COVID-19 Coronavirus Resources

Funding for Artists

• The Actors Fund offers emergency assistance for performing artists with current financial need. The Fund's Musicians’ Assistance Program administers Local 802’s Musician Relief Fund which includes financial assistance and a variety of social services. 


• Artist Relief: Creative Capital has joined forces with several national arts grantmakers to form Artist Relief—an initiative that includes immediate, unrestricted emergency funding of $5,000 for individual artists of all disciplines, and resources to help those in need due to the COVID-19 outbreak.


• Asian American Arts Alliance’s COVID-19 Resources page includes financial resources for artists and arts workers, online programming, and specific resources for APA communities.


• Adolf & Esther Gottlieb Foundation has an emergency grant program for painters, printmakers, and sculptors for fire, flood, emergency medical need.


• American Society of Journalists and Authors’ Writers Emergency Assistance Fund helps established freelance writers who, because of illness, disability, a natural disaster, or an extraordinary professional crisis are unable to work.


• The Artists’ Fellowship provides emergency aid to professional fine artists and their families in times of sickness, natural disaster, bereavement or unexpected extreme hardship.


• The Arts and Cultural Leaders of Color Emergency Fund is intended to help those pursuing careers as artists or arts administrators whose income has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.


• The Authors League Fund provides financial assistance for authors, dramatists, journalists, and poets due to health-related problems, temporary loss of income, or other misfortune.


• Bronx Community Relief Effort’s $10 million fund will assist residents, students, and small businesses impacted by COVID-19 in 8 focus areas and provide immediate relief to Bronxites.


• CERF+ Responds to Coronavirus (COVID-19): CERF+, which serves artists who work in craft disciplines by providing a safety net, has created an emergency relief fund and is conducting a survey of studio artists.


• The Freelancers Union Freelancers Relief Fund will offer financial assistance of up to $1,000 per freelance household to cover lost income and essential expenses not covered by government relief programs.


• The Foundation for Contemporary Arts FCA COVID-19 Relief Fund was created to meet the needs of experimental artists who have been impacted by the economic fallout from postponed or canceled performances and exhibitions.


• Max's Kansas City Project provides emergency funding and resources to professionals in the creative arts who live in NY State.


• Motion Picture and Television Fund offers industry members financial assistance and case management.


• MusicCares Foundation offers short-term financial assistance for musicians with industry experience.


• The Musicians Foundation has created CV19 Emergency Aid Grant Program for professional musicians and their family members.


• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is partnering with:
  
  
  • The Rauschenberg Foundation to provide visual and media artists and choreographers with one-time grants of up to $5,000 for medical emergencies.


• PEN America Writers' Emergency Fund offers funding for professional- published or produced- writers in acute or unexpected financial crisis.


• SAG-AFTRA has created the COVID-19 Disaster Fund that is now available to eligible SAG-AFTRA members who have been impacted by the pandemic.


• Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America’s Emergency Medical Fund supports genre writers to pay for medical expenses not otherwise covered by insurance.

Aggregated Resource Lists

• NYC Office of Emergency Management has created a COVID-19 resource guide including information on employment, food assistance, medical and health assistance, rent arrears and public assistance, and more. 


• The Alliance of American Museums provides resources and information for the museum field, including policies on reviewing cleaning and collections care, staff and administrative concerns, and more.


• The Alliance of Artist Communities is maintaining a list of resources and recommendations relevant to artist residencies. 


• Arts Education Partnership (AEP) has published a list of resources AEP partner organizations have shared either directly with AEP or on their websites and social media accounts.


• A.R.T./New York is compiling resources for theatre companies, independent producers, freelance artists, and the general public 


• CUE Art Foundation has an extensive list of artist resources providing financial and community support.


• Gibney offers a compiled list of resources for dancers and the artist community. 


• The International Association of Blacks in Dance’s Novel Coronavirus Resources page


• The League of America Orchestra’s coronavirus relief resource page


• Queens Council on the Arts’ Arts Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic


• New York State Council on the Arts Resources for NYS Arts and Cultural Organizations re: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): A blog post with resources and links provided by the arts and cultural sector.


• New York Foundation for the Arts’ Emergency Grants page includes a number of opportunities specifically for COVID related needs. 


• National Endowment for the Arts COVID-19 Resources for Artists and Arts Organizations: A list of national arts service organizations that are providing frequently updated news and resources for artists and arts organizations.


