![]() Oolite Arts, seen here from Lincoln Road, has started a relief fund to help artists. She said The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts will collaborate with its 16 regional re-granting partners across the country, including Locust Projects in Miami, to distribute emergency grants to artists affected by the pandemic. “Locust is so much about process and site-specific experience.” “Virtual exhibits are tricky for Locust,” said its executive director, Mertes. While there’s no virtual exhibit at Locust Projects, the alternative space is also posting artist resources and assisting in other ways. “Seeing the icons of watchers and the occasional waves of ‘thumbs-up’ and ‘hearts’ made me feel that it was all happening in real time, and I found myself getting a lot more personal and open than I’d expected to.” “And for me personally, at least, it all wound up actually being more real than I expected. ![]() “Like a lot of things now, it all seems a second-rate version of ‘going live.’ But it’s what we’ve got right now, way better than nothing,” said Rohn via email about his virtual studio visit. The initiative – which is open to Miami artists as well as Fountainhead Residency alumni artists – is expected to continue after the threat of COVID-19 is over, Mikesell said.Īrtists David Rohn and Alex Nuñez are among those who’ve already conducted virtual studio visits courtesy of Fountainhead. “This is going to help us understand the value artists bring to our lives.” It is truly the artists that are getting us through this,” Fountainhead Director Kathryn Mikesell said. “To see inside an artist’s studio is an absolute privilege. It also is hosting virtual studio visits via Fountainhead’s Instagram account. Meanwhile, The Fountainhead Residency is providing Miami-based artists and supporters numerous online opportunities, including an updated “Artists’ Resources” webpage and the ability to sell work priced under $1,000 directly. Miami Beach-based Oolite Arts has already sent checks to about 250 artists, Scholl said. Applications will be accepted through April 16. Visual artists who are Miami-Dade County residents can apply for up to $500 of lost income due to canceled employment, whether or not it’s in the cultural sector, or canceled professional artistic opportunities. “One of the more rewarding moments in establishing the fund is to see that a number of artists and cultural workers have also made contributions … noting that they were still employed and wanted to do what they could for their colleagues in the art world who were struggling.”Īrtist GeoVanna Gonzalez prepares for an exhibition at Locust Projects that was later postponed. “People really do understand how much of a driver our cultural sector has become, in driving tourism, our economy, and making Miami a place people want to live,” said Oolite Arts President and CEO Dennis Scholl in an email, commenting on the relief fund’s rapid-fire growth. Oolite has since provided an additional $25,000. Perez Foundation at The Miami Foundation and The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation. It has received donations from individuals as well as from The Jorge M. The new Oolite Arts relief fund – started March 26 with $25,000 repurposed from canceled programming – has more than quadrupled. (The Department of Cultural Affairs helps support the mission of .) Spring’s April 1 update discussed federal and local relief funding from sources such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Knight Foundation, Oolite Arts, and the Miami Pandemic Response Fund started by United Way of Miami-Dade and the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald. Michael Spring, director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, regularly sends out emails with information for artists and nonprofit organizations during this crisis. It’s too early to know what the impact will be, but we are all thinking about it.” “It’s almost like the austerity measures after World War II. “We all want to be optimistic, but there will be loss, there will be grief, and I think we need to find new ways to come together,” said Lorie Mertes, executive director of the Design District alternative space Locust Projects. ![]() But will these be enough for all or most of Miami’s arts community to survive when no one knows how long the crisis will last? Such online resources connect artists and culture-lovers virtually, producing both material and emotional benefits. ![]() In these dark days of social distancing and shuttered arts venues, doors are opening to help visual artists survive the economic onslaught of COVID-19.Īrt is increasingly coming online for the viewers, and critical financial resources are coming online for the artists. “Man-Made Environment (here, there, everywhere)” is a work by Devora Perez, an artist featured through the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator. ![]()
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