The CATAPULT Caribbean COVID-19 Relief Arts Grant is within the second yr of a partnership between Kingston Creative, the American Friends of Jamaica and the Open Society Foundations that has delivered over half 1,000,000 US dollars in support to the humanities community.
This yr, by offering relief grants to 300 creatives of US$500 each, the grant has helped to finish arts projects, purchase equipment and canopy living expenses for Caribbean artists in dire straits as a consequence of the impact of the pandemic.
436 creatives applied from 23 countries across the Caribbean and these were narrowed right down to 300 recipients by a panel of jurors: Anna Maria Hernandez (Aruba), Holly Byone (St. Vincent & the Grenadines), Juan Francisco Pardo (Aruba), Natalie Urquhart (Cayman Islands), Nicholas Laughlin (Trinidad & Tobago), Sara Shabaka (Jamaica) and Simone Harris (Jamaica).
All 436 grant applicants may also be added to the Caribbean Creative Network, a publicly accessible artist directory developed by Kingston Creative to extend visibility, market access and earnings for artists across the Caribbean. The web database will function a resource that the general public can use to seek out, hire and simply partner with creatives for each international and native projects.
Many artists expressed that the grant not only helped them financially, but in addition served as an emblem of validation for his or her artistic practice.
“As skilled artists we face a whole lot of unique challenges, chief amongst them is just not being taken seriously,” Jamaican artist, Īṣā Orí expressed.
“Nonetheless, I’m equally comforted and motivated to know that there are organisations just like the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) and Catapult, who not only consider in us, but are also willing to assist us.”
The grant also helped artists to seek out working and studio space to supply their art.
“Since I received the grant, I used to be in a position to find my very own place where I can now work on my projects in a more focused way. I’m now writing again and likewise working on my next show,” said El Bacalao, a creative from the Dominican Republic.
The partners of the CATAPULT programme are also satisfied with the final result of the grant’s second iteration.
Wendy Hart, President of the American Friends of Jamaica, said: “The CATAPULT partnership has been focused on each the immediate needs of artists and constructing opportunities for the long run. It’s a shared vision of impact and a commitment to the long run of the creative community”.
“We’re very thankful that with the assistance of our international partners we were in a position to assist creatives in this fashion for a second yr,” said Khadijah Chang, Project Manager for the CATAPULT Arts Grant.
“We’re especially enthusiastic about how impactful the Caribbean Creative Network will likely be because it is a component of a long-term technique to help creatives across the Caribbean to network and earn more income.”
“Open Society Foundations is privileged to support this second edition of the CATAPULT initiative. In times of COVID, Caribbean artists, their families and their work proceed to be impacted in multiple ways, having a detrimental effect on the entire of our societies. We look ahead to continuing to support artists and artists’ organisations within the region,” said Auro Fraser, Open Society Foundations’ Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean.
For more information on the CATAPULT Arts Grant, visit https://catapultarts.com/ and for more information on the Caribbean Creative Network, kindly email [email protected] (PR)
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