What’s Next for Artist Funding with Artist Trust?
Published: July 6, 2020
Categories: Featured | Grants & Fellowships
When COVID-19 hit, we heard from artists who were suffering immediate income loss. More than 1,000 artists statewide answered our March 2020 Artist Trust COVID-19 survey, and we learned that 77% lost income, had no safety net, and needed immediate financial support. To best serve these artists in crisis, we quickly pivoted our work to COVID-19 relief, pressing pause on “business as usual,” including our merit-based grant programs.
More than $620k in COVID-19 Artist Trust Relief Funds has reached nearly 400 artists statewide in a few short months. This is more money distributed to more artists than any single year in our 34-year history. Hundreds of generous individual donors have funded this rapid relief for artists. We rely on the generosity of our donors to fund our work throughout the year and we are incredibly grateful for their continued support of artists through this crisis. We will update our community as plans progress about the next steps for artist support during COVID-19 and beyond.
To make this rapid relief happen, we put our merit-based grant programs on hold. But rest assured, we will continue to offer merit-based grants in 2020. Yvonne Twining Humber and SOLA panels will be held this summer, with award announcements in October 2020. Next, the Arts Innovator Award will be announced in November 2020. Fellowship Awards panels will occur this winter, with recipients announced in 2021. Applicants will receive direct emails with more details about each of these awards programs.
Thank you for your patience as we move through this extraordinary and ambiguous time. We are forever changed as a society, and we are grateful to be able to work towards a better future in community with you. Thank you for standing with artists and with Artist Trust.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? We’d love to hear from you.
Shannon Roach Halberstadt, CEO shannon@artisttrust.org or phone 206.467.8734×12
Artist Trust Board artisttrustboard@artisttrust.org
Mail to: Artist Trust | 1835 12th Avenue | Seattle, WA 98122
