AFTA NEWS/UPDATES
NOW through April 24, between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm ET, feel free to drop in to my Zoom “Office Hours with Nina”, Monday through Friday, as much as you need. Nina will be available to help you navigate the complex web of funding opportunities, federal regulations, and deadlines related to the $2.3 trillion federal aid package in the CARES Act. Access a helpful state-by-state list of community foundations and more grant-makers offering relief funds is available from the Council on Foundations.
The 2018 Profile of Local Arts Agencies is live! In 2018, Americans for the Arts commenced the Profile of Local Arts Agencies, a new annual survey designed to illuminate the ever-adapting role of local arts agencies (LAAs). The Profile will track and examine trends in the programs, budgets, and operations of the LAA field. Each year, the survey includes a pair of supplemental modules that will take a deeper dive into specific topics—in 2018, the supplemental topics included (1) Grantmaking and Equitable Investment, and (2) LAA Salaries and Compensation.
Americans for the Arts has updated its COVID-19 Survey for Organizations. If you have not completed the survey yet—or if it has been more than two weeks since you last completed the survey—please fill it out today with the most current estimates of the impact on your organization. We need the most up-to-date information possible to fuel our advocacy efforts. Then, please share this survey with all of the organizations in your community and urge them to fill it out as well.
FIELD PROGRAMMING
April 21, 1:00p EDT: “Negotiating the Unexpected” hosted by the Center for Cultural Innovation. Join art lawyers Sarah Conley Odenkirk and Jonathan Tobin for a conversation about practical tools and tactics for navigating this difficult moment. We will discuss tips for negotiating contracts and obligations, staying in touch with colleagues and community, ways to keep your business afloat, and even some new opportunities that may be available as a result of the COVID19 crisis.
April 21, 1:00p EDT: “Ask an Expert: The Legal Landscape of Live Streaming” hosted by the Alliance for Performing Arts Conferences. This webinar will feature a discussion of the legal realities surrounding live streamed concerts. From copyright restrictions to contractual considerations, royalty recuperation and licensing agreements, join two experts in the field as they share their knowledge about this rapidly expanding practice and what presenters and artists need to know. Questions for this panel will be accepted *IN ADVANCE ONLY* via the question submission form, which will appear once attendees have completed their registration.
April 21, 2:00p EST: “How to Center Race Equity in Your Organization’s COVID-19 Response” hosted by Independent Sector. Join Independent Sector and Equity in the Center for an interactive conversation about how you can proactively apply a race equity lens to your organization’s COVID-19 response and help ensure that our collective pandemic-focused efforts prioritize race equity.
April 21, 2:00p EST: “Rallying Together: Resources to Support Artists During COVID-19” hosted by Artwork Archive. In this 30 minute webinar we will cover – Results of CERF+’s national survey on the current state of artists; – A breakdown of the CARES Act including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Economic Injury Disaster Loans, Payroll Protection Program (PPP) Loans; – Tips for approaching emergency financial grants; – Actionable ways to strengthen your business in this current climate, and beyond; – Resources for artists during COVID-19
April 21, 4:00p EDT: “Coping with COVID: Centering Wellness and Self-Care for Creatives” hosted by Creative Capital. Join artist and energy healer Rhonda Wheatley for a conversation about wellness amid the isolation, anxiety, and uncertainty many are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
April 22, 1:00p EST: “How Art can be a Tool for Civic Revitalization” hosted by Next City. During this webinar Rebecca Jampol and fayemi shakur will discuss the cross sector collaborative process that led to the 4 Corners Art Project, the community’s involvement in the project, and the story behind A Womb of Violet.
April 23, 3:00p EST: “Human Resources: Balancing Urgency & Equity” hosted by Nonprofit Quarterly. For organizations that center values of equity and justice, managing the people-oriented aspects of the business during a crisis like Covid-19 presents both challenges and opportunities. Decision-makers in these nonprofits—human resources directors, senior staff, and executive directors—are in a daily struggle to balance urgency and equity. They are meeting the demands of the moment, but also learning from these emergency responses potential strategies for more equitable human resource management in the future.
April 29, 2:00p EDT: “Artists in the Time of Coronavirus” hosted by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. Many artists pursue their career through a combination of freelance jobs, independent contractor assignments and gig work. They are especially hard-hit by the shutdown of the arts as they have lost essential income from commissions and jobs they worked hard to line up. Federal and state emergency relief now includes assistance for freelance workers, independent contractors, and gig workers. Learn how you can survive these challenging times and access the federal and state relief recently passed.
FIELD NEWS/UPDATES
NEA CARES Act Funding Part 2 portal opens April 27 to May 4. Once you have submitted to Part 1, you should start to prepare for Part 2. You can prepare ahead of time by following the instructions listed on our website here. Once the Applicant Portal is open you’ll be able to copy and paste the materials you prepared into the system. This is a grant to support operational costs ONLY. This is not a project based grant like a majority of other Arts Endowment funding. Do not include costs other than personnel costs or facilities costs.
