COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources
Welcome!
This list is specifically designed to serve freelance artists, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community. This includes, but is not limited to, actors, designers, producers, technicians, stage managers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, craft artists, teaching artists, dancers, writers & playwrights, photographers, etc.
To read more about the humans behind this list
(including our mission, vision, and values), click here.
What this list IS: an aggregated list of FREE resources, opportunities, and financial relief options available to artists of all disciplines.
What this list IS NOT: a place to promote individual artist practices (we love you, but we’re not equipped for that); a place to promote fee for service work; or a place to seek direct emergency funding.
If you have resources or upcoming virtual events you’d like to add to this list, please submit them via this form.
This project is in the process of receiving fiscal sponsorship, but in the meantime, if you’d like to donate towards our work (this list, and our ongoing programs series), you can do so via our Venmo account (@COV19-FAR). Please note that this donation is not tax deductible at this time. You can see a full spreadsheet of donated funds received (and paid out) to date here.
Check out our expanding #ArtistResource online event series (and click here for events from other sources):
- 3/16/20: Artists in a Time of Global Pandemic: livestreamed panel conversation focused on shared resources (legal, advocacy, how to take your work virtual, finding emergency funding, and financial best practices in crisis) and building and grounding our national community. Video and transcript available at the link above!
- 3/26/20: Financial Strategies for Freelance Artists in a Time of Crisis: this livestreamed session navigated the practical and the philosophical/emotional elements of financial preparedness, as well as offered resources and support to help freelance artists get through this challenging time. Led by financial planner, tax preparer, organizer, and artist Amy Smith.
***CORRECTION: Per the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, a single member LLC may apply for the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Funds are depleted as of April 16, but additional funds may become available soon. Check with your bank, or an approved SBA lender for more information.*** - 3/31/20: Come Together: The Art of Gathering in a Time of Crisis: livestreamed session led by The Public Theater’s Bryan Joseph Lee and featuring Stephanie Ybarra, Laurie Woolery, and Geoffrey Jackson Scott, focused on how artists can cultivate virtual spaces with purpose, intention, and structure.
- 4/7/20: It Was Always Possible: Centering the Leaders Who Were Here All Along: livestreamed discussion with Rachel Spencer Hewitt (PAAL); Claudia Alick (CallingUP); Ashley Hanson (Department of Public Transformation); Cole Alvis, and Ty Defoe. Erasure and isolation (geographic and social) is not new to people with disabilities, carers (caregivers) and parents of small children, folks in rural communities, and indigenous artists. Our current crisis offers an opportunity for us to center the leadership and expertise of artists who already know how to create sustainable and resilient practices. Join these leaders for discussion about how to work collectively, collaboratively, and imaginatively in a system that was not built with them in mind.
- 4/14/20: Look for the Helpers: Learnings and Teachings for Building Resilience livestreamed discussion with Lana Smithner, Aaron McKinney, B. Anderson, and David Shmidt Chapman, and facilitated by Leslie Ishii. In this conversation, healing arts practitioners and faith leaders, all of whom have a relationship to or practice in the arts, will offer guidance from their traditions and expertise as a means of supporting our community’s growing capacity for resilience.
RESOURCES:
QUANTIFYING ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CANCELED WORK
ADVOCACY & LEGAL INFORMATION
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
EMERGENCY FUNDING
COMMUNITY CARE & MUTUAL AID
WORKING, GATHERING, & TEACHING ONLINE
HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES (outside United States)
OTHER LISTS & MISCELLANEOUS WISDOM
EVENTS (ONLINE LEARNING & WEBINARS)
INTERRUPTING RACISM RESOURCES
Original resources and inspiration provided by Nicole Brewer, Ann Marie Lonsdale, Quanice Floyd, Tiffany Wilhelm, Brian Herrera, Hannah Fenlon, & Clementine Bordeaux.
