COVID Support Fund for Visual Artists
In this time of economic hardship, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) and its non-profit partners, Friends of the NAGB and Friends of the Arts in The Bahamas (FAB, Inc., a 501 (c)3 registered corporation), recognise the difficulty being faced by artists in the community, with loss of work and/or commercial exhibitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As such, the NAGB, FAB Inc. and Friends of the NAGB have committed to funding a one-time $500 emergency grant for visual artists facing dire financial straits.
Click on Donate to support the fund. If you are a visual artist in financial need, click Apply.
Committee
- Vaughn Roberts, President FAB Inc., COVID-19 Support Fund Committee Member
- Cherise Cox-Nottage, NAGB Deputy Chair, COVID-19 Support Fund Committee Member
- H. Campbell Cleare III, Charitable Arts Foundation Member, COVID-19 Support Fund Committee Member
The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) has been a symbol for community, strength, support, and hope. Being an artist and relying on creativity for income is a challenge even at the best of times. With the coronavirus pandemic, our local artists are taking a hard hit with stay-at-home orders adversely affecting their income.
As the leading art institution in The Bahamas, we remain committed to supporting local artists in need. In response to the pandemic, the NAGB has created a COVID-19 Relief Fund specifically to relieve artists who are impacted by the pandemic. We would be deeply grateful for your consideration in supporting the NAGB’s COVID-19 Support Fund. Your generosity will help artists who are in acute hardship due to COVID-19.
We are currently seeking contributions to the fund and have established the following ways to send support:
- For local Bahamian dollar donations by credit card, please use ALIV TOGETHER our Online Crowdfunding Partner. Click here: https://togetherbahamas.com/campaign/78/nagb-and-fab-inc-covid-19-artist-relief-fund
- Click the button below to download transfer information USD tax-deductible donations or Bahamian dollar cheques and direct transfers.
Should there be any questions or concerns regarding payment, please email [email protected] or NAGB Accountant, Marysa Malone, [email protected].
This grant is a one-time bursary of $500 allocated only after applicants have met needs-based criteria and have proven professional engagement and commitment to the Bahamian art community.
All artists awarded the grant will be asked to create or participate in a community-based activity that will benefit others effected by COVID-19. The community-based activity will be directed by the NAGB’s curatorial team on themes related to Public Health and the NAGB Permanent exhibition “Medicine and Memory”. Activities for the community-based activities will be devised in partnership with grant awardees. Activities may include, but are not limited to: bush medicine projects and horticultural projects (such as beautification projects in the NAGB Art Park), and other alternative medicine projects (such as developing beautification garden projects within partnership communities of the NAGB).
To be eligible for this grant, the visual artist must have performed freelance work in the visual arts as a source of income for at least one year prior to their application and be able to prove that their means of support through their creative practice has been compromised by the COVID-19 crisis. Applicants are required to present a letter of hardship, detailing their need for the grant and any support they have acquired over the past six months from the NAGB. This will not automatically exclude any applicant but will be a factor when evaluating grant disbursements.
This grant would be made available on a rolling basis. There is no guarantee that all applicants meeting the criteria will be awarded the grant, based on number of requests and funds available.
Criteria for the grant
- Must be an artist that practices visual arts: sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking, drawing, and textiles arts.
- One page letter of support from a member of the visual arts community regarding
- the professional qualifications of applicant;
- Current resume (listing all work in the visual arts);
- Proof of legal residency (NIB card, birth certificate, voter’s card, etc);
- One page hardship letter detailing need for grant.
Visit
The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas occupies the historic Villa Doyle, a colonial-era home from 1860, at the corner of West Hill and West Hill Streets, Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas.
Explore
Introduce yourself to the colourful visual culture of The Bahamas at one of the largest collections of Bahamian art in the world.
Learn
The NAGB also has an extensive public program schedule, community and regional projects and partnerships, arts education workshops and a free public art library.
Connect
With a sizable art collection and regular exhibitions, the museum provides art and artists from around the country with a definitive place of refuge.