Emergency Relief Funds for BIPOC Artists & Freelancers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
AS OF 2021, APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED.
On March 16, 2020, we issued the following statement:
For the People Artists Collective is a radical squad of Black artists and artists of color in Chicago. From #ByeAnita to #NoCopAcademy, we’ve visually, physically and strategically supported some of the strongest campaigns for justice in our city. From late-night banner painting to day-long art builds, our communities have shown up and thrown down alongside us in our efforts, in whatever ways they could. We show up for each other because we know our liberation is intertwined with each other, and because there’s real power in art and storytelling within our movements. We create to survive.
In these scary and hard times, we want to make sure that our communities know that we’re here and we’re ready to support you. We are offering emergency microgrants of up to $500 to Illinois-based BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists whose income has been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are prioritizing people who are exist on the margins of race, class, gender identity, disability or immigration status. Microgrants are small, one-time only, monetary awards typically given to an individual or community group. The funds can be used at your discretion with no need for any paperwork or reporting how the funds were used. We have a maximum of $10,000 dollars to redistribute*.
We don’t know how long we’ll be in this state of emergency. For many of us, financial crises are nothing new and often our everyday lived experiences. We hope you know that while we are doing the most we can to rapidly respond to the peoples’ needs in this moment that governmental systems of support are clearly inadequate or nonexistent, that we’ll continue to think about the long-term sustainability of artists existing and creating on the margins.
In love and struggle,
For the People Artists Collective
*Special thanks to the Field Foundation for allowing us to redirect funds from our Fall 2019 grant for Community Empowerment through Justice, Art, Media & Storytelling and Leadership Investment, to Crossroads Fund for their Critical Response Grant, and to our fiscal sponsor, the Uptown People’s Law Center.
For the People Artists Collective is a radical squad of Black artists and artists of color in Chicago. From #ByeAnita to #NoCopAcademy, we’ve visually, physically and strategically supported some of the strongest campaigns for justice in our city. From late-night banner painting to day-long art builds, our communities have shown up and thrown down alongside us in our efforts, in whatever ways they could. We show up for each other because we know our liberation is intertwined with each other, and because there’s real power in art and storytelling within our movements. We create to survive.
In these scary and hard times, we want to make sure that our communities know that we’re here and we’re ready to support you. We are offering emergency microgrants of up to $500 to Illinois-based BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists whose income has been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are prioritizing people who are exist on the margins of race, class, gender identity, disability or immigration status. Microgrants are small, one-time only, monetary awards typically given to an individual or community group. The funds can be used at your discretion with no need for any paperwork or reporting how the funds were used. We have a maximum of $10,000 dollars to redistribute*.
We don’t know how long we’ll be in this state of emergency. For many of us, financial crises are nothing new and often our everyday lived experiences. We hope you know that while we are doing the most we can to rapidly respond to the peoples’ needs in this moment that governmental systems of support are clearly inadequate or nonexistent, that we’ll continue to think about the long-term sustainability of artists existing and creating on the margins.
In love and struggle,
For the People Artists Collective
*Special thanks to the Field Foundation for allowing us to redirect funds from our Fall 2019 grant for Community Empowerment through Justice, Art, Media & Storytelling and Leadership Investment, to Crossroads Fund for their Critical Response Grant, and to our fiscal sponsor, the Uptown People’s Law Center.