This open letter is a desperate plea written on behalf of the most vulnerable in the Seattle arts ecosystem for immediate and significant investment in community-led COVID-19 relief efforts. While there have been multiple relief efforts for artists initiated, the funds available are nowhere near enough to meet the need. As of April 5, 2020 we have collectively documented $1,453,472.52 in lost income caused by the unrelenting impact of COVID-19 on 231 local, independent artists – a number that grows by the hour. As basic human needs such as secure housing, prescription medicine, groceries, and other essential needs are increasing, inadequate action is no longer enough. The time to act is now.
With the recent stay-at-home ordinance, the urgent need to practice social distancing and isolation to protect our elders, disabled, immuno-compromised, and those with underlying chronic illness hit many communities with unexpected and sudden force. For the arts ecosystem, this impact was felt as early as February, when audience numbers and event-based sponsorships began to dwindle while show and studio cancellations exacerbated an increasingly dire situation. After the March 11th announcement of a moratorium on all events over 250 people, with more restrictive mandates looming still, artists across all disciplines began losing critical income in droves. As gig work and contracts are postponed or canceled, and the doors to every venue, gathering place, and cultural space in Seattle have been closed indefinitely, the situation for local artists - who were already enduring economic precarity to exist in one of the most increasingly expensive cities in the world - has now reached a new, critical level.
The immediate threat is even more tangible for artists from historically underserved and marginalized communities who often lack union representation, qualification for unemployment benefits, and institutional access. It is in solidarity with these fundamentally valuable yet consistently under-resourced members of our arts community that we are reaching out. This virus has shown us that we are dependent on each other, and it's time to pull together in community.
Because of this urgency, it is critical for you as supporters of our communities to understand that by focusing corporate and foundation giving solely on the most visible entities and organizations, the many who need relief immediately will go unserved due to burdensome and/or lengthy grant processes as well as red-tape bureaucracy.
We are asking you today to help break a pattern of disparity in the arts, culture, and philanthropic sector by giving quickly and generously to Seattle Artist Relief Fund Amid COVID-19 organized by Ijeoma Oluo, Ebony Arunga, and Gabriel Teodros. This fund, established as direct and flexible mutual aid, is being led by trusted, long-time community leaders with and for those most impacted. Your support can be shown by donating directly as a tax-deductible donation through LANGSTON by emailing seattleartistrelief@gmail.com. By bolstering these efforts, you will not only be fortifying your place as historical contributors to the vitality and breadth of the local arts community, but you will be taking a step towards dismantling systemic barriers to access including but not limited to race, class, education, gender, and immigration status, at a moment when rapid response solutions and authentic relationships mean everything. Please seize this opportunity to empower community leaders in effective, transformative service to their own communities. Only then can we restore hope and sustain Seattle arts and culture towards a stronger, more equitable tomorrow.
