Artist Relief is an emergency 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 mid-sized national arts grantmakers that have come together in this unprecedented moment—to 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 will distribute $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19. The fund will operate through September 2020 and will fund at least 100 artists per week. The application will be open in cycles based on these exact dates:
- Cycle I: April 8 – April 23 (closes 11:59pm ET)
- Cycle II: April 24 – May 21 (closes 11:59pm ET)
- Cycle III: May 22 – June 18 (closes 11:59pm ET)
- Cycle IV: June 19 – July 23 (closes 11:59pm ET)
- Cycle V: July 24 – August 20 (closes 11:59pm ET)
At the end of each cycle, all non-funded applications will be removed from our system so that artists can reapply the following round. This system allows us to monitor our capacity as well as maximize each applicant’s opportunity to receive a grant. Additionally, reapplying each cycle allows artists to rearticulate their needs as their circumstances change during this pandemic. Due to the magnitude of this crisis, we anticipate more requests for funding than there are funds to distribute.
We recommend that you draft your responses in a separate word processing program and paste it into the Submittable application. Please save a copy of your application in the event that you need to reapply.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you must be able to answer “Yes” to the prompts listed below.
- I am a practicing artist able to demonstrate a sustained commitment to my work, career, and a public audience;
- I am experiencing dire financial emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
- I am 21 years of age or older;
- I am legally able to receive taxable income in the U.S. (e.g. citizen, green card holder, and/or permanent resident who can provide a W9 and SSN or ITIN)
- I have been living and working in the U.S. for the last two years;
- I am not a full-time employee, board member, director, officer, or immediate family member of any of the coalition partners;
- I have not previously been awarded a relief grant from this fund.
Artist Relief strives to ensure that artists of all disciplines across the country, in every region, of every race, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability status, and socioeconomic class, have access to this emergency fund. To this end, we are keeping the application open until September and working with community leaders on targeted outreach, to reach communities historically underrepresented and excluded from resources. To ensure equitable distribution of funds, we encourage artists of color, native and Indigenous artists, immigrant artists, disabled artists, LGBTQIAP+ artists, and artists working outside of major cities to apply.
For more information, please visit the FAQ.
