COVID-19 Hits the Art Scene: Color Factory and Museum of Ice Cream Initiate Massive Lay Offs

The COVID-19 continues to spread and kill across the world, with global causalities having hit 34,000. Almost every sphere of our lives has been hit, and most of us are conformed to our houses. With schools shut, offices closed and public transport partially banned, most people are whiling away time at home. Such a global lockdown makes things difficult for businesses around the world. IMF has already stated that following the COVID-19, the world will spiral into an economic recession. Many major companies have also been reeling in the after-effect of this deadly pandemic. Here’s a look at how Color Factory, backed by Instagram, is handling the issues.

Shut-Down Imminent

Jeff Lind, who serves as the CEO of Color Factory, knew his business would shut down when the NBA canceled its season in the US. Jeff was watching a Utah Jazz game when the announcements came out, and he knew that soon enough the entire city would be on lockdown. As predicted, within a few days, the whole of New York went into a total shut-down, with the government closing all restaurants, hotels and non-essential stores. The entertainment industry, consisting of rodeos, sports complexes, museums and art galleries had the world change underneath their own feet, as the COVID-19 spread ferociously. Two of the world’s most popular photogenic experiences, the Color Factory and Museum of Ice Cream have both felt the after-effects of this deadly virus. Both of them have had to shut shop, in a bid to stop the aggressive spread of the pandemic. As a result, both have had to lay off employees, with almost no revenue coming in recently.

Making Things Difficult

Color Factory closed both its installments, in New York and Houston by March 18th, and followed up by temporarily laying off their employees. CEO Lind says that almost 90% of Color Factory’s employees have been let go, in a bid to cut costs. Everyone including hourly employees, part-time workers and corporate employees were dismissed, with them maintaining only critical positions. However, the company still provides health care benefits to eligible employees for 12 weeks.

Furthermore, all the employees who were laid off received severance pay associated with their experience. Also, to further cut costs, all the remaining employees have taken salary cuts. The company also had to ask people who had bought tickets before-hand to reschedule their visits. However, Color Factory is still handing out refunds if the customers insist on it. Unfortunately for them, the COVID-19 hit at peak time, with the Houston establishment having been sold out.

Others Follow Suit

Color Factory hasn’t been the only Instagram pop-up to suffer, with fellow art space, Museum of Ice Cream also sharing their fate. As more and more people stay confined to their houses, almost no one has the time for entertainment nowadays. People are not allowed to take their kids out to play, go on dates, or even enjoy an artistically inclined evening outdoors. Pop-up museums depend on such crowds, and hence, this industry has suffered much due to the COVID-19. These museums use the marketing power gained by people posting photos on Instagram, to attract crowds, and that doesn’t seem to be happening in today’s atmosphere. Unlike other streams of art, such as music and dance, these museums cannot recreate their space on a virtual platform. Therefore, the Museum of Ice Cream too laid off almost 90% of its employees, as per CEO Maryellis Bunn. However, just like the Color Factory, they also will provide employees with health care benefits, and severance pays.

Controversies and Bad Reputation

However, the Museum of Ice Cream was not able to pay some of their contractors on time, and this led to an Instagram smear campaign against them. Most of the comments under their posts feature people asking them to pay their workers on time. Some of the contractors have also stated that they have not been paid since last month. They went on to say that they received their money, only after calling out the company on Instagram and shaming them online.

Similarly, three other contractors also received their payment only after the social media storm hit the company. However, CEO Bunn had a different opinion, stating that all their employees had been paid on time. To cut costs even further, Bunn and all the employees who have been retained have taken massive salary reductions. The CEO has apparently given up her entire salary for the month to keep the company afloat. While New York City entered the shut-down recently, Bunn feels that revenue has been receding since February. A significant amount of their footfall comes from foreign tourists, who have been walloped by the COVID-19.

Another black mark in their reputation came in the form of claims that the company had not refunded money to clients who had canceled their tour. Several email chains came out in the open, stating that ShowClix, which sells tickets for the Museum of Ice Cream, was refusing to refund clients. Until March 19th, customers were being asked to reschedule their trip, rather than cancel it. In this case, as well, Bunn has said that refunds will be available as of last week. Other prominent closures around the US include Meow Wolf and Rosé Mansion, while Candytopia has stayed quiet regarding their locations. Since all of these are in-person experiences, they do not translate well on Zoom calls, making it difficult for them to work through the social distancing norm. These companies are hoping to put this episode behind them, and start again as soon as the COVID-19 scare passes.