CHANDLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS

from ON Stage: Reimagined Phoenix 2020-2021

ON STAGE: the arts reimagined

CHANDLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS sustaining the arts through a new lens

By Lisa Van Loo

From Facebook Live to Zoom to Instagram, Michelle Mac Lennan has been open to exploring just about any platform during the pandemic-induced hiatus from live, in-person performances.

“We’re trying everything to provide arts experiences to our community and keep artists working,” Mac Lennan, general manager of Chandler Center for the Arts (CCA), says. “But Facebook Live and YouTube seem to be the most successful for original content.”

Education programs moved online, as well as performances, with a weekly virtual concert series —CCA Anywhere— reaching nearly 14,000 people over the course of four months. And in August, Mac Lennan and her team formed a partnership with a local performance duo looking to try something a little different in order to quench everyone’s craving for a live experience.

The partnership brought together CCA, local restaurants and “Ladies in the Headlights,” a two-woman performance team that took their show from a more traditional performance venue, such as a bar or swank hotel, to parking lots — using headlights as spotlights. was quirky and weird. It was ‘I’m getting out and I’m doing something.’ People were eager for that.”

Looking ahead, CCA is looking at field trip models for educators and it’s preparing to host an outdoor music series that allows for appropriate social distancing. CCA Under the Stars will start on October 24 and run through December at both the CCA and Chandler Museum. CCA plans to continue to find ways to support local artists and the local community.

“We have to be part of the recovery. We have to be part of the solution,” Mac Lennan says of supporting artists and forming creative partnerships with hard-hit restaurants. “We’re willing to not make money and operate off of our reserves in order to sustain the arts and businesses in our community.”

And they’ll stay busy with a continued virtual presence.

“Creatives always create,” she says. “It’s going to have to be a collective rebuilding.”

To learn more, visit chandlercenter.org.