Thank you for your support,
Seattle Independent Artist Sustainability Effort (SIASE)
Seattle.artistsustainability.org
Impacted Artists and Community Members in Solidarity:
John M Kelleher | Lee Mullen | Cassi Q Kohl | Tim Basaraba | Mark Grenfell |
Rebecca Maiten | Maja Purcell | Dylan Welsh | Michael O’Neal | Rik Deskin |
Robert Govetas | Allie Stodola | Mario Martinez | K.D Schill | Brandon Greenwood |
Dustin Curtis | Joe Seamons | Michaud Savage | Arami Walker | Adra Boo |
Kalisto Nanen | Christina Dietz | Ronnal Ives | Falon Sierra | Wynne Earle |
Anna Gibson | Shermona Mithcell | Satpreet Kahlon | Glynne Davies Puchlov | K. Brian Neel |
Jason Kappus | Bronwen Houck | Michael T. Perkins | Victoria Ramon | Jenny Ku |
Kim Douthit | KyeAnne Wilde | Bella Jovan | Sam I’Am (Sam Harrison) | Sarah Thompson |
Margaret Hotchkiss | Julia Wald | Max Holmberg | Gretchen Bell | Rachel Bennett |
Olivia Solomon | Amy Luck | Shomari Shanks | Derek Smith | Helen Roundhill |
Eli Lara | Michael Xi | Troy Intylekt Sheppard, BOC Music | Aishé Keita | Marshall Hugh |
Chun-Yen Huang | Aaron Norman | Leigh Legler | Braden Lawrence | Mark ‘Kit’ Boyer |
Deontre Singletary | Chris Boscia | Jean Chaumont | Flora Carlile-Kovacs | Valerie Miller |
Carl Webster Jr. | Khazm Kogita | Alyza DelPan-Monley | Beth Pollack | Carrie Rexroat |
Joseph Cabey | Nicholas Bernard | John Rainwaters | Chanarah Caupain | Andon Hiltner |
Derrick Clarit | seranine elliot | Helene Eriksen | David Ayala | Jayson Barker |
Scott Matthew Yoder | Christopher Smith | Jennifer Ewing | Mark Tedin | JJ Gerber |
Stieg Retlin | Alexander Hubbard | Debby Boland Watt | Cozell wilson | Aaron Anderson |
Shileah Corey | Tonya Dean | Meredith Berlin | Jessica Trundy | Lester C. Pearson |
Amr "ZAG" Awwad | Andrew | Gavin Yehle | Aaron Castillo | Amanda Pitsch |
Shay Trusty | Holly Ricciardi | Che Sehyun | angel alviar-langley | David Davis |
Luke Cottingham (Lük Lupe) | Jill Freidberg | Benjamin Hunter | Ebo Barton | Kenneth Huntington |
Alyssa Keene | Monique Aldred | Sarah Salcedo | Jordan Platz | Colleen Monette |
Bow Jones | Elisha Ewing | Robert Lane | Nanacy Hanauer | Erin stroh |
Leah Andrews | Jordan Rundle | Maja Purcell | khemarintr suwanchote | Cody Choi |
Jennifer Verador | Tomo Nakayama | Alex Medina | James Porter | Matt Offenbacher |
Christopher "Chip" Sherman | Geneiva Arunga | Opal Peachey | Dawndi craig | Vincent Keele Fine Art |
Bethanie "Be" Russell | DeShawn Bolton | Shakera Mathews (Artbae) | Matthew Lang | Vivian Hua 華婷婷 |
Olisa Enrico | Royce shorter jr | Katherine Shores | Stasia Irons | Carl Lawrence |
Noel Brass Jr. | Jeremy Shaskus | Krysteen Lomonaco | Jamel Moxey | Sally Brock |
Forrest Perrine Memphis J Ribic | Casey Raiha | Terrance Curtis Robinson | Kallejah Rollins | Marlow Harris |
Ivan Mrsic | Andreya Taylor | Lucas Chapel | Daniele Griffin | Julia Freeman |
Anouk Rawkson | Julie Armitage | Percy Frazier | Cody Choi | Jo David |
Crisantos Chavez | Michael Xi | Shelagh brown | Peyton Oller | Ben Hirschkoff |
Andrey Psyche | Gavin Reub | Markeith Wiley | Jessica Jung | |
korvus blackbird | Shakira Adams | Riley Creighton | Olivia Howle | Mike Piper |
Brooke Jackson | Kari O'Driscoll | Omari Jarmon | Adam Brozozowski | Michelle Ishimitsu |
Kate Berwanger | Jonathan Williams | Emily Chao | Jamil Suleman | Erin Shafkind Esther Ervin |
Judson Felder | Lori Goldston | Carolyn Hitt | John Harry Baluran | Debra Calkins |
