Behind the Mask

Arts organizations, businesses, community groups pitch in to make masks for medical community

By Collin Kelley and Clare S. Richie

With the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) making daily headlines during the coronavirus outbreak, arts organizations, businesses and community groups have become maskmaking factories to help frontline medical workers.

With its productions on hold, The Atlanta Opera’s costume and wardrobe department employees have dedicated their working hours to making masks.

“This is a time of great need for the medical community and the community at large,” The Atlanta Opera’s artistic director Tomer Zvulan said. “The question that we ask ourselves is no longer ‘How can we save our productions?’ but ‘How can we help save lives?’”

Each mask is designed to cover an N95 respirator mask and prolong its usable life. Joanna Schmink, costume director for The Atlanta Opera, created a prototype and local hospitals have provided operating-room sheets for use as fabric.

In mid-April, the Georgia Power Foundation presented a $25,000 donation to the Alliance Theatre’s mask-making effort. The company’s costume shop, props and production staff are putting their skills to work and creating fabric masks for medical personnel at Emory Healthcare’s five metro Atlanta facilities.

Nineteen Alliance Theatre artists are sewing on average 300 masks daily. With the donation from the Georgia Power Foundation, the artists can make 1,500 masks a week to support front line workers and Atlanta’s medical workers during COVID-19. The fabric masks sewn by the Alliance artists are designed to fit over N95 respiratory masks.

Along with the arts community, local businesses are also making masks. With masks and face-coverings likely to be part of the “new normal,” the nine-member team at Ponce City Market’s Topstitch Studio and Lounge have been producing free masks for the public to wear as well as for medical professionals. The masks for the general public feature layers of 100 percent cotton with either elastic or fabric ties. Topstitch is accepting donations via PayPal, which will be split amongst their team. Since announcing this initiative, Topstitch has received hundreds of requests each day (and counting!) and continues to accept incoming requests from Atlantans.

Local womenswear designer Abbey Glass is making medium and large masks using leftover twoply fabrics featuring original Abbey Glass patterns and a sterile wrap lining for added filtration. To date, Abbey Glass, her boyfriend, dad and younger sister have donated over 100 face masks to Emory University Hospital and are receiving more and more requests from the general public each day. Masks are available for purchase via abbey-glass.com for $20 each, which covers the shipping cost and additional materials expenses. There is currently an eight day lead time on orders placed. All profits will be used to create additional masks or given to a local charity and medical professionals.

A community collective – Sewing Masks for Atlanta Hospitals – formed back in early March to address the shortage of masks in

Atlanta.

“We are a group of five admins and two businesses who wanted to use our resources and contacts in the Atlanta healthcare industry to mobilize making masks as a stop-gap for the local healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said administrator Kirsten Hawkins. They are joined by more than 500 volunteer professionals and hobbyist sewists.

Although they aren’t the same as N95 masks doctors use, the design follows CDC guidelines for homemade masks and are approved by the requesting health facilities and health professionals.

To make a request for masks or a donation, visit sewingmasksforatlantahospitals.com.