“A studio artist’s career has its own set of ups and downs. Some are predictable, others are unexpected…ensure that your career is able to sustain both.” -CERF
Resources are organized by disaster phase.
Readiness: What can you do to prepare before a disaster hits? Use these tools to ready yourself and your studio for whatever may come.
Response: What do you do during a disaster? Follow these guidelines to take action in the midst of an emergency to ensure health and safety.
Recovery: What steps can you take to bounce back after a disaster? These resources can help you navigate the complexities recovery funding, studio restoration, and emotional strengthening.
Readiness
Know what you have
- Take an inventory: Document your artwork and career
- Insure your career
Conduct risk assessment
- Identify the hazards
- Assess the risks
- Implement appropriate mitigation measures
- Prepare your studio with the CERF+ Studio Protector
- Monitor and reassess risks
More information:
Insurance and preparedness from the New York Foundation for the Arts
Business continuity plan resources from Ready.gov
Response
Essential Guidelines for Arts Responders Organizing in the Aftermath of Disaster: A primer to help local and state arts agencies, organizations, foundations, and other arts groups plan and administer a coordinated disaster mobilization system within their service area.
American Institute of Conservation Caring for Materials Guides: A series of brochures on caring for works of art, from architecture, books, ceramics, and metals to furniture, textiles, paintings and more.
CERF+ Studio Protector: A preparedness guide and workbook tailored to the needs of artists and creative professionals. Use this tool to evaluate your current spaces, become knowledgeable about the risks you may be facing, and upgrade your studio.
Recovery
CERF+ Emergency Relief Grants: $3,000 relief grants for craft artists who've recently experienced a substantially disruptive emergency or disaster.
NYFA Emergency Relief Grants List: A list of relief grants and foundations organized by creative discipline.
Gottlieb Foundation: Financial assistance and relief and preparedness resources for mature painters, sculptors, and printmakers. Emergency grants are offered on a rolling basis.
Musicians Foundation: One-time financial assistance grants for professional musicians across all genres.
Jazz Foundation of America: Housing and emergency assistance for jazz musicians, accessible 7 days a week.
Entertainment Community Fund: Comprehensive support services for people in the performing arts and entertainment industry, with emergency financial assistance available.
Musicares: Financial support, crisis relief, and addiction recovery assistance for music industry professionals.
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants: Emergency funds for visual and performing artists and poets who make experimental work. Open year-round for immediate, project-based assistance.
Author's League Fund: Emergency aid to career writers in financial crisis - authors, graphic novelists, journalists, critics, essayists, poets, short story writers, dramatists, and librettists.
Art Became the Oxygen: An Artistic Response Guide: A guide for artists, funders, and emergency responders and service organizations on the power of arts-based work in response to emergencies, with hundreds of links to powerful arts projects, official emergency resources, and detailed accounts for those who want to go even deeper.
Alliance of Artist Communities Emergency Relief Programs: The Alliance offered mini-grants to help artists attend residencies they would otherwise couldn't due to sudden changes in circumstance; this fund is currently exhausted. The Alliance also maintains a list of emergency resources and relief funds for artists.