Building on the legacy of artists helping artists on Long Island's East End, a new artist relief effort launches today to support visual artists, choreographers, musicians, and writers living and working in the region, who are being adversely affected by COVID-19. The Hamptons Arts Network Artist Relief Fund was galvanized by artists Clifford Ross and Eric Fischl who took the lead role in fundraising and donated matching gifts to jumpstart the initiative. Conceived by the Hamptons Arts Network (HAN) and administered in partnership with New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), the fund has raised $175,000 to date thanks to philanthropic donations from a range of supporters from within the creative community, including artists Fischl, Ross, and Robert Longo; artist-endowed foundations Dedalus Foundation, Willem De Kooning Foundation, and Helen Frankenthaler Foundation; and gallerists Larry Gagosian and Per Skarstedt, among others.
Formed in 2016, the Hamptons Arts Network is a consortium of 19 arts and cultural nonprofits located on the East End-including art museums, sculpture gardens, historical societies, houses, and studios, artist residencies, performing arts and film organizations-dedicated to fostering the artistic community and advancing the creative economy of the region. The HAN Artist Relief Fund will award unrestricted $1,000 grants to regional artists facing financial emergencies, including loss of wages and medical expenses, due to the pandemic. Applications are now available at link and will remain open until July 22, 2020. "The East End has long fostered artist communities that have congregated and flourished here since the late 19th Century. As residents of this community, HAN leaders witnessed firsthand the devastating impact the pandemic is having on the artists who live and work here. The perception of wealth was overshadowing the real need we saw in our neighborhoods for working artists, as the pandemic compounded food and job insecurity tied to seasonal incomes," said Andrea Grover, Director of Guild Hall, who led efforts to launch the HAN Artist Relief Fund initiative. "Across the board, our institutions felt it was important for us to continue to be a point of connection for artists during this time of distress and to lead the charge in supporting our community."Videos