During the COVID pandemic, spontaneous collective action emerged through voluntary efforts In this study, we document the collective action by New York City nonprofit arts and culture organizations that built social capital where none existed. In NYC, the elite institutions (e.g., Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera) had a network before the pandemic; however, this was not the case for other parts of the sector. Each of NYC’s five boroughs had networks through their local arts councils. However, there were few or no network ties between smaller and elite nonprofits, across disciplines or boroughs beyond the cultural corridor of Manhattan and East Brooklyn. The elite organizations’ strong network led them to meet daily to collaboratively respond to the pandemic closures. At the suggestion of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, they opened the call to all nonprofit NYC arts and culture organizations. The Culture@3 virtual space was a daily call at 3 pm during the pandemic shutdown, where nonprofit arts and culture leaders came to share information and, in the process, establish common understanding across disciplines, boroughs, and organizational sizes. We title our study “The Power to Unmute” because the Zoom microphone and gallery view of participants equalized access regardless of organizational size, discipline, or borough. We held 16 interviews with nonprofit arts and culture leaders, government officials, and foundations who participated in the calls. One of our team collaborators participated in the Zoom calls on behalf of a nonprofit theater. Through the interviews and lived experience, our study identifies the rules, norms, and strategies that emerged during the pandemic shutdown that helped arts and culture organizations survive and ultimately wove a new arts and culture network fabric.
