
Resources for Artistic and Impacted Communities in Response to COVID-19
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Unusual Suspects is committed to providing resources that are intended to be helpful for our participants and community members. Have a helpful link to share? Send it to hedi@theunusualsuspects.org.
Check out this list of resources, which was compiled, in part, by the Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network (AIYN), an organization that US is a co-founding member of:
- AIYN COVID-19 Preparedness Plan
- APAP published a resource listing
- Actors Fund emergency financial assistance program helps eligible applicants in need. It is not income replacement, but limited funds for basic living necessities
- American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) Relief Fund – Provides support and temporary financial assistance to members who are in need.
- Americans for the Arts Coronavirus Resource & Response Center – Includes a list of funding/grants resources.
- Angelino Card provides financial assistance for in-need households via no-fee prepaid cards in amounts determined according to a specified table
- Artist Office Hours is an opportunity for artists to gather virtually and talk, mourn, laugh and share music. The event takes place each day at 5pm PST. Download the meeting invite
- Artist Relief – grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19 in the US (has additional resource page)
- Artist Relief Tree – A crowdfunding campaign that allows artists to request funds (NOTE: the campaign already has more applications for funding than it can accommodate at this time)
- Artist Thrive assembled a listing of helpful resources for artists
- Artists in a Time of Global Pandemic hosted by Howlround Theatre Commons offers resources and inspiration to freelance artists
- Arts Administrators of Color Network launched a relief fund to support BIPOC artists and administrators
- ArtsReady has great tools and resources to share
- Artwork Archives has compiled a list of emergency grants for artists.
- CERF+ COVID-19 Response Fund – A fund to support artists working in the craft disciplines.
- CERF+ published an update and resource listing geared for craft artists
- COVID-19 Freelance Artists Resources – an aggregated list of FREE resources, opportunities, and financial relief options available to artists of all disciplines.
- Casting Agencies Directory – Allows entertainment industry professionals (actors, models, production crew, etc.) to post details about their situation and ask for donations.
- Catchafire Nonprofit Community Support
- Comcast offers two free months of internet for low-income families
- Community Food Resources Kit
- Comprehensive compendium of COVID-19
- Coronavirus Preparedness for Theatres hosted by Theater Communications Group
- Coronavirus resources for the undocumented community
- Create a fruit tree map to help low-income families get fresh produce
- Creative Capital Arts Resources During the COVID-19 Outbreak – an aggregated list of financial resources for artists working in all disciplines.
- Creative Capital List of Arts Resources During COVID-19 Outbreak
- Creative Capital artist resource page
- Dramatists Guild Foundation Emergency Grants – DGF provides emergency financial assistance to individual playwrights, composers, lyricists, and bookwriters in dire need of funds due to severe hardship or unexpected illness. DGF will be processing Emergency Grants based on severity of need, especially as it relates to Coronavirus (COVID-19).
- Dramatists Guild Foundation launches relief fund supporting individual playwrights, composers, lyricists, and book writers
- Emergency Grant Program (Musicians Foundation) – Grants up to $3000 for medical and allied living expenses for musicians, paid directly to creditors on the recipients behalf.
- Equal Sound Corona Relief Fund for Musicians – Relief for musicians who have lost income due to a cancelled gig as a result of the Coronavirus / Covid-19 outbreak.
- EqualSound launches relief fund supporting musicians who have lost gigs due to the pandemic
- Everytable Fresh Meal Deliveries in Los Angeles
- Financial Strategies for Freelance Artists in a Time of Crisis hosted by HowlRound
- Foundation for Contemporary Arts COVID-19 Relief Fund Application – A temporary fund to meet the needs of experimental artists who have been impacted by the economic fallout from postponed or canceled performances and exhibitions.
- Foundation for Contemporary Arts has a relief fund for artists who incur unexpected or un-budgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates
- Freelance Artist Resources
- How to apply for disability/family leave
- How to protect yourself when grocery shopping (in-store or online)
- LAUSD Updates
- Los Angeles Community Mass Resource
- Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund – Temporary financial assistance for members of the entertainment industry that have needs created or complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund – Relief for lost income due to the cancellation of scheduled gigs or performances due to Coronavirus/COVID-19 precautionary measures.
- MusiCares launched a relief fund to cover things such as lost income due to cancellations
- Musicians Foundation is accepting aid applications
- National Endowment for the Arts assembled a resource page and informative FAQ document
- New Music Solidarity Fund – Emergency funds to support freelance artists in the new/creative/improvised music community.
- Nonprofit HR and Independent Sector town hall recording with downloadable resources
- Online Support Groups
- OnwardCA a one-stop resource for Californians impacted by job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic
- PEN America Writers Emergency Fund – Grants for fiction and non-fiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists.
- Rauschenberg Emergency Grants Program – A new emergency grant program that will provide one-time grants of up to $5,000 for medical emergencies.
- Recording available: Arts and Culture Sector and the Coronavirus: What we know and how to move forward? hosted by Americans for the Arts
- San Francisco Arts & Artists Relief Fund – Grants of up to $2,000 for eligible artists in San Francisco, CA.
- Springboard for the Arts has several resources and relief funds
- Sweet Relief COVID-19 Fund – Limited number of funds for musicians and music industry workers affected by the Coronavirus.
- The Actors Fund Emergency Financial Assistance – Emergency financial assistance is available for people who are unable to pay their basic living expenses (food/housing/health care) over the next two months.
- The NDN Collective COVID-19 Response Project – Provides immediate relief to Tribal Nations, front line Indigenous-led organizations, and individuals who are providing essential services to Indigenous communities in North America during the current global health pandemic within the next 15-45 days to provide gap resources during this health crisis.
- This event https://vimeo.com/397826225 was produced by the Association of Teaching Artists, Teaching Artists Guild, Creative Generation, National Guild for Community Arts Education, NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, and Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic
- Unemployment programs and benefits
Staying Busy While You’re at Home: Virtual Experiences
- 15 Broadway plays and musicals you can watch on stage from home
- Alley Theatre will stream their production of 1984 for ticket holders using password protected access
- Are you a freelance artist? A great crowd sourced resource list is available
- BroadwayWorld article on the Met Opera offering nightly live streams
- LeVar Burton, former host of the children’s TV show “Reading Rainbow,” live-streams weekly readings of books and short stories from Twitter
- NPR Music is maintaining a living, linked list of live audio and video streams from around the world, categorized by date and genre
- Seattle Symphony announces free video broadcasts and livestreams
- US Department of Arts and Culture‘s Community Care in the Time of Coronavirus resource page
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