Businesses, organizations and individuals within the arts and culture sector were particularly impacted, while simultaneously becoming major hubs of support in their communities, during the immediate aftermath and subsequent recovery efforts of catastrophic weather events in Western and Eastern Kentucky. A key component in their ability to act quickly: strong bonds in the preexisting local arts networks.

In response to an increase in devastating weather events, Boone County Cooperative Extension Community Arts hosted a day long Disaster Preparedness Workshop for Arts and Culture for local agencies. Major partners were the University of Kentucky Department of Arts Administration, Kentucky Heritage Emergency Response Network (KHERN), and Performing Arts Readiness. This workshop welcomed state and national leaders in the field who led engaging discussions in facility risk assessment, festival and event safety planning considerations, using creative arts to heal after disaster, and taking manageable steps towards preparation at home and at work. Each participant received a one-year subscription to dPlan, an online emergency preparedness and response tool created specifically for arts and culture organizations.

Nineteen (19) individuals, representing fourteen different arts and culture organizations from Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati and beyond, participated in the training. Performance venues, public art agencies, programs targeting youth, visual art galleries, Extension Homemakers, and Community Arts Extension agents attended.

Based on a survey completed at the end of the event, 91% of participants reported that they consider emergency and disaster preparedness very important relative to other priorities in their organization. Additionally, 82% of participants said they are very likely to apply something that they learned at the workshop at their workplace within the next six months. Comments included “plans are important and to have information to share really helps,” “take small steps; not everything has to happen at once,” and “the dPlan had items that I have never thought about, and we will be taking more steps for emergency plans.”