Fund to support artists during COVID-19

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was joined by Governor J.B. Pritzker to announce the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, which will provide financial assistance to artists and artisans, as well as arts organizations. Photo courtesy of Heidi Zeiger, City of Chicago.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was joined by Governor J.B. Pritzker to announce the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, which will provide financial assistance to artists and artisans, as well as arts organizations. Photo courtesy of Heidi Zeiger, City of Chicago.

Fund to support artists during COVID-19

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a relief fund for artists which will provide financial assistance.

Arts for Illinois Relief Fund is a partnership between the city, the state, as well as other philanthropic entities. The goal is to meet the needs of creatives during COVID-19. With the stay-at-home order extended until April 30, theaters, art galleries and museums remain closed. Those actors and artists and docents are out of work.

“This fund was created to support our artists and broader cultural community who have been the most directly impacted by the economic fallout of this crisis,” said Lightfoot. “Though cities and towns like Chicago will be supporting this fund, we’re also calling on individuals, of all stripes, large and small, to step up by visiting artforIllinois.org.”

Applications for the grants opened on April 1. Arts for Illinois Relief Fund will be administered by 3 Arts and Arts Work Fund, in partnership with Arts Alliance Illinois.

3Arts is a nonprofit organization that advocates for Chicago’s women artists, artists of color, and artists with disabilities who work in performance, teaching and visual arts and provides them with cash awards, project funding, residency fellowships promotion and professional development.

The Arts Work Fund is a collaborative fund launched in 2007 by a group of foundations that seek to help small arts and culture organizations develop sustainable structures to meet their artistic missions. It shifted its grantmaking to support arts and cultural organizations struggling with lost revenue and expenses due to COVID-19.

The funding will be unrestricted and is open to all arts organizations regardless of size. The grant size depends on the organization’s budget and extent of lost revenue. Organizations must hold 501(c)(3) status from the federal government. Festivals, religious-based activities, as well as stand-alone publications, websites or films and videos are not eligible for the funding.

More than $4 million has been committed from public and private sources. The City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events contributed $1 million to the effort. Gifts also have been received from Walder Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Chicago First Lady Amy Eshelman and Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker will co-chair the fundraising activities.

“The arts and cultural community is deeply embedded in the fabric of Chicago. Our cultural institutions – from [the] one room artist studio to the 1,500-seat theater – employ artists, back office staff, ushers, curators, ticket takers and others,” Lightfoot and Eshelman said in a press release.

“Many artists supplement their work by providing arts education in our schools. All of these individuals contribute to the City’s vibrant arts and cultural sector, which has been temporarily halted.”

Artists and artisans, including stage and production members, will be able to apply for a one time $1,500 grant, which will be distributed by 3Arts. Organizations will be granted $6,000-$30,000 based on their demonstrated financial need. Grants will be awarded through a lottery system.

For more information and to apply for the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, visit www.artsforillinois.org.

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