Artists Respond to the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina

All of us at The Fund for Women Artists have been heartbroken by the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina and by the failure of emergency systems to aid and support those who needed it the most. Our thoughts are with all those whose lives have been uprooted in the past month.

Many women artists are among those who have lost homes, jobs, artwork, materials, instruments, equipment, offices, and performance spaces, not to mention the very communities that sustain them. We list some resources below for artists, arts organizations and others in the affected areas. We hope you find this information helpful and will pass it on to friends and family in the region.

Along with millions of other Americans, women artists have been working hard to help out. We have compiled a list of specific ways to support artists, financially and otherwise, as well as ways to get involved in addressing the underlying social conditions that led to so much suffering. If you haven’t given yet, or you’d like to do more, this list may suggest possibilities.

This newsletter is organized into the following sections:

Resources for Displaced Artists, Arts Organizations, & Others -  

The list below is organized by art form and includes resources for people in theatre, film/video, visual arts, music, and poetry, as well as information about getting help with technological problems and staying in touch with displaced people from New Orleans.

            Ways You Can Help -

We have included suggestions about organizing benefits, giving financial support, and getting active through advocacy.

We thank you for your open hearts and your commitment to the healing power of the arts.

The Fund for Women Artists Team

Martha Richards

Sarah Browning

Carrie Grabo

P.S.  Please be aware of spam that may look like correspondence from The Fund for Women Artists – If you receive an email from an address ending in WomenArts.org that does not mention The Fund for Women Artists in the subject heading or first paragraph, it is probably not from us.  We will never send you attachments with the extensions .zip, .exe, .com, .bat, .pif, or .scr, so please do not open those.  If you have any doubts about whether an email is really from us, please contact us at info.WomenArts.org before opening it.

Resources for Displaced Artists, Arts Organizations & Others

THEATRE:

The Southeastern Theatre Conference has started a Theatrical Equipment Drive to replace equipment destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. If you have suffered a loss of equipment due to the hurricane or would like to donate equipment to those who have, visit the SETC website for more details: www.setc.org/resources/katrina.asp

The Actors' Fund of America (www.actorsfund.org) provides emergency assistance to professionals in the entertainment industry. If you are in need of emergency assistance due to Hurricane Katrina, please call The Actors’ Fund at 800.221.7303. Please identify where you are calling from and ask to have an intake worker paged. If you call and get the voicemail system, dial extension 119.

The Directors Guild Foundation (www.dga.org) is now offering immediate emergency assistance for DGA members affected by Hurricane Katrina. If you are a DGA member or a family member and require emergency assistance related to Hurricane Katrina, please call the DGA Foundation at 310 289-2037, or the toll-free number 800 421-4173 ext. 2037, or email laraine.dga.org and leave detailed contact information. A foundation representative will get in touch with you with information.

FILM/VIDEO:

Our friends at AIVF alerted us to the following: Equipment Emporium Inc, a company in the Los Angeles area that specializes in location audio gear for video & filmmaking, has offered to assist filmmakers who have suffered equipment loss or damage due to Hurricane Katrina. Many manufacturers are willing to support this endeavor, assisting with repair or replacement, at fees ranging from free to specially discounted. Equipment Emporium can help with paperwork, such as insurance quotes, replacement copies of our invoices, replacement values, and working with some of the manufacturers to arrange repair, replacement, or discounted services. Equipment Emporium Inc., (818) 838-4457, eqe.earthlink.net,

15235 Brand Blvd, Ste A-110, Mission Hills CA 91345, www.equipmentemporium.com/

Also, it was announced on the list serve of Shooting People (www.shootingpeople.org) that the Festival Application Site, Without a Box (www.withoutabox.com) is helping to raise money for a California Grip/Electric Company to take needed supplies and assistance to areas affected by the Hurricane.

For film students displaced in this disaster, StudentFilmmakers.com has published a comprehensive list of universities offering space for those that are unable to continue their academic path because of the disaster. To see which schools are offering film programs: www.studentfilmmakers.com/news/univhelp.shtml

VISUAL ARTS:

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Katrina Artists Trust (KAT), a grant-making trust to provide financial support for visual artists in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Artists at all stages of their career are equally eligible for assistance. www.camh.org/kat.html

The Pollock-Krasner Foundation is currently accepting emergency requests for grants to professional visual artists, which will be expedited under the foundation's guidelines. Artists are encouraged to contact the foundation for application materials, via phone (212) 517-5400, fax (212) 288-2836, or email at grants.pkf.org. In addition, applications may be downloaded from their web site at www.pkf.org.

