Artist Support
COVID-19 Resources for Artists and Freelancers
These past few months the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has affected every way of life. Whether you have been working from home, had work cancelled or have been directly affected by illness, the pandemic poses grave challenges for society as a whole and the creative community not in the least. CFCCA would like to take this opportunity to send a message of support to all of the artists, partners, freelancers and volunteers we work with and have worked with, and without whose skills and talent we couldn’t exist.
Alarmingly, there has been a racialisation of the pandemic which has led to an increase in racism and hate crime towards people of East and Southeast Asian heritage. We are devastated to see the severe impact this is having on the community of artists, partners and audiences we work with. We are concerned for the safety and wellbeing of our artists, staff and friends and now more than ever we call for solidarity, tolerance and mutual understanding across all our communities.
During this time we want to assure artists, freelancers and collaborators that we intend to honour pre-agreed contracts. Also, as we learn to navigate these challenging and uncertain times, we are committed to listening to artists’ needs and adapting our work to provide the best support, from offering opportunities to make new work to simply providing advice and guidance. As such, we have put together a list of UK-based resources below which we hope will be useful in navigating complex issues our artists and partners might now face from financial insecurity to challenges around mental health and wellbeing. We will also be launching new opportunities for artists across our digital channels over the coming weeks.
Our thoughts go out to our family of artists and collaborators during this challenging time and I urge us to work together to overcome the virus and use this moment to change society for the better.
With warm wishes,
Zoe Dunbar, CFCCA Director
Artist advice and resources during COVID-19:
- Arts Council England – Advice and support on COVID-19 for organisations and individuals working in the arts sector
- ACAS – Advice on employment rights and best practice
- Bectu – Advice for arts freelancers
- Manchester International Festival – List of resources for artists and freelancers in the creative industry
- a-n – List of resources for artists and arts organisers
- Live Art Development Agency – Information to support artists and art workers affected by the pandemic
- Creative Review – Guide for creative support
- #CovidCreativesToolkit – A set of curated mostly free & open source resources to support creative practitioners
- #CreativeNetwork – Daily online get-together by Voluntary Arts open to anyone involved in the arts to talk to others about dealing with the current situation
- Guild from East Street Arts – An open resource for artist and arts organisations during COVID-19
- Creative Industries – Free membership for 4 months
- The Art Newspaper – Where to apply for financial aid (March 2020)
- Creative Industries Federation – Open letter to the Chancellor to support freelancers (March 2020)
- If self-employed and concerned about paying tax, HMRC have a new helpline: 0800 0159 559
- Manchester City Council – Help with debt, bills and borrowing (Manchester)
Financial aid for artists and individuals working in the arts sector (UK):
- UK Government – Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (deadline: 19th October 2020)
- Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants – Grants for arts, museums and libraries projects by individual artists, community or cultural organisations. (Until April 2021)
- ACE Developing Your Creative Practice – Development fund designed to support independent creative practitioners (reopening Autumn 2020).
- Creative Scotland – Three funding programmes by Creative Scotland designed to support Scotland’s creative community (open all year round)
- Black Artists Grant – A £500 grant funded by Creative Debuts, given out monthly to a black artist in the UK
- Grants Online – List of UK grants available for local charities and community groups
- Theatre Artists Fund – Emergency support for theatre workers and freelancers across the UK (Deadline: 10th September 2020)
- Help Musicians’ Financial Hardship Funding – One-off grants of £500 to professional musicians in the UK (Phase 3 launching in November)
Racism during COVID-19:
- COVID-19 Anti-Racism Group – CARG, initiated by concerned citizens, addresses the increase in racism and hate crime towards British East Asian people and international students arising from the Covid-19 pandemic #COVID19AntiRacism
- Petition to urge the media to stop depicting East & South East Asians in Coronavirus related media
- End the Virus of Racism – Crowdfunder to establish the UK’s first non-profit dedicated to addressing systemic racism faced by people of East and Southeast Asian heritage.
- Asia Art Activism – Un-racialising the Coronavirus Epidemic
- Hashtags #WeAreNotAVirus #racismisavirus #iamnotavirus and #CoronaRacism on Instagram and Twitter
- ArtAsiaPacific – Resisting the Racist Blame Game
- WeRNotVirus – A series of plays and monologues highlighting racism, broadcast on Zoom over 13-14 June.
- You Clap For Me Now – A UK video showing the crucial role of BAME people in the coronavirus crisis
- Chinese for Labour – Promoting the interests of Chinese & East Asian people within the Labour Party and UK
- daikon* zine – A blog post against ‘hate crime’ and coronavirus racism
- Gal-dem – An open letter in response to COVID-19 by a group of migrant solidarity, prison abolitionist and anti-racist organisers
- Chinese Information and Advice Centre – Free information, advice and support to disadvantaged Chinese people living in the UK
- Greater Manchester Police – How to report hate crime (Greater Manchester, UK)
- Manchester City Council – Further advice on reporting hate crime in Manchester
- London Metropolitan Police – How to report hate crime (London, UK)
- British Transport Police – Reporting a crime or incident
- Stop Hate UK – UK Charity that works to challenge all forms of hate crime and discrimination
- Victim Support – Charity helping people affected by crime and traumatic events
- TellMAMA – Video with tips on how to spot fake news
Mental health during COVID-19:
- Mind – Coronavirus and your wellbeing
- Mental Health Foundation – Looking after your mental health during COVID-19
- Rethink Mental Illness – COVID-19 and mental illness
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Tips on preventing illness, social distancing, caring for someone who is ill and how to cope with stress
- World Health Organisation – Mental Health and psychosocial considerations
- Mental Health UK – Information and tips on managing mental health during COVID-19
- MHFA England – Mental health resources for remote working
- The MARCH Network – A list of home-based, creative ways to support mental health during the pandemic
Community volunteering:
- Government safeguarding factsheet for community volunteers
- Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK – List of local mutual aid groups in the UK
- MCRVIP / Macc – If interested in participating in a community volunteering scheme (Manchester)
- Street Support Network – See what skills are needed near you and give help
Creative opportunities during COVID-19:
- Art Rabbit – List of artist opportunities
- Contemporary Visual Arts Network – CuratorSpace free service for artists to organise and promote online courses
- Future Learn Online Course – ‘Collaborative working in a remote team’
- Hashtag #artistsupportpledge – Instagram initiative that aims to financially support artists who have lost income as a result of COVID-19.
- The Social Distance Art Project – A platform for art students to share work prepared for Degree Shows
- Lockdown Creative Collective – A creative Instagram account to keep creatives connected
Last edited: 29/8/2020