Art in the Time of COVID-19: Resources, Opportunities, and Ideas for our Community

Dear Friends,

These are strange, frustrating, and precarious times. I know from conversations with many of you that it can feel hard to move forward when the future remains so unknown. If I’ve learned anything from our community’s response over the past few days, it’s that Boston’s arts community is strong, resourceful, and committed to helping one another.

We want to hear from you: While our “weekly happenings” emails are on hold, we’d like to continue keeping our community informed and connected. Consider this email a place to voice your concerns, ask questions, share your work, seek resources, or just say hello. If there’s something you think we should be doing, please tell us.

Call for COVID-19 inspired stories: Have you heard of a project or initiative we should know about? Are you interested in writing about a virtual exhibition? Do you want a platform to share your story? Send us a note! We’re looking to highlight stories about how this virus, and subsequent social distancing, is affecting our creative community and where we can go from here. We’ll be reviewing COVID-related pitches (in addition to our regular call for pitches) for the foreseeable future, but if you’d like to have your story be considered as a last-minute addition for Issue 05, please send us your pitch by Monday, March 23rd.

What’s next: Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be thinking of ways that Boston Art Review can pivot to best serve our community. We’ll be posting more articles online, sharing resources, and highlighting initiatives in our community. In the meantime, please consider making a donation to the future of Boston Art Review as we work to continue supporting artists and writers in this difficult time.

Below, you’ll find several aggregated lists of resources, information, aid, and relief. We’ve also compiled a small list of organizations and efforts you can support here in Boston. And finally, we’re sharing a few links to projects and institutions that have created online programming so you can stay engaged with art even while you’re trapped inside.

Be strong, help others, stay calm, and listen to the CDC. If you have other resources you’d like to see highlighted in our next newsletter, send them on over to submit@bostonartreview.com.

Stay well,

Jameson + the BAR Team

Relief Fund BOSTON ARTIST RELIEF FUND The Boston Artist Relief Fund will award grants of $500 and $1,000 to Boston artists whose creative practices and incomes are being adversely impacted by COVID-19.  LEARN MORE

Aggregated List FREELANCE ARTIST RESOURCES This list is specifically designed to serve freelance artists, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community.  LEARN MORE

Aggregated List NYFA LIST OF EMERGENCY GRANTS Emergency resources for artists and arts organizations adversely affected by COVID-19 organized by discipline: Multidisciplinary & Project-Based, Literature, Media Arts, Music, Performing Arts, Visual Arts LEARN MORE

Aggregated List GRANTS FOR NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS Assistant Director of Boston Cyberarts, Keaton Fox, created a narrowed list of emergency funding resources specific to New England artists working with visual and media arts. Please share widely and send any other funding resources you find to keaton@bostoncyberarts.org so they can be added to the list.  LEARN MORE

Aggregated List BOSTON GENERAL RESOURCES A  list of resources compiled by the Asian American Resource Workshop (a small grassroots pan-Asian organization). This list is Boston and Massachusetts specific with some national resources for mutual aid, healthcare, workers rights, housing, and more.  LEARN MORE

Teaching Materials REMOTE INSTRUCTION TOOLS Teaching effectively in times of disruption—an aggregated list of tips, tricks, and advice for professors who are now leading lecture and studio classes virtually.  LEARN MORE

Webinar / Resources COVID-19 PREPAREDNESS FOR THE CULTURAL SECTOR – RECAP This discussion covered resources for artists, how to maintain identity in the time of a pandemic, and how to help folks who might be most impacted (PoC, people with disabilities, service and freelance workers, youth, elderly, and cash-poor members of our community). If you missed it, the MCC will publish it online soon! In the meantime, check out their list of resources and information.  LEARN MORE

Conference COMMON FIELD CONVENING In this unprecedented situation, there remains an urgent need to stay connected, build knowledge from the field and create a growing set of broadly-shared resources accessible to all. To that end, registration for this year’s virtual Convening will be free from April 23-26. They also have a great aggregated list.  LEARN MORE

Support Boston Artists BCA + BOSTON ARTIST RELIEF FUND Contribute to the Boston Artist Relief Fund through the Boston Center for the Arts. Help support artists who have lost income due to cancelled events, reimburse travel expenses, offset loss of income for teaching artists, and support artists working full or part-time in the service industry.  LEARN MORE

Support Public Art NOW + THERE  Public art will keep our mind, bodies, and souls well! As we get out for long walks and runs, we can thank Now + There for much of the public art around Boston. Help support their mission to bring even more work from artists, arts organizations, galleries, and cultural workers into the public.  LEARN MORE

Support a Relief Fund DIRECT HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Do you own or work for a small business? Add your company information to this database for small businesses affected by COVID. Do you have the resources to help a small business? Click below!  LEARN MORE

Buy Art Locally AREA GALLERY By buying the art you love from a local artist, you are fostering the career of an artist who has chosen our city as a home to create. By collecting art locally, you are also supporting small businesses and creatives that articulate relevant conversations to engage our community in necessary dialogues.  LEARN MORE

Aggregated List ONLINE ARTS EVENTS (INTERNATIONAL) A list of events that have moved online due to the crisis, in an effort to support artists, arts professionals, and cultural organizations, as well as to provide an enriching experience for those isolated at home as COVID-19 continues to spread.  LEARN MORE

Aggregated List DISTANTLY TOGETHER: ARTIST RESOURCES An info hub for artists and art workers during COVID-19 social distancing. View virtual exhibitions, submit your work, and share resources.  LEARN MORE

View Art Virtually SOCIAL DISTANCE GALLERY  This account will be posting BFA and MFA thesis exhibitions that are canceled or limited in access due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital exhibitions will be hosted on Instagram at @socialdistancegallery. Students: submit your work!  LEARN MORE

View Art Virtually GET FEATURED ON NEW AMERICAN PAINTINGS Send images of what you’re working on to be featured on New American Paintings instagram. Tag them, dm them, send it them however you can and they will share  it!  LEARN MORE

What are we missing? Send us your resources, online exhibitions, organizations in need, and community initiatives to submit@bostonartreview.com to get on the list!