MUSIC:

The New Orleans Musicians Clinic is relocating area artists affected by the hurricane to nearby Lafayette/Acadiana: wwoz.org/clinic/.

The Jazz Foundation of America is covering at least the first month’s rent for jazz and blues musicians and replacing lost instruments. www.jazzfoundation.org/new_orleans.php.

SHONOF (pronounced “sho’nuff”: Safe Harbor for Our New Orleans Friends), a project of NOAH, a new Houston/New Orleans musicians support project, will contact New Orleans musicians, wherever they are, and let them know there is a support group in Houston ready to help them, provide housing, get gigs, and the like. Contact Gigi Hill, (713) 503-3518, gigi.noahleans.org, www.noahleans.org.

Help for Gulf Coast orchestral musicians, including offers of housing, run by Drew McManus:  www.artsjournal.com/adaptistration/archives/2005/09/louisiana_phil.html

A listing of many more programs around the country to support displaced musicians, compiled by flautist Laura Sue: www.silverNightingale.com/norlean2.html

POETRY:

The Southern Arts Federation (www.southarts.org) has an Emergency Relief Fund to assist the Gulf Coast states arts organizations and artists. It collects money and sends it to the state arts councils in the region who are distributing it to individual artists who have been displaced. The state arts councils, with the help of people in the arts communities, are compiling lists of artists who are in need. If you are interested in specifically helping poets who have been displaced, some of whom have lost both their jobs and homes, just indicate on your donation form to the Southern Arts Federation that you would like your gift to go to poets.  http://www.southarts.org/download/EmergencyReliefFund.pdf  

NONPROFIT TECHNOLOGY HELP:

IT Disaster Recovery - After the Fact (PDF) Created in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, this comprehensive document provides advice on getting technology systems working again in small- and medium- sized nonprofits where business continuity plans were not sufficient or did not exist. Included in this report are instructions on hardware recovery, restoring Internet connections, dealing with lost passwords, working with borrowed technology, claiming insurance, and a host of other useful information for your organization's recovery efforts. www.techsoup.org/katrina/ITRecoveryManual_vI.pdf

Technology Service Providers (PDF) - The technology providers on this list are available to provide consulting services to nonprofits located in Hurricane Katrina-affected regions. This list was compiled using resources listed in TechFinder.org and through partner organization referrals. www.techsoup.org/katrina/technologyserviceproviders.pdf

STAYING IN TOUCH:

New Orleans Network : An online forum for people to connect with and support the New Orleans evacuees in their area, it will also be a way for New  Orleans refugees to find each other in their exile communities and organize to take back their city and make sure that it is rebuilt in ways that serve ALL New Orleans residents. There will be exile community bulletin boards, discussion boards, resource listings, advocacy how-to sheets, events calendars, etc. They are seeking donations. www.NewOrleansNetwork.org

Ways You Can Help

ORGANIZE A BENEFIT:

The Fund for Women Artists WomenArts Network – Many artists from the WomenArts Network have sent us emails announcing hurricane benefits or fundraisers that they have organized.  If you are doing any benefits or other work related to the hurricane, consider adding the keywords Hurricane or Katrina to your WomenArts Network profile so that others can find you easily. www.WomenArts.org.

Arts Unite for Hurricane Relief - Swine Palace, the professional theatre company at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, has set up a site for posting news of arts benefits and other arts news about the region: www.artshurricanerelief.org/

GIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

All of the resource organizations listed above are accepting donations to support their programs for artists in the affected areas. In addition, here are a few other places you might consider for your support:

Americans for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund, a permanent fund developed to provide timely financial assistance to victims of a major disaster for the purpose of helping them rebuild the arts in their community. One hundred percent of relief funds will be distributed directly to local arts agencies for the purpose of assisting with their own recovery and their provision of needed services and funding to nonprofit arts organizations and individual artists, as well as to other cultural relief efforts. Americans for the Arts is initiating this fund with a $100,000 contribution. To make a contribution to the Emergency Relief Fund or to learn more about how to apply for financial assistance, visit our website at ww3.artsusa.org/get_involved/emergency_relief_fund/default.asp or contact us toll-free at 866.471.2787 and ask for the Americans for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund.

