Independent Artist Relief Fund 

Created by the Kent Cultural Alliance with the help of The Hedgelawn Foundation and several local philanthropists in response to financial need resulting from the Covid19 Pandemic. 

 
The Kent Cultural Alliance (KCA) seeks to provide support for independent artists whose primary source of income is their art form, and who have seen income drop as a result of the State of Emergency declaration from Governor Hogan.

These small, limited grants are *unrestricted and can be used for anything from paying rent or healthcare costs to buying groceries or paying a utility bill. (*Grants may not be used for travel).

A total fund of $4,500, seeded by KCA funds moved from another part of our budget and filled out by generous friends of the arts in Kent County, will be distributed in amounts of $300 per artist (one grant per artist) for a total of 15 grants. If additional funds become available we will open a second round.

Please submit your answers to the following questions in a narrative form no longer than two full pages. Please e-mail your answers to john@kentculture.org no later than 5 p.m. on May 15th. Grants will be reviewed together (rather than in a rolling manner). Winners will be selected primarily on financial need, and checks will be mailed before Memorial Day.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Artist must be a full-time resident of Kent County, Maryland for at least 6 months.
  • Artist must be 18 years or older.
  • Artist must provide evidence that their art form is their primary income source
  • Artist must demonstrate financial need, and loss of income.

Please Create a NEW document as your application and send either in Word, Pages, or PDF Format.

APPLICATION

  • Name
  • Mailing Address with Zip Code
  • Contact Phone #
  • Email Address

Do you work in the Chestertown Arts and Entertainment District?

Briefly tell us about your creative practice.
(For example, are you a musician? A filmmaker? A writer? What kind of work do you do? How do you usually present your work?)

If you have a website, social media, or portfolio link for your creative practice – please add them here:

Tell us about your emergency situation – why are you requesting relief funds? How has the pandemic impacted you financially? (For Example, did you lose gigs because a venue closed? Are you a teaching artist who was recently laid off? Provide details such as dates of canceled events. It’s ok to answer in list form. Feel free to attach any examples you want to provide such as canceled show fliers. This is optional.)

How will you use the funds? What are your most urgent expense needs right now? Please estimate how much income have you lost due to the COVID -19 crisis? (Please provide a basic year to year comparison of income from March 1 to May 1, 2019 vs 2020 with evidence that your art form is your primary income.)

Are there other supports you need besides relief funding?