Perkins Center In Collingswood Hit Hard By Coronavirus Pandemic

COLLINGSWOOD, NJ — The coronavirus pandemic is not just hitting local businesses hard. Local non-profits — including the Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown and Collingswood — are taking a hit as well.

The Perkins Center is in need of more than $120,000 after being forced to cancel its events and programs in the wake of Gov. Phil Murphy’s stay-at-home order. This included its largest annual fundraiser, Handcrafted 2020.

“The most important thing is for us to be good community members and promote safety,” Perkins Center for the Arts Executive Director Kahra Buss said. “We miss seeing our students and faculty in their music and art classes, and we want to work with our communities to be a part of the solution.”

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Perkins quickly moved to an online learning model. The staff and faculty continue working diligently, remotely, to provide services and support to regional artists who rely on their income from Perkins and the students who depend on Perkins’ programming, the center said in a statement.

But when the stay-at-home order came down on March 16, the center cancelled its music and art classes. With everyone feeling the financial pressure of the shutdown, including many people who have been laid off, donations are down. The center said its income is drying up.

One way the center is trying to raise money is through the photography of Debbie McGeorge, a native of Moorestown who teaches sixth grade in the township.

McGeorge has created a photography fundraiser for Perkins called “Moorestown 2020, A Photographic Narrative.” She and her former student Sedona Young are taking pictures of people in their yards all around Moorestown.

Different from the “porch sessions” that have taken off right now, they are photographing real people in their natural environment hoping to connect the community in a different way (through long lenses).

Photographs are for sale for $50 for one 8x10 or 8x12 or a package of four prints for $75. The images can be found at https://perkinsarts.org/exhibitions/mooretown-2020-photographic-narrative/.

Perkins is not simply an arts center, but also a community economic partner. For every $1 invested in Perkins, the Center generates more than $4 back into our local economies (Burlington, Camden & Gloucester).

Perkins is exploring what the next phase of the center looks like in a virtual world. The staff is currently creating online visual arts classes. There is a monthly Facebook Live storytelling concert called The Butterfly, the new Members and Faculty virtual exhibition is online and others (Youth Arts) are in the works.

A Perkins Podcast is being developed while concerts and Conversations on Culture are occurring online. The staff is currently planning for summer camp and virtual extensions of the camp based on the limitations being imposed.

The Perkins Center for the Arts has locations at 395 Kings Highway in Moorestown and 30 Irvin Avenue in Collingswood. For information on how to become a member or make a donation, visitperkinsarts.org.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know