Historical Resources Recovery Fund - The American Association for State & Local History (AASLH) is working with the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) to assess needs of museums affected by the hurricane. AASLH is also developing a database to centralize the offers of goods, services, and space for the recovery efforts for all types of museums, regardless of discipline. To offer use of space or equipment, donate salvage supplies, or volunteer for salvage and recovery, contact Terry Davis, AASLH president and CEO, at davis.aaslh.org.  AASLH Historical Resources Recovery Fund, 1717 Church Street Nashville, TN 37203-2992, www.aaslh.org/katrina.htm.

The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) has established a fund to assist affected museums. Checks should be made payable to SEMC with Hurricane Katrina Fund noted in the memo field. SEMC, P.O. Box 9003, Atlanta, GA 31106. The SEMC board will make decisions regarding distribution of the funds. www.semcdirect.net/

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has established the 2005 Hurricane Relief Fund. Since much of the Gulf Coast's economy is tourism based -- especially historic travel -- historic places will play a critical role in the region's revival. Donations will support assessment teams, assist small businesses through the National Main Street Center, and disperse critical grant monies to organizations on the ground in affected communities. www.nationaltrust.org

Women’s Funds – A number of regional women’s funds have established special funds dedicated to long-term rebuilding led by women. To see a list, visit: www.wfnet.org/donate/katrinarelief.php

Grassroots Relief and Recovery Efforts - This site has a list of grassroots organizations led by low-income people and people of color who are involved in Hurricane Relief/Rebuilding: www.sparkplugfoundation.org/katrinarelief.html.

The National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) has established an emergency fund for abortion care for women and girls affected by the hurricane. Many women who are currently unable to get abortions may very likely have to seek second trimester abortions and will need the increased funding necessary for later procedures. Hurricane Victims Abortion Fund. NNAF, 42 Seaverns Avenue, Boston, MA 02130. Donations can also be made online at www.nnaf.org by clicking on the "donate now" button. Please specify that donations are for hurricane victims. You can also call the NNAF office for more information at: 617-524-6040.

GET ACTIVE:

Filmmakers Needed to Tell the Untold Stories - As the clean-up efforts continue and strategies for rebuilding are being developed, the need for documentation and analysis is inspiring independent filmmakers from around the country to pick up their cameras and begin telling the stories that are not being told in the mainstream media. MediaRights.org is encouraging filmmakers, educators and advocacy organizations to collaborate and make media about Katrina and its aftermath. If you have footage you would like to share, please post it on the site as a work-in-progress. www.mediarights.org 

Changing the Nation’s Priorities: If you’re a person of faith, consider signing the Katrina Pledge, a commitment by people of faith to work for sweeping change of our nation’s priorities. Organized by Sojourner’s Magazine: www.go.sojo.net/campaign/katrinapledge/step1.tcl

The Environmental Angle - Send an email to Congress, asking them to support wetlands restoration as one important way to protect the Gulf Coast from future storms:

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/restore_wetlands/step1.tcl

Government Accountability - Common Cause wants to hear examples of how government at all levels failed to do its job, before, during or after Katrina struck. They are compiling these stories to help them build a compelling case that they hope will lead to answers and solutions for the many problems that have become obvious in recent weeks. So if you or someone you know has a story related to the government's role in this tragedy, please consider sharing it with the Common Cause community. You can post it here: www.commonblog.com/story/2005/9/7/155439/2288. Common Cause is also demanding an independent commission of inquiry into the disaster. You can sign their petition here: www.commoncause.org/DemandIndependentKatrinaCommission.

The National Endowment for the Arts Plan Hurricane Disaster Relief Program – The NEA is developing a program of economic relief to the states devastated by Hurricane Katrina and those states affected by the recovery efforts. Congress expects to take up a supplemental appropriations bill that will allocate funds for disaster relief in addition to the more than $60 billion already appropriated. The NEA plans to request funding in that bill to help the economies of the devastated states by rebuilding cultural and artistic facilities and the livelihoods of artistic communities. The details of the proposal as developed so far would allocate 40% of the disaster relief funds to the affected state arts agencies in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and their regional arts organization. For more information, please visit www.nea.gov/chairman/index.html.