Arts + Creative Industries Update - In the time of COVID-19 | View in browser
Your Contribution Matters!
The Arts Alliance reports that it receives requests for support and assistance almost every day as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep artists and creative workers out of work and creative businesses closed. Please give today to add your support.
Whitmer Extends the COVID Pause through Dec. 20
Governor Whitmer’s COVID Dec 3 Press Conference
Read the MIHHS Emergency Order
$288 Billion COVID Emergency Relief Plan May Stall
Keep an eye on it - CALL to ACTION may be needed.
Changes and posturing may stall the proposal made by nine bipartisan senators on December 1 for a $908 billion ‘bridge’ aid package to address COVID relief. Included in the relief bill was a proposed $15 billion Save Our Stages bill (co-signed by Michigan Senators Peters and Stabenow) extended to protecting live venues and theaters. At the time this e-Newsletter was published, relief bill negotiations continued. Watch The Arts Alliance's social media for updates.
Michigan announces $15,000 COVID Relief Grant Program
Small For Profit Businesses Only Eligible
- Businesses may apply starting on December 15 on a first-come, first-served basis
- Live Event and Film Theaters eligible but no Nonprofits
- $900,000 allocated to Region 9 - Washtenaw, Monroe, Livingston, Lenawee, Jackson and Hillsdale counties.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced that the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $10 million grant program to help meet the urgent needs of small businesses disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 virus. The Pure Michigan Small Business Relief Initiative will utilize federal CARES Act funding to award grants of up to $15,000 to at least 670 small businesses across Michigan.
Governor Whitmer also seeks a permanent employment extension to a maximum of 26 weeks (was 20 previously.) Such funds will be critical to the survival of our arts and creative businesses and the individuals and families who have been bracing the shutdown since March.
Region 9 Minigrants Still Available
Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe and Washtenaw Counties
Round II - $4,000 Arts & Cultural Projects
deadline Jan. 15
The Arts & Cultural Projects minigrant program provides support for locally developed arts and culture productions and presentations that promote public engagement, diversity, lifelong learning and, through these shared creative experiences, strengthen communities and build powerful connections and understanding between people and cultures. Visit our website to learn more or view the FY2021 Project Minigrant Guidelines
Michigan K-12 School $1,500 Arts Ed Equipment Grants
rolling grant applications close April 16, 2021
Michigan K-12 schools are eligible for grants of up to $1,500 to pay for arts equipment (including repairs of arts equipment) or supplies being used within the classroom/school setting. Michigan K-12 teachers in any arts discipline may apply for the grant including creative writing, dance, film/video, music, visual arts and theater. Grants are awarded on a reimbursement basis. Visit our website to learn more or view the Arts Ed Equipment Grant Guidelines here.
AADDA's and The Arts Alliance's ReVIVE All Zones Project
All Together Outside by Kellie Bambach, Adrienne Pickett and SousLaCiel at Main and Liberty, Ann Arbor - photo credit: SousLaCiel
ReVIVE All Zones, a vital, inclusive, vibrant and enthused project, is intended to revitalize existing streetscape elements in downtown Ann Arbor and reclaim the view – rapidly, resiliently and respectfully.
Washtenaw county-based creative teams and/or artists are encouraged to submit proposals to alter downtown streetscapes and elements including the pavement, sidewalks, planters, furniture, barricades, posts, cylinders, curbs, bump outs, lane markers, transit stops.
View all current projects and stories behind them here.
Be the Change by Magdalene Law at South Division Street Sidewalk between East Liberty and East Washington Streets, Ann Arbor - photo credit: Magdalene Law
Our monthly gathering to unwind and share in our arts community...
Creative Washtenaw Happy Hour #13
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Join us by Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88334999090?pwd=Rm4wVDZkN2RxcENhamdqdlo5Rm9UQT09
Join by phone: 9292056099 | Meeting ID: 883 3499 9090 | Passcode: 192857
Open for Business!
