PROVIDENCE – Artists who are in financial dire straits due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could receive some financial support in the form of grants.
The R.I. State Council on the Arts announced Tuesday that it is partnering with the Rhode Island Foundation and the Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism to launch the Artist Relief Fund. The pandemic, RISCA said, has affected artists’ ability to “perform, teach, make and sell a wide variety of art during the period when all Rhode Islanders are ordered to stay at home and avoid crowds.”
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“Individual artists tend not to be covered under the standard safety net programs available to others, and they are having trouble paying rent, feeding themselves and their family and paying for basic necessities as their work is canceled over the next few weeks or months,” Rhode Island Foundation CEO and President Neil D. Steinberg said in a statement.
The fund, which will be managed by the Alliance of Artists Communities in Providence, has already raised approximately $100,000 and more funds are “expected to follow,” RISCA said.
In a statement, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said the arts are “integral” to the state’s cultural identity and the fund is “one way Rhode Islanders can help our state through this crisis.”
Applications, which can be found on RISCA’s website, can be submitted anytime, RISCA said, and awards will be made weekly “until funds are exhausted.”
Donations to the fund can be made by visiting the Alliance of Artists Communities’ website.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
