21 Jul Artist Emergency Relief Awards Are Complete
ARTIST EMERGENCY RELIEF AWARDS ARE COMPLETE
$50,000 awarded to bridge $353,120 gap for 109 local artists
The Artist Emergency Relief Awards, overseen by the Augusta Arts Consortium, and made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of the CSRA & United Way of the CSRA, is complete and all funds have been awarded. Over the course of eight weeks, there were 114 grants awarded in total of $50,000.
This grant was an emergency fund used to help self-employed/contract artists, of all disciplines, in the CSRA to recover income lost from cancellations due to COVID-19 precautionary measures. The Augusta Arts Consortium is a group of organizations that include: Augusta University Department of Art & Design; Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art; Greater Augusta Arts Council; Jessye Norman School of the Arts; Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History; The Morris Museum of Art; Sacred Heart Cultural Center; The Augusta Players; and Westobou.
Artists could request up to $500 to compensate for cancelled work. All applicants were required to provide proof of residency in counties served by the United Way of the CSRA. Additional documentation included proof of professional artistic practice, proof of the gig work or opportunities and further proof of its cancellation due to COVID-19. During this rigorous review, only five applications were denied due to not fulfilling one of those requirements.
The total lost income claimed by grant recipients was $353,120, making this $50,000 roughly 1/7th of the income lost. Some of the artists who were grant recipients gave details about their work and the impact of this fund for them. The following is what some of those artist wrote to the Greater Augusta Arts Council after receiving the grant:
Artists Emergency Relief Award Infographic