Currently featuring works the works of dozens of Dexter Plein Air Festival 2020 artists, the CW Marketplace is a new site available to promote and sell creative products, performances, programs and services exclusively by artists, creative workers, organizations and businesses in the greater Ann Arbor area: a vibrant arts + creative industry hub.
Artist Relief Fund - 2 Days Left to Apply Dec. 10 deadline!
Funds for essentials such as housing, medicine, caretaking and food. Apply here.
Sony $5,000 Grants for Women Videographers.
Sony's mission to support the growth of underrepresented voices in photography, videography, and filmmaking and provide a platform for creators across the artistic spectrum furthering this mission with their work. Deadline Feb. 15. Apply here.
Sphinx Tank Grant - $25,000
Identifying the next great cultural entrepreneur.
Deadline: Feb. 20. Apply here.
Michigan Humanities - $15,000 Humanities Grants
Humanities Grants emphasize collaboration among cultural, educational and community-based organizations and institutions in order to serve Michigan’s people with public humanities programming. There are two steps to this grant program. Find all the details here.
- Now - March 2021 project proposal accepted and feedback provided.
- March 18, 2021 - Final grant application due.
Michigan Humanities - $1,500 Bridging Michigan Grants
For Michigan nonprofits producing and presenting public humanities programs. Open until funds expended. Apply here.
Financial Impact of COVID-19 - Do you need help navigating?
Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development, in partnership with United Way of Washtenaw County, has launched a Financial Navigator program to help residents manage the financial impact of COVID-19. Financial Navigators provide one-on-one telephone assistance (at no cost) navigating critical financial issues and making referrals to other social services and resources. Click HERE to read more or call 734-677-7202 to talk to a Financial Navigator.
Michigan Works provides a plethora of support, training and services for job seekers.
Arts + Creative Advocates
Be An Arts Hero - a grassroots campaign composed of arts & culture workers and unions encouraging officials to allocate relief to the arts & culture sector of the American economy.
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is hard at work running the Save Our Stages campaign which includes over 3,000 venues pushing for legislation changes in Washington. Join NIVA here.
Take ACTION - Help secure funding for the National Endowment for the Arts by writing your senators here. It only takes two minutes.
"It’s Time For A Dr. Fauci For The Arts" - by Peter Marks, The Washington Post. Read full article here.
#ArtsCreateHope Campaign - Spread the Hope and Stay informed about the great need of arts organizations during the COVID pandemic.
Make a donation to Americans for the Arts to sustain the arts in communities across our nation and help us bring tools, training, research, and advocacy to a massive network of artists, administrators, leaders, and educators who need them.
Read the latest report from Michigan’s Coronavirus Racial Disparities Task Force.
Why the arts + creative industries matter in Michigan
New Programmatic Focus at Culture Source - Strides in representational justice. Learn more here.
Why the arts + creative industries matter in Washtenaw County
Join the Arts Action Fund to advance the arts and arts education in your community and across the country.
It's FREE and takes just a minute. Add your name and be counted so Congress know there are millions of arts and creative workers, businesses and citizens who insist that arts and creativity are critical to our country. Join here for updates and calls to action.
Annual membership is free and your online benefits include:
- Membership to vote on the legislative policy platforms
- Breaking news and legislative alerts from the E-Advocacy center
- Quarterly updates through Arts Action eNews
- Exclusive access to the member's only Arts Action Fund PAC
Check out these additional AFTA COVID-19 Resources
The Economic Impact of Coronavirus on the Arts and Culture Sector - Dash Board
CAREs Act Table of Funding Opportunities for the Arts and Artists
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource and Response Center with constantly updated information for:
– For creative organizations & businesses
– For artists and creative workers
– For arts + creative education, including school openings and closings
– Field tools and research
– Equity and mental health- Reopening and resources
The COVID-19 Audience Outlook Monitor Survey
WolfBrown developed a worldwide tracking study of audience attitudes about attendance at arts and cultural programs during and after the COVID-19 Crisis. Find timely and essential data to the sector’s decision-making about when and how to resume programming here Audience Outlook Monitor.
