Nonprofit ArtsWave is offering a new round of financial relief for local artists. The 2021 Regional Artist Relief Fund will offer $1,000 grants to up to 100 artists working in both the performing and visual arts.
But, artists must live within 15 Greater Cincinnati counties to qualify: Brown, Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio; Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, and Pendleton Counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn, Ohio, and Union Counties in Indiana.
“We can’t expect our region to restore its cultural vibrancy if our resident artists don’t survive the prolonged loss of work due to COVID-19,” said Alecia Kintner, ArtsWave President & CEO, in a release. “Whether they are musicians who perform in clubs or pit orchestras, actors or crew in our regional theaters, visual artists who depend on galleries and art fairs to sell their work, or arts educators whose contracts with schools have been suspended, these highly skilled creative workers are under grave threat as the pandemic wears on.”
Applications can be submitted in two rounds: Those received by 5 p.m. Jan. 12 will be reviewed "by or around" Jan. 19 and applications received by 5 p.m. Jan. 26 will be reviewed by or around Feb. 2. ArtsWave says, "Grant awards will be based on clear demonstration of lost work and financial hardship due to the coronavirus."
Applicants must earn at least 25% of their income as an artist and must not have already received grant funding from ArtsWave's last relief round.
The new $100,000 fund includes $50,000 from the Kent and Martha Savage Family Charitable Fund at Greater Cincinnati Foundation, as well as ArtsWave’s Arts Vibrancy Recovery Fund. The Jan. 3 proceeds from Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park's Journey BOREALIS light show will also be donated to the fun, as will revenue from certain days at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Learn more about the grant program artswave.org/artist and about eligibility at artswave.org/apply.
