Image Credit: Kamloops Symphony Orchestra

By Adam Donnelly

COVID-19

Kamloops arts organizations pivot, look ahead to the end of the pandemic

Jan 14, 2021 | 4:33 PM

KAMLOOPS — We’ve now surpassed the ten-month mark of the COVID-19 pandemic in B.C. While there is hope that a vaccine could bring life back to some sort of normalcy within the calendar year, it will be months before we can gather like we once did.

One sector disproportionately affected by the safety restrictions around COVID-19 is the arts. Strict limits on gathering size mean no live performances, no art shows and no fundraising events. CFJC Today caught up with leaders of three of the major arts organizations in Kamloops to find out how they’re making things work as we enter 2021.

On Friday (Jan. 15), the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra will host their fifth concert experience of the pandemic. The performance took place back in November.

“For a lot of those people, it was their first gig playing since March,” KSO Executive Director Daniel Mills explains.

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Like many organizations, the KSO has worked hard to pivot its operation and try to make these performances as similar to the live concert experience as possible.

“Of course it’s not quite the same,” Mills says. “But we’re doing the best we can to make sure it sounds the same as if you were in the hall listening to it.”

Other arts organizations throughout Kamloops have also been finding ways to make things work through the pandemic. The Kamloops Arts Council has extended their SMALL//works art fundraiser, which helps offset the limits they have in their space at the Old Courthouse.

“We definitely don’t have as many people coming into the building.” Kamloops Arts Council Executive Director Terri Hadwin explains. “We have limited building attendance to just four visitors at a time, at any given time.”

COVID-19 has been a challenge for many artists. However, the BC Arts Council recently announced a grant program for individual artists who are struggling as a result of the pandemic.

“It can help them either pivot some of their current artistic practices,” Hadwin says. “Or it can go towards professional development.”

COVID-19 posed a real risk for Western Canada Theatre. Without any production work, many staff members might have sought opportunities outside of Kamloops.

“We have a skilled staff that we need to keep. They might go to Vancouver, they might move elsewhere,” Artistic Director James MacDonald explains. “We can’t afford to lose our staff because they are so specialty skilled in the areas that we have.”

WCT also moved some Christmas-themed shows online, which has allowed the organization to continue hosting performances. With hope on the horizon in the form of COVID-19 vaccines, the arts community can be cautiously optimistic about the future, and a return to normal.

“I keep thinking about what I would really love to do when we come back,” MacDonald says. “That’s a big thing — not just the theatre we produce — but the opportunity to gather people in large numbers. To be able to say let’s gather. Let’s gather and celebrate. Let’s celebrate our community, let’s celebrate the arts in our community. Let’s celebrate Kamloops.”