Cambridge Arts River Festival Cancelled Due To COVID-19

Cambridge Arts River Festival Cancelled Due To COVID-19

• Funds Donated To Cambridge Artist Relief Fund

 • Online Cambridge Arts Stream Festival Planned

A letter from our Executive Director, Jason Weeks:

With the health and safety of our artists, performers, audiences, vendors, suppliers, volunteers and staff as a primary consideration, the City of Cambridge and Cambridge Arts have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Cambridge Arts River Festival (originally scheduled for June 6, 2020, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.).

Given the critical needs associated with flattening the curve of the Coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions that are currently in place for social distancing here in Cambridge and in the Commonwealth, we believe this is the right and best decision, but still a very difficult one to make.

We are especially grateful to our producing partners who have worked diligently with us to make the most appropriate decision in this case. Those partners include the City of Cambridge, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation.

We miss you and sincerely look forward to the time when we can once again gather safely in person to celebrate the artistry and creative innovations of our community.

$20,000 that would have been used to produce the festival has been contributed to the Cambridge Artist Relief Fund, based at the Cambridge Community Foundation. This donation was made possible through a partnership of the Cambridge City Council, the City Manager, the Cambridge Community Foundation and Cambridge Arts. We believe these funds will best be used more immediately to assist our local artists, arts organizations, and creative economy workers during this critical and unpredictable time. Lean more about resources for the arts during Coronavirus.

In the coming weeks, Cambridge Arts plans to launch The Cambridge Arts Stream Festival to bring highlights planned for the 2020 River Festival online, with some added surprises. We plan to feature art workshops, music, dance, and theater performances, video art, food and art vendors, kinetic sculpture races, and more. The Stream Festival will run all spring. The Cambridge Arts Stream Festival is proud to partner with Cambridge Community Television to present this work to Cambridge audiences on our website as well as on CCTV’s channel and streaming platforms.

We plan for the Cambridge Arts River Festival to return in June 2021 and to provide ample opportunity to once again be together on the banks of the beautiful Charles River to celebrate a wellspring of arts and creativity exemplified in Cambridge and the region!

Be well and stay safe,

Jason Weeks

Cambridge Arts

The Cambridge Arts Stream Festival

In the coming weeks, Cambridge Arts plans to launch The Cambridge Arts Stream Festival to bring highlights planned for the 2020 River Festival online, with some added surprises. We plan to feature art workshops, music, dance, and theater performances, video art, food and art vendors, kinetic sculpture races, and more. The Stream Festival will run all spring. The Cambridge Arts Stream Festival is proud to partner with Cambridge Community Television to present this work to Cambridge audiences on our website as well as on CCTV’s channel and streaming platforms.

Artists and Performers:

If you are an artist or performer who lives or works in Cambridge and would like to be involved in the Cambridge Arts Stream Festival, please email our Community Arts Administrator, Kirsten Swartz, at kswartz@cambridgema.gov with a proposal for your artistic contribution to the festival. This could be a musical set, a virtual gallery, video art, digital animation, images or video of your artwork, a virtual art workshop, poetry or short stories, dance or theater performance, or any other creative way you would like to share your artistic practice. In your proposal, please include your name, phone and email, the name of your group, a sample of your work, your availability, and brief description of what you would like to present as part of the Stream Festival.

Sponsors:

Sponsorship helps us to pay more artists to present their work as part of the Stream Festival. Since Cambridge Arts donated the funds allocated to the 2020 River Festival to the Cambridge Artists Relief Fund, we are working on a limited budget and any funds contributed helps us to support more artists in Cambridge, share their amazing work with our community, and spread messages of comfort and hope in these challenging times. If you are interested in supporting the Cambridge Arts Stream Festival, please contact Kirsten Swartz, Community Arts Administrator, at kswartz@cambridgema.gov for more information.

Partners:

Cambridge Arts is actively looking for partner organizations to collaborate on imagining, producing, and sharing the great creative work of Cambridge’s artists. Please reach out to us if you are interested in collaborating on the Stream Festival. We would love to work with you to celebrate the work you do for the Cambridge community. Please contact Kirsten Swartz at kswartz@cambridgema.gov with your ideas for partnership.

Events Schedule:

Stay tuned for a Festival schedule, coming soon!