The Arts & Business Council announces the Greater Nashville Artist Relief Fund, a fund designed to help sustain local artists during times of difficulty, uncertainty, and loss. The Fund will be open to all artists at all levels of their careers, in a broad variety of disciplines, including visual art, dance, design, literature, theater, music, and more. The Fund will help these artists recover from lost income due to the cancellation of scheduled gigs or opportunities (such as a commission, performance, contract, etc.), layoff or furlough due to the March 3 tornados and/or COVID-19 precautionary measures.
Only self-employed persons or individuals employed/contracted by a nonprofit arts and culture organization in the funding area are eligible. Commercial artists or those that derive a bulk of their income from creating work for advertising (graphic designers, social media content creators, etc.) are not eligible. If the applicant has other full-time employment that has not been disrupted, they are not eligible to apply; this funding is intended to support individuals who receive a significant percentage of their income through their art. In the future, the Fund will continue to exist to help cover unexpected expenses directly resulting from catastrophic, career-threatening events such as theft, fire, flood or health emergency.
This funding is made available with an allocation from the Arts & Business Council’s operating account, plus the founding support of Ingram Charities, Concord, NCA Alarms, WC Dillon and Go West Creative. The Arts & Business Council continues to fundraise for the Artist Relief Fund, and all donations to the organization are tax-deductible.
Artists may request up to $500 to compensate for work that was scheduled or contracted and canceled. At this time, the Fund is not available to compensate for postponements or potential future loss of income. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and are subject to approval and available funds. Applications can be accessed here.
About Arts & Business Council
The Arts & Business Council is a 501(c)(3) organization that leverages and unites the unique resources of the arts and business communities to create a thriving, sustainable creative culture in Nashville. The Arts & Business Council accomplishes this mission through six main programs: Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts, Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training, Fiscal Sponsorship, Education for the Creative Community, Creative Exchange, and Arts Board Matching, among many other resources and opportunities.
