A new Artist Emergency Relief Fund was initiated by representatives of a special consortium of local arts non-profits, who met to discuss the impact of Covid-19 and its negative effect upon local Gig-Artists, contracted, or self-employed artists of all disciplines including visual, musical, literary, performance, etc. The grants will allow artists to recover income lost due to the cancellation of a specified scheduled gig or business opportunity (commission, performance, contract) due to mandated Coronavirus/COVID-19 precautionary measures.  Artists are encouraged to apply for up to $500 compensation for work that was scheduled and lost, due to Covid-19 shutdowns.

The Community Foundation of the CSRA has awarded the consortium a COVID-19 Emergency Grant in the amount of $50,000 to support local ‘gig-artists’ or contract artists who have suffered financial setbacks due to the Coronavirus quarantine.  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.  All applications submitted prior to 2:00 pm each Wednesday will be reviewed the following day.  If approved, a check will be issued that Friday.

The Artist Relief Fund is made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of the CSRA and The United Way of the CSRA.  The Fund is overseen by the Augusta Cultural Arts Consortium, a consortium of local arts non-profits: Augusta University Department of Art & Design, Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Greater Augusta Arts Council, Jessye Norman School of the Arts, Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, Sacred Heart Cultural Center, The Augusta Players, The Morris Museum of Art and Westobou.

The Artist Emergency Relief Fund Application is available starting Monday, May 18, 2020. The application can be found on the Greater Augusta Arts Council website homepage at www.AugustaArts.com, on the consortium partners’ websites, a new Augusta Cultural Arts Consortium Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/Augusta-Cultural-Arts-Consortium-104132667980783/ or at https://augustaarts.wufoo.com/forms/z15cvnv81nb63fs/