at different points in time. You don’t want someone to commit to something they can’t actually do.)
How to Start Organizing
Once you’ve got your group started, there are basic steps to organizing. You can use this Network-Building Worksheet from NCAPER. Much of this material is informed by the Cultural Placekeeping Guide, which is a free tool for organizing larger, organization-based response networks. Key things to decide (and no decision is wrong!):
Who else might be a member?
What is your purpose? At minimum you should provide emergency-related communications. Beyond that, will you help each other prepare for emergencies ahead of time? Will you focus primarily on needs after a crisis? Will you offer each other space, labor, equipment/supplies?
What kinds of events will activate the network? Only large-scale disasters? Natural and/or human-caused events? What if only some of the network members are impacted?
When will you be active? In ‘blue sky’ times when it’s calm, to help each other with preparedness? Only during and immediately after crises? Or throughout recovery?
What processes will you use? What communication channel(s) will you use? How will you securely share and store information on the network?
You might get these decided in one meeting, or it might take a few. Memorialize all of your decisions and make sure all network members have copies of the written agreements. Then get together to train and rehearse. That’s the way to build muscle memory AND to figure out ahead of time if something in your network plan doesn’t work.
Let NCAPER know if you start a network! They can offer support and guidance, and help connect artist networks.
This article is presented as part of a collaboration among organizations committed to the health and well-being of artists:
 | CERF+/Craft Emergency Relief Fund: Serving craft artists through emergency relief, preparedness, education + advocacy. | |
 | NCAPER/National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response: Strengthening the arts and culture sector’s capacity to respond to disasters and emergencies, promoting resilience through collaboration, planning, and advocacy. | |
 | NYFA/New York Foundation for the Arts: Providing critical support and resources for artists and arts organizations in New York, and nationwide. |
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