The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s (OEDIT) Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) division will contribute $127,500 to the Colorado Artist Relief Fund to support artists, musicians and other creatives financially impacted by COVID-19.
“Arts and culture makes up 4.5% of the state’s GDP,” said Margaret Hunt, director of Colorado Creative Industries. “It is important for Colorado’s creative workers to have access to essential funding during this economic interruption and these grants of up to $1000 will help cover basic needs such as food, rent, medical costs and childcare.”
The grants are being made available on a rolling basis to individual artists in all media who live in Colorado and whose incomes have been adversely affected by the pandemic due to cancellation of events, classes, performances and other creative work. The Colorado Artist Relief Fund prioritizes lower-income artists and artists who have no other source of income.
CCI has partnered with RedLine Contemporary Arts Center to seek business and philanthropic donations to expand its funding capacity and increase its reach. Individual donations of $5000 or less can be made on the RedLine website.
Applications for the Colorado Artist Relief Fund opened on April 1 and 571 applications were submitted in its first week alone. Beginning April 17, the Colorado Artist Relief Fund application will open to applicants residing outside of the Denver metro area. Applicants should visit https://redlineart.submittable.com/submit to apply. Grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.
The Colorado Artist Relief Fund is a collaboration between multiple arts organizations and funders working at state, regional, and local levels. The fund pools private and public funding to be administered through RedLine Contemporary Art Center. Current partners in this developing initiative include Denver Arts & Venues through the IMAGINE 2020 Artist Assistance Fund, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Colorado Creative Industries, WESTAF, and RedLine Contemporary Art Center.
For more information about the Colorado Artist Relief Fund, please contact Louise Martorano, RedLine Contemporary Art Center (louise.martorano@redlineart.org) or Libby Barbee, Colorado Creative Industries (libby.barbee@state.co.us).