IRS changes reporting of independent contractor payments
The IRS has created a new Form 1099-NEC and
revised Form 1099-MISC for 2020. The major change is that all nonemployee
compensation must now be reported on the new Form 1099-NEC, which was
previously reported on Form 1099-MISC. READ MORE>
Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act Reminder
IRS Loan Forgiveness and Safe Harbor Rules
Stay Active in Your Arts Community
Peruse the Gutman Gallery’s Holiday Artist Market featuring rotating exhibitions, workshops and classes. Read their schedule through Dec. 23 here.
Edgefest: Ann Arbor’s Premiere Avant-Garde Jazz Festival runs through March 26 every Friday at 7:30 pm. Concerts are free and donations are strongly encouraged. Learn more here.
Michigan Theater: Kick off your holiday lineup with new feature films including Jingle Bell Rocks. Purchase the virtual viewing here. Tickets directly benefit the Michigan Theater Foundation and their staff.
The Barickuda Gallery at TrustArt studios is hosting Drawdown: Pathways Out of Global Warming a traveling group exhibition featuring the work of several local artists including our member Leslie Sobel. By Appointment through Jan. 9. Learn more here.
Adrian Center for the Arts - Call for Art: Learn more about the Out of This World juried exhibition here.
Adrian Center for the Arts Holiday Art Market Featuring local artists. Runs through Dec 23 and open weekdays 12-6 p.m. and weekends 1-4 p.m. Interested shoppers can also call to make an appointment. Learn more here.
Chelsea's 12 Annual SculptureWalk Call for Art - 14 commissions. Selected artists receive $850 award, a year-long highly visible platform throughout Chelsea and more. Learn more here.
Support Local This Holiday Season
E-Current’s Guide to Shopping Local this Season
A Guide to Ann Arbor’s Shopping Specials
WEMU 89.1 FM - Local news coverage plus local arts + creative coverage including Art & Soul with Lisa Barry, Cinema Chat with the Michigan Theater's Russ Collins and creative:impact with The Arts Alliance's own Deb Polich.
Bridge Magazine - Michigan's nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides passionate and rooted Michigan readers with honest, fact-driven journalism on the state’s diverse people, politics and economy.
All About Ann Arbor - offers local news, feature stories, restaurant news, sports news, latest events in town and more for Ann Arbor residents.
Concentrate Magazine - tells the narrative of Washtenaw County’s narrative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play. The weekly online magazine is published Wednesdays.
All About Ann Arbor - offers local news, feature stories, restaurant news, sports news, latest events in town and more for Ann Arbor residents.
For the fastest updates and breaking news!
- Follow The Arts Alliance on Facebook
- Follow The Arts Alliance on Twitter
The Arts Alliance’s COVID-19 Support Page
- Resources– including advocacy, support and affiliation agencies
The Arts + Creative Industries Guide
With links to creative members and businesses.
Featuring hundreds of artists, creative workers, businesses and ally members, this is your guide to what makes Creative Washtenaw, and the greater Ann Arbor area one of Michigan’s strongest and most vibrant arts + creative industry hubs.
The Arts Alliance is the arts + creative industry authority in Washtenaw County. A regional agency, its mission is to advocate for and support Creative Washtenaw and ensure that the greater Ann Arbor, Michigan, region remains a great place to create, live, work, learn, play and visit.
The intrinsic and aesthetic values of the arts and creativity are determining factors of success for the members of The Arts Alliance: Creative people from students to industry experts leading the sector locally, nationally and internationally. They are professionals and amateurs who have creative practices, own creative businesses, hold creative jobs in profit, nonprofit and government entities; and offer creative products, services and programs throughout the Washtenaw community.
The Arts Alliance serves Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti plus the 21 townships in the county. It is committed to, forever evolving and learning about diversity, equity and inclusion.This includes learning how its community defines the intrinsic and aesthetic qualities of art and creativity by the cultural expert, the credentialed scholar, the journeyed or self-taught master and/or the astute consumer of the form.
The Arts Alliance is supported by its members, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
For more information, please go to http://www.a3arts.org or contact info@a3arts.org or 734-213-2733.
