The Browning Center shone red on campus the evening of Sep. 1 in support of the national #RedAlertRESTART and #WeMakeEvents movement.

The organization #WeMakeEvents started the #RedAlertRESTART movement to shine a light on the detrimental effects of COVID-19 on performing arts companies and professionals everywhere.

To raise public and media awareness and support, they organized the lighting in red of venues, homes and cities nationwide on Sep. 1.

Weber State Arts shared on Twitter on Aug. 31 that they would participate in #RedAlertRESTART by lighting up the campus performing arts building in red. Another Twitter post on Sep. 1 showed the Austad Auditorium and Allred Theater were also lit in red.

“We support performing artists and technicians locally, regionally and nationally,” said a post on Weber State Art’s Twitter page.

The same post on the Twitter page also said that performing arts were one of the first industries to shut down during the pandemic, and will be one of the last to reopen.

The #WeMakeEvents organization’s website lists some of the facts of the COVID-19’s impact on the performing arts: according to the website, 95 percent of live events have been canceled, 96 percent of companies have cut staff and/or wages and 77 percent of people working in the industry have lost 100 percent of their income.

The organization encourages all fans of live events to participate by contacting their congress representatives through resources provided on the website, and then by sharing a red-tinted picture of their favorite live performing arts event on their social media with the associated hashtags.

The hope, according to the website, is that mass participation will “jump-start relief for the live events industry.”