Center for Arts in Medicine launches “COVID-19 and Social Distancing Study“. Due to COVID-19, millions of Americans are isolated, and will remain so for an undetermined period of time. Dr. Daisy Fancourt, University College London (UCL), is conducting a study to understand the mental health impacts of sheltering in place, and activities that may buffer against those effects.
Voice of OC article: “Orange County Arts in Limbo as Groups Big and Small Ponder the Future”
San Diego Tribune article: “The San Diego History Center wants to hear your coronavirus stories right now”
Hartford County Cultural Arts Board (MD) announced changes to their grant programs and requirements which includes elimination of the matching requirement, extended final reporting deadlines, and extended grant application deadlines.
Carson City Government, Carson City Health and Human Services, and the Carson City Department of Arts + Culture are pleased to launch our #NevadaSafe campaign which envisions Carson City public art as a tool of engagement to promote public health in our great state of Nevada. Each Thursday we will release a new image of public art found in Carson City and a fun ‘Did You Know’ fact. Here you will find works that represent talent from across our state. Remember you can still get outdoors and enjoy public art while observing social distancing. Share your art walks with us at #NevadaSafe.
The National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness and Emergency Response issues guidance on funding during a crisis.
The Lewis Prize for Music. In light of the impact COVID-19 is having on people across the United States, especially young people, The Lewis Prize for Music is establishing a $1 million COVID-19 Community Response Fund. The fund will distribute over 20 grants of $25,000 to $50,000 to responsive and adaptive Creative Youth Development (CYD) music programs. The application will open on Monday, April 20 and close on Friday, May 8 with grants distributed on June 16.
Center for Arts in Medicine launched “COVID-19 Arts Response”. This is an open-access repository to help professionals leverage creativity and the arts to develop effective responses to COVID-19. They are calling on people to add to and use these replicable examples to work together to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and improve quality of life for all communities now, and in the future.
Washington Post page: “An oral history of the coronavirus pandemic” People on the front lines of the outbreak talk about how covid-19 has disrupted their lives.
PRI/The World report: “In a new MoMA audio guide, security guards are the art experts”
Atlas Obsura article: “How Museums Will Eventually Tell the Story of COVID-19”
Chicago Tribune article: “What if back to normal is never? Leaders in arts and entertainment are feeling increasingly pessimistic”
Dance Magazine article: “How Can We Radically Reimagine the Dance World Post-Coronavirus?”
FOX28 reports: “Columbus International Film & Animation Festival goes Virtual”
Museum As Site for Social Action (MASS) statement: “Equitable Institutional Sustainability in Times of Crisis”
NYTimes article: “Alas, Poor New York: Shakespeare in the Park Is Canceled”
*Hyperallergic article: “In Memoriam of the Art World’s Romance With Diversity” A post-coronavirus art world that downsizes and shrinks can not be at the cost of artists and creatives of color.
Washingtonian article: “An Artist Is Projecting Giant Memorials to Covid-19 Victims on Walls All Over DC”
International
CP24 report: “Trudeau commits $500 million to arts, culture and sports sectors affected by COVID-19”
Relief Funds
ArtsWA. ArtsWA is pleased to provide rapid-response funding to non-profit and fiscally sponsored arts groups and organizations that are facing financial hardship due to economic impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding, in the form of grants, is provided by the CARES Act via the National Endowment for the Arts. Grants of up to $5,000 may be requested for general operating support.
Hartford County Cultural Arts Board (MD). To support the Harford County artists whose livelihoods have been negatively affected by COVID-19, an Emergency Grant Fund has been established. Grants, up to $1000 per person, will be available to those who demonstrate a financial need and loss of income due to the COVID-19 crisis. Applications will open Friday, April 17, 2020. For best consideration, please apply by 11:59 PM Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Applications submitted after the deadline will be reviewed and distributed on a rolling basis, while funds remain.
CultureSource. The COVID-19 Arts and Creative Community Assistance Fund is a partnership between CultureSource and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. Grant amounts are $10,000 each and funds should be used to pay for expenses including staff payroll costs (including healthcare), artist or contractor fees, operating expenses, and new, unexpected costs relating to COVID-19. Relief and resiliency fund applications are due by May 1, 2020.
GENERAL NEWS
Washington Post article: “Summer tourists want to know: Will East Coast beaches open? Maybe, but with some changes.”
TIME article: “What We Must Do to Prevent a Global COVID-19 Depression”
The Atlantic article: “Our Pandemic Summer” The fight against the coronavirus won’t be over when the U.S. reopens. Here’s how the nation must prepare itself.
Variety article: “Musicians to Be Exempt From California ‘Gig Economy’ Assembly Bill 5”
The Philadelphia Citizen article: “First, Heal Yourself” Feeling anxious about the pandemic? The state rolled out a free, confidential, 24/7 support and referral helpline to help anyone who’s struggling
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
On YouTube:
“Public Works Community Project: “Still I Will Love” from AS YOU LIKE IT | The Public Theater”
“Christopher Walken reads Where The Wild Things Are”
“Balboa Park to launch virtual explorer portal for amid COVID-19 pandemic”
“Miniature Gecko Art Gallery Premieres on the Heels of Viral London Gerbil Museum”
“The Shedd Aquarium’s live cam is equal parts relaxing and mesmerizing”