• National Endowment for the Arts has published a guide for cultural organizations with strategies for ensuring that their digital resources and programs are fully accessible to people with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing, and learning disabilities.


• NYC & Company
  
  
  • For Businesses: https://business.nycgo.com/coronavirus-information-and-resources/
  
  
  • For Travelers: https://www.nycgo.com/coronavirus-information-and-resources-for-travelers/


• NYC Unity Project has released a dynamic, mobile-accessible website with over 100 listings of LGBTQ+ affirming programs and services—including city, private, and non-profit resources—that continue to be available during this stay-at-home period, both locally in-person and virtually.


• Poets & Writers’ Resources for Writers in the Time of Coronavirus includes resources for writers, teachers, publishers, booksellers, and librarians.


• Creative Capital has a regularly-updated list of resources for artists working in all disciplines, as well as arts philanthropists and arts professionals.


• Freelance Artists Resources is maintaining a grassroots aggregated list of COVID-19 specific resources for the field.


• Common Field has created an open, crowd-sourced list of resources for arts organizations. 


• Teaching Artists Guild has a master list of resources and recording of a webinar for teaching artists bracing for the impact of COVID-19 on the United States.


• The NYC Artist Coalition and House Coalition started a collaborative document to collect examples of grassroots responses to COVID-19 from around the world.


• Volunteers Lawyers for the Arts has a list of resources for support at-risk artists and arts organizations.

Preparedness Guides, Webinars, and More

• Americans for the Arts’ webinar Arts and Culture Sector and the Coronavirus: What We Know and How to Move Forward


• Association of Art Museum Curators free webinars on topics such as "Team Building in Isolation" and "International Perspectives on Disaster Response."


• ArtsReady is an online emergency preparedness service by and for arts/cultural nonprofits, provides arts organizations with customized business continuity plans for post-crisis sustainability. 


• Bronx Council on the Arts Artist Sustainability Workshop Series online and list of aggregated resources


• Brooklyn Arts Council COVID-19 Guide included guidance for stopping the spread of coronavirus, resources for cultural groups and artists, a survey, and more. 


• Creative Capital hosts an ongoing series of free online workshops for artists coping with COVID-19, in addition to a list of aggregated resources. 


• DANCE NOW NYC hosts Virtual Office Hours, offering administrative and consulting support to any artist in need, free of charge.


• Event Planning Alliance’s webinar Preparing Your Organization for the Corona Virus Disease Outbreak.


• Fractured Atlas has published a number of guides for organizations transitioning to a remote workplace. 


• New York Council of Nonprofits has weekly calls and webinars for nonprofits as well as a local and national resources list.


• Nonprofit Finance Fund provides an ongoing series of advice for nonprofits, including a checklist of actions nonprofits should take right now.


• Nonprofit New York put together a brand new series of webinar training on a variety of timely topics such as risk management, insurance, management practices during times of crisis.


• North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents has created a resource list and FAQ pertaining to coronavirus for performing artists, agents and managers.


• The Theater Communications Group produced a pre-recorded webinar on coronavirus preparedness for theaters.


• W.A.G.E. published basic Guidelines for the Postponement or Cancellation of Work for individual artists and nonprofit institutions. 

Giving New Yorkers the Power to #CultureFromHome

COVID-19 is a major crisis for all of NYC. But it’s important to take time to reflect on the beauty created by our community, and to give all New Yorkers the opportunity to decompress, connect, and maintain the social bonds that make our city vibrant and resilient in all circumstances. While everyone is staying at home to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers, cultural groups are giving everyone access to everything from live performances to digitized catalogs, online book clubs, support groups, and more, connecting people even while social gathering places are shut down.

• The American Alliance of Museums has published a guide with tips for engaging audiences digitally during COVID-19.


• NYC and Company has created VirtualNYC, a collection of online resources from museums, galleries, comedy clubs, theaters and other venues so that you can experience the best of New York City virtually. Submit your virtual program.


• Follow along and share your own content using #CultureFromHome, #MuseumFromHome, #MuseumMomentofZen, and more, and @NYCulture will help spread the word.

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Last updated August 17, 2020

This list is informational and inclusion of any resources on it does not necessarily indicate endorsement from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

Questions, corrections, or have suggestions for additional resources? Email pr@culture.nyc.gov.