Taking Action
Storyteller Support in the Age of COVID-19
April 16, 2020
We are living in “unprecedented times.” That’s the catchphrase of the day since COVID-19 has reared its ugly head into our world. While artists are used to seasons of uncertainty, having to navigate film & TV production’s complete shutdown, theatres going dark and events of all sizes being canceled is challenging at best and frankly terrifying for many who have seen their livelihood dry up overnight. As a company of artists and creators ourselves, some of whom have been impacted by this disease beyond loss of income, we fully understand how scary this time is for our community. And while we don’t profess to have all the answers, we’ve compiled a list of resources for artist relief and community support that we've found.
Creator Resources
Financial Relief
- Artist Relief: $5000 emergency grant for artists of any discipline 21 and older
- Artist Relief Project: $200 emergency stipend for artists, musicians & performers
- Actors Fund Entertainment Assistance: Open to any industry professional - not solely actors
- Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund: $200 stipends for BIPOC artists & art administrators
- Authors League Fund: Interest-free loans for authors, journalists, poets and dramatists
- Blues Foundation HART Fund: For blues musicians and their families
- CARES Act For Artists: Webinar of experts breaking down what this legislation provides
- CERF+ Emergency Assistance: For craft artists
- Creative Capital: List of national & local grants and resources
- Creatives in Quarantine: $2000 grant sponsored by Getty Images for artists using this time to make creative work
- Dramatists Guild Foundation: Emergency grant for dramatists
- Field of Vision Documentary Freelancer Relief Fund: For freelance documentarians
- Foundation for Contemporary Arts: $1500 grants for artists with postponed or cancelled exhibitions
- Freelance Artist Resources: List of national & local grants for emergency funding
- Freelancers Relief Fund: Grants of up to $1000 for freelancers
- Jazz Foundation Musician’s Emergency Fund: For professional jazz and blues musicians
- Leveler: Peer to Peer Wealth Distribution: A platform to give or receive small amounts from peers
- Motion Picture & Television Fund: Offers an intake line to help working industry professionals
- Musicians Foundation: $200 grant for musicians
- National Endowment for the Arts CARES Grant: For nonprofit arts organizations
- Navigating COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits: Assistance from a state and federal perspective
- Pen America Writers Emergency Fund: $500 - $1000 grants for writers
- The Photographer Fund: $500 grants for photographers
- Queer Writers of Color Relief Fund: $100 - $500 grants
- Twenty Summers Emergency Arts Fund: For artists & arts organizations
Health & Wellness
- All We Have Is Each Other: A Guide to Creating Fabric Masks
- Another Gulf is Possible
- Calm: One-week free trial
- Care For Your Coronavirus Anxiety
- Coping with COVID: Financial Implications for Creative Individuals
- Headspace: Two-week free trial
- How Performers Can Survive the “Year of the Cancellation”
- How to Find Mental Health Advocates in Your Community
- Mental Health Resources Including diagnostic tools & phone hotlines
- Talkspace: Hosting #MentalHealthStandUps daily via Instagram Stories
- That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief
- Trauma Response & Crisis Care For Movements
- Mental Health Resources to Help Prevent Creative and Professional Burnout
Community Building
- AFI Movie Club
- AFI Directing Workshop For Women Online Showcase
- Art Became The Oxygen: An Artistic Response Guide
- Commune Virtual Studio
- Decolonizing Community Care
- Healing Our Communities and Ourselves
- How musicians (and other creatives too) can transition their business online ASAP
- How to Host a Watch Party on Facebook
- How to Plan a Virtual Event on Vimeo
- I Lost My Theatre Gigs
- Indie Memphis Movie Club
- Solidarity Not Charity: Mutual Aid & How To Organize in the Age of Coronavirus
- The People’s Supper: A Guide For Virtual Gatherings
- Ways of Gathering in the Age of COVID-19
