The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted artists and arts administrators. We at The Indie Theater Fund are working hard to provide financial assistance to those in NYC independent theater who are experiencing financial strain due to COVID-19-related closings and cancellations. We rely on support from our generous donors and encourage those with the financial means to make a contribution to our fund.
For those in the entertainment industry seeking additional emergency funding, we recommend looking into the follow opportunities:
- The Actors Fund’s Entertainment Assistance Program, which provides resources and financial support to performing arts professionals.
- The Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund, which provides grants of $200 on a first-come-first-served basis to BIPOC artists and administrators.
- The COVID-19 Mutual Aid Fund for LGBTQI+ BIPOC Folks.
- The Dramatists Guild Foundation’s Emergency Grants provide financial help to writers experiencing severe hardship.
- New York Foundation for the Arts’s Rauschenberg Emergency Grants provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for medical emergencies.
- The Artist Relief Project was created to provide grants for artists in any discipline who were directly impacted by COVID-19-related cancellations and closures.
- The NYC Low-Income Artist/Freelancer Relief Fund, our partner organization that provides grants of up to $150.
- For those working in dance, our partner organization Dance/NYC will be reopening applications for their Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund on April 10th, and the Dance Union (another partner) will be reopening applications for their NYC Dancers Relief Fund in mid-April.
- Also for dancers, another partner fund The Dance Union, is giving grants to dancers with priority given to POC, Trans/NB and immigrant dancers.
- MusiCares’s Relief Fund provides grants of up to $1,000 to musicians with cancelled performances.
If you are able to support artists financially, many of the above resources are also looking for donors. If you would like to be connected directly with individual artists in need, check out the Arts Leaders of Color emergency fund, COVID-19 Mutual Aid Fund for LGBTQI+ BIPOC Folks, and the “I Lost My Theatre Gigs” site.
For a comprehensive list of resources (including funding, advocacy and legal information, and physical and mental health resources), we recommend the COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources page and Another Gulf is Possible’s list of Community Care Resources (available in English, Chinese, and Spanish). Additionally, we suggest keeping an eye on the League of Independent Theater’s website for more Indie Theater-specific resources. Most importantly, we highly encourage familiarizing yourself with the CDC’s guidelines to protect yourself and others during this pandemic.
