Washington creative sector’s response to the end of indoor mask mandates

ArtsWA – The Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) released a new report this week that explores how Washington’s creative sector plans to move forward after the statewide indoor mask mandate ended earlier this month. 

The report, which summarizes responses from 252 arts and cultural organizations from across the state, reveals a sector that is deeply ambivalent about the best way forward. 

The Arts Commission says 29% of respondents said that they planned to end both mask and vaccination requirements as of March 12, the date that Governor Inslee officially ended the indoor mask mandate. 

28.6% said that they planned to continue both mask and vaccination requirements until further notice. 

19.4% of the respondents chose “Other” to indicate that their plans did not fit into either of these categories.

 The Arts Commission’s report also breaks down the response data by region. 

The “Northwest” region, which includes King County, saw a starkly different distribution of responses: 20% said that they planned to end both requirements as of March 12, while 40% said that they intended to continue both requirements until further notice. 

In the “Eastern” region, however, 53% said they planned to end both requirements as of March 12, with only 9% indicating that they would maintain both requirements until further notice.

In the “Southwest” region that includes Grays Harbor and Pacific County, 45% said they planned to end both requirements as of March 12 and 17% said that they intended to continue both requirements until further notice.

Find the full report in the PDF linked below.

https://www.arts.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Post-Mandate-Survey-Report.pdf