My client base includes a variety of business and individuals. One of the sorriest lot nowadays are my artist clients.
Sure, restaurants and businesses are closing at an alarming rate. And, that’s terrible.
But, artists? They generally are not “in the pink”, but nowadays they are almost all unemployed. Moreover, they have no savings to counteract this terrible change of affairs.
Many of these folks consider $ 30,000 a reasonable amount of money to clear per year. So, it’s not surprising to see what state this pandemic has left them. The chart below should make that perfectly clear.
(By the way, may of our restaurant workers- the wait staff, the kitchen crew, etc- are in exactly the same boat in which our artists find themselves drowning.)
This is the driving force behind a group called Artist Relief. Their goal is to help support our creatives across the USA. These folks are among those who fund our arts during the best of times.
The Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the MAP Fund, the National Young Arts Foundation, and United States Artists are the driving force behind Artist Relief.
One of their key efforts is to provide $ 5000 of financial aid to those facing dire emergencies, as well as to have effected the survey of the artists to discern their current plight. These efforts will continue through September, after which they will evaluate the existing conditions that then prevail.
That money (the $5000 grants) is coming from folks like the Andrew Mellon Foundation (who provided $ 5KK of funding)- in a matching grant to some 25 other institutions.
Not surprisingly, some 51K applications have already been submitted. Kind of like how small business (and some very large ones claiming they were small) have overwhelmed the Payroll Protection Program that was enacted in concert with the CARES Act.
The problem- they will only be providing relief for some 2000 folks through September.
So, maybe you should consider buying some art to adorn your home, if you enjoy the privilege of being employed during the quarantine. Maybe even commission a painting of your family (from a picture you love- so we can keep our social distance) or your pet- or your favorite city.
If you need the name of a deserving artist, let me know.
So many people hurting – everywhere I turn there is pain. We are fortunate in one respect, though – because there are farms near us, some of the dairy farmers, instead of dumping product, are having it packaged and are delivering it to giveaways for the unemployed. That must be costing them money. But it’s true, who thinks of creatives?
Alana recently posted..Rabbit Rabbit Skies #SkywatchFriday
Most of those folks were supplying institutions and restaurants. It’s why some of the restauranteurs are offering free meals for the poor and first responders. Both to help these farmers and purveyors who supply bulk products- and to make sure we take care of our own.
Thank you! Some of us are out here inspiring the world – and offering much of what we do for free. Making more people aware of this is so important. THANK YOU again!
Julie JordanScott recently posted..How to Write About Your Life in 5 Easy, Meditative Steps –
Glad to oblige JJS!
We all need to pitch in to make sure we all can survive this quarantine era.
Is there a site where artists can post who they are and what they have to offer? That way maybe more people could help them out by purchasing something from them.
There are many sites, but many of those sell art for which the artist sells many copies.
I know of a few artists who will paint portraits of families or folks from pictures, pets, or buildings.
Others who paint (what I would call) more modern art.
Let me know if you want me to put you in touch.
These are definitely difficult times to be an artist. Or a photographer. Or a freelance journalist. Somehow, I survive, one day at a time. My journalism job… dead. So I blog and I paint rocks and… too many people for too little money. I didn’t apply…. because I didn’t know about it until it was too late…
Alice Gerard recently posted..Life in these strange times: zephyranthes and zinnias
I was reading an article today written by Ray Suarez. Very scary- for both of us. (Here’s the link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/30/i-clung-middle-class-i-aged-pandemic-pulled-me-under )
that is such a cool effort and i do keep looking at etsy every once in a while to get things for our home
vidya recently posted..April Wrapped Up
Glad to hear you are, Vidya!