ArtsReady - South Arts

Be ArtsReady. For “what if” instead of “why me.” Whether it is a fire, a flood, or a break-in --the unforeseen happens all too often. The unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime, won’t-happen-to-me, I-don’t-want-to-talk-about-it actually does happen.

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About ArtsReady: South Arts took on the mission of readiness and planning shortly after the tragedies of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In researching preparedness we recognized how essential a plan for business continuity is, and how often arts organizations across the nation lack such plans. South Arts also found that most arts professionals have not had the training needed to develop a cohesive strategy for handling emergencies. This prompted the emergence of the ArtsReady project and service. Over the years the ArtsReady team has worked within the arts and planning communities formulating an approach for readiness. Our philosophy encompasses an “all hazards” strategy since hurricanes aren’t the only, or even the most frequent, crises that cultural organizations face. ArtsReady focuses on safeguarding the critical functions and resources an arts organization needs to operate successfully, rather than considering different types of disasters one at a time.

Launched in September 2011, ArtsReady is now an online readiness platform that provides arts organizations with customized business continuity plans for post crisis sustainability. It has a community-driven resource Library to guide arts professionals in planning. Organizations can also receive pertinent alerts and e-newsletters about readiness as a free Basic ArtsReady Members. The more advanced, subscription-based Premium Membership takes the legwork out of planning all together, and lets organizations build and maintain their own plan online. The Premium ArtsReady tool sends automatic updates, so plan components stay fresh and don't become outdated. In addition, it provides cloud-based storage for vital emergency-related files, and a social networking component to link organizations together so they can assist each other in times of need.

The ArtsReady platform, developed through a partnership with Fractured Atlas, was built as an open-source tool. It has been and will continue to be community-designed, informed by those who use it.

ArtsReady is a national initiative of South Arts supported in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The ArtsReady platform was developed through a technical collaboration with Fractured Atlas. Early support and advice was provided by the Mississippi Arts Commission, the University of California/Berkeley, and Henry Morrison Flagler Museum.