UPDATE | JUNE 5, 2020

PHASE 1 OF THE INDY ARTS & CULTURE COVID-19 EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND IS NOW CLOSED

Effective June 5, the Indy Arts & Culture COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund has awarded 950 rapid response relief grants of $500 to central Indiana artists. Applications are now closed. 

Phase 1 was designed to provide approximately three months of emergency relief funding for Indy artists and arts and culture workers. We are grateful for the generosity of our partners and individual donors who contributed nearly $475,000 to make these relief grants possible.

We are currently exploring a Phase II program reflecting the evolving needs of our community based on input from recent artist surveys and arts organization impact assessments. Thanks to all who have responded. We are using this data to inform our next steps and we hope to communicate those opportunities soon. 

Stay tuned for updates on the next phase of relief and recovery support as we know the impact of COVID-19 continues to be significant for all artists and organizations across our sector. Please know we are with you and are doing everything we can to ensure #IndyKeepsCreating.  

Questions should be directed to relieffund@indyarts.org

An estimated 20,000 Indy arts and cultural events have been canceled between March and June due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, causing devastating financial losses to the independent artists and arts & cultural organizations that comprise Indy’s creative economy.  

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The Indy Arts & Culture COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund is here to help. Thanks to the generosity of community funders and the public, the nearly $470,000 Fund has allowed the Arts Council of Indianapolis to distribute $500 rapid-relief grants to about 650 individual artists and arts & cultural workers who have suffered severe and sudden income losses. Applications are still being accepted, and artists are encouraged to APPLY.

The Fund was established with generous investments of $50,000 each by the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation, Inc., Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, Efroymson Family Fund, Glick Philanthropies, and Herbert Simon Family Foundation. In addition, Visit Indy and The Shop donated just over $30,000 from the sales of a successful INDY T-shirt campaign in the spring. 

The Fund is also supported by a public GoFundMe campaign. The campaign has raised about $30,000 so far, which led to a $25,000 match from the Efroymson Family Fund. Our goal is to raise $20,000 more in public donations, so if you'd like to help support local artists, we invite you to donate here. 

Thank you for all you do to help ensure that #IndyKeepsCreating now and well into the future. For now, we invite you to enjoy all the virtual experiences that local artists and arts & cultural organizations have created to keep us connected and inspired while we're apart. In the coming weeks, we will have more information on how Central Indiana's 125+ arts and cultural organizations plan to re-open - carefully and thoughtfully - once restrictions on public gatherings are lifted.  We look forward to seeing you in the future. Until then, please stay safe and know that we are all #INThisTogether. 

See the full press release here.

#IndyKeepsCreating Connects and Promotes Virtual Arts & Culture Offerings

Despite the massive cancellations and closures required to slow the spread of coronavirus, Indy artists and organizations continue to find innovative ways to help us stay connected and inspired using social media. The entire creative community is asked to use the #IndyKeepsCreating hashtag so the Arts Council, Visit Indy, news media, civic, and arts partners can amplify our collective efforts to serve and support our community and each other during this incredibly difficult time.

Special thanks to Pattern Indy and Big Car Collaborative for their partnership to develop the #IndyKeepsCreating graphics. 

Here’s how you can support the Indy arts and cultural community during this challenging time:

1. Donate to the Indy Arts & Culture COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. 
2. Visit www.IndyKeepsCreating.org often to learn more about the growing number of virtual arts and cultural offerings and additional resources to support artists and arts and cultural organizations. 
3. Donate tickets to any canceled events back to the organization instead of asking for a refund.
4. Donate directly to the arts and culture organizations and venues you value. 
5. Provide payments and tips to individual artists as they share their work on social media.  
6. Buy subscriptions, memberships, tickets, and gift cards from arts and cultural organizations.
7. Support local restaurants, bars, businesses, music venues and other cultural and entertainment locations impacted by the crisis. Many of our artists work at these local businesses too!

Questions? Contact indyarts@indyarts.org.