Seth Goodkind | Alex Garland | Lara McIntosh | Autumn Tranquilino | Jueqian Fang |
Mariah Belgrod | Ralph Perez | Jamil Suleman | Burgandy | D. Lisa West |
Britta Johnson | Stuart Zobel | Jennifer Moore | Kelly Froh | Juan Alonso-Rodríguez |
Cornell Gordon | James Battle | Julie Conway | Nichelle iNfinity Alderson | Shaw Osha Gabrielle Duong |
Jordan Christianson | Feezable The Germ | Syed Taqi | Princess Fernando | Ellaina Lewis |
Rachel Jackson | Lauren Du Pree | Tiana Ross | Scott Behrens | Ahmed Davis |
Purpelle Tramble | Tricia Diamond | Michele McCauley | Miles "39" Stanberry | Esther Reiquam |
Kenneth Waweru | Kait Rhoads | Kim Schwarzkopf | K.D. Senior | Miles Pertl |
Sam Farrazaino | Kevin Sur, Artist Home | Manny Cawaling | Nikkita Oliver | Tom Eykemans |
Sharlese Metcalf | Elaine Simons | Keri Kellerman | Sharon Arnold | Sadiqua Iman |
Lady Scribe, Seattle Sound Music Awards | Kelli Faryar, NW Folklife | Malayka Gormally | Nichole DeMent | John Boylan, 9e2 Seattle |
Marcus Green, South Seattle Emerald | Molly Mac | Carol Rashawnna, Williams of K-Love 4 Art | Terry Novak, Photographic Center Northwest | Aurelio Valdez, Arts Corps, SW Youth and Family Services |
Krista Peoples | Elizabeth Brown | Cary Moon | Julia Carpenter | |
Diana Rodriguez, Youth in Focus | Philippe Hyojung Kim | Betsy Brock, On the Boards | ||
Laura Hart Newlon | Hanita Schwartz | |||
Mohamud Yussuf, Runta News | Jennifer Zeyl, Intiman Theatre | Cynthia Brothers, Vanishing Seattle | ||
Sydney Pertl Peter Reiquam | Dori Hana Scherer | Lana Blinderman | ||
Ariel Bradler, Theatre Puget Sound | Timothy Firth, common AREA maintenance | |||
Angielena Vitale Chamberlain / Georgetown Arts and Cultural Center | Carole Fuller, Advisory Board, UW School of Art+Art History+Design | Emily Zimmerman, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, UW School of Art +Art History + Design | ||
Community and Arts Organizations in Solidarity:
Inspire Washington | K-Love 4 Art, LLC | BOC Music | The Station | Cafe Red |
COVID-19 Mutual Aid Solidarity Network | Seattle Against Foreclosures and Evictions (S.A.F.E.) | 3rd Shift Dance | Body+Heart+Mind Academy | Seattle Transit Riders Union |
Seattle Everyday Peoples | Blue Cone Studios | WA-BLOC | Intiman Theatre | Alchemy Union |
Indie Genius Media, LLC | Balance of Concepts Studios | Concucss Creations | ATB Studios | MRLang Solutions, LLC |
The Hydrant | Hitoiki Dojo | Studio Current | Crystal Clockworks | Filthy Fingers United |
The Rhapsody Project | Friends of the Showbox | Lo Fi Performance Gallery | Woodland Theater | festival:festival |
Badder Body, LLC | Purrdie Burrdie, LLC | Open Flight Studio | Global Artists Collective | La Norda Specialo |
Northwest Film Forum | Culinary Cartel by The Curvy Chef | ARTIST NEW DEAL (AND) | Common Area Maintenance | Earth Pearl Collective |
The Grocery Studios | Al Doggett Studio | Equinox Studios | Across The Bridge | SeaPertl Productions |
Cypher Cafe at Washington Hall | Shelf Life Community Story Project | Vermillion Art Bar & Gallery | Specialist Gallery | Push/Pull |
Washington Capoeira Center LLC | Brain Child Learning Center | Black Lab Productions | Alliance for Community Media Northwest Region | New Art Projects Co., Inc. |
Meticulously Eccentric | Seattle ACED | Georgetown Arts and Cultural Center | SOIL Gallery | Strange Fire Collective |
Fancy | P7 Multimedia | Seattle in Color | GuildWorks Inc. | On the Boards |
Artist Home | Theatre Puget Sound | The James W. Washington Jr., and Janie Rogella Washington Foundation | Creative Justice | Cold Cube Press |