A coalition of major arts organizations and philanthropists in Los Angeles launched the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund with The LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund has launched with $12 million from various foundations and individuals.
Led by the J. Paul Getty Trust, participants include the Mohn Art Collective (Hammer Museum, LACMA, and MOCA), the East West Bank, the Mellon Foundation, the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Qatar Museums, Ford Foundation, and other national and international institutions.
It is an emergency relief fund for artists and arts workers in all disciplines who have lost residences, studios, or livelihoods or have otherwise been impacted by the devastating Los Angeles fires. The fund will be administered by the Center for Cultural Innovation, a longstanding intermediary providing funding, advocacy, and research support on behalf of individuals in the arts.
Visit here to join the coalition and partner in this initiative.
Recognized internationally as a thriving center for all aspects of the arts, Los Angeles has an exceptionally diverse and vibrant community of artists, arts workers, and related professionals. They have been gravely affected as the ongoing fires have destroyed residences, studios, archives, artworks, and places of employment, striking a blow at thousands of individuals and the creative economy of Los Angeles and its region, announcing to the announcement of the coalition.
Beginning Monday, January 20, artists and arts workers in all disciplines who have been impacted by the fires can go to http://www.cciarts.org to apply for an emergency grant. The process is being designed with an understanding of the need to get funds to impacted individuals as rapidly as possible. As the situation evolves, funds raised may eventually be applied to longer-term needs.
The LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund is one of several fundraising efforts in Los Angeles and across the nation, which include the artist-initiated Art World Fire Relief LA GoFundMe campaign, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, the Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort to Support Music Professionals of the Recording Academy and MusiCares, the We Are Moving the Needle Microgrants: Wildfire Relief Fund, the Entertainment Community Fund, and the Motion Picture Television Fund.
“People around the world are watching in horror as vast areas of Los Angeles burn, but this regional tragedy has global cultural repercussions,” Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, said via a statement. “Amid the losses suffered by the artists and arts workers who so strongly define LA, Getty is grateful to the many partners, local, national, and international, who have come together to meet the urgent needs of this community.”
Lise Motherwell, chair, and Clifford Ross, president, of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s board of directors, said via a statement that “The fires ravaging Los Angeles exemplify the devastating impacts of climate change that affect us all. With a history of supporting artist relief efforts and an ongoing commitment to advancing climate action in the arts, the Foundation joins the Getty at this critical time to offer our resources to LA’s arts and cultural community.”
In a joint statement, the Mohn Art Collective officials said, “Los Angeles is home to one of the world’s most prolific and creative group of artists and people working to support our many artists, galleries, and art institutions. In particular, the fire-ravaged neighborhoods in Altadena are long-time home to an astounding concentration of artists and art workers. Our local spirit of collaboration is being evidenced right now. And we’re immensely grateful to those outside LA offering support.”
