Artist Relief
Artist Relief is an initiative organized by the Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, MAP Fund, National YoungArts Foundation, and United States Artists—all small to mid-sized national arts grantmakers—that have come together in this unprecedented moment guided by the understanding that the wellbeing of artists has financial, professional, social, and mental dimensions, and should be fostered with a holistic framework of support.
As such, Artist Relief will distribute $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19; serve as an ongoing informational resource; and co-launch the COVID-19 Impact Survey for Artists and Creative Workers, designed by Americans for the Arts, to better identify and address the needs of artists moving forward.
Artist Relief launched with a generous $5 million seed gift from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, to match an initial $5 million in funding generously provided by the following foundations: 7|G Foundation, Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Amazon Literary Partnership, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Arison Arts Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Ford Foundation, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation COVID-19 Relief Effort, Jerome Foundation, Joan Mitchell Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Kraus Family Foundation, LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, Metabolic Studio, Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, Open Society Foundations, Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Richard Salomon Family Foundation, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, The Sue Hostetler and Beau Wrigley Family Foundation, Teiger Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, and The Willem de Kooning Foundation.
The initiative will operate through September, as organizers monitor the impact of the pandemic and continue to fundraise to assist with the rapidly escalating needs of the country’s artists. According to Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait, a study published in 2019 by the Office of Research & Analysis (ORA) at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), there are 2.5 million working artists in the United States. To meet the needs of as many artists as possible, donations can be made here.
Practicing artists living in all fifty states, territories, and Tribal Nations, working in any discipline, are able to apply for the $5,000 grant. Applicants must be 21 or older, able to receive taxable income in the United States regardless of their citizenship status, and have generally lived and worked in the United States for the last two years. Due to expected demand, Artist Relief recognizes it will not be able to fund every applicant. Artists demonstrating the most severe needs will be prioritized, with an emphasis on funding widely across disciplines and geographies, as well as disability, ethnicity, and gender. Applications will be reviewed and assessed for eligibility and need in collaboration with cultural nonprofits across the country, who will assist in the determination and selection process.