CERF+ Artist Exchange offers artists an online forum to both seek and make donations of equipment.
As the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet reported last month, Hurricane Sandy wreaked extensive damage on the local art world, even in the studios of those who had taken extensive precautions. Glass artists’ studios, especially Pier Glass in Red Hook, Brooklyn, were flooded by the powerful storm surge, leaving furnaces corroded by salt water, equipment scattered, and electricity outages that are ongoing. The magnitude of the catastrophe highlights the need for artists to know the resources available to them in the event of natural disaster, illness, or other interruptions to their practice. The Hot Sheet checked in with some of the artists most severely affected by Sandy to see what resources were proving the most valuable.
Reached by telephone, Mary Ellen Buxton-Kutch, co-owner of Pier Glass, says the glass studio’s recovery is a full-time job: Buxton-Kutch’s fondest wish “is that someone could clone me” so she could get even more done each day. The first weeks following the storm were spent cleaning out all the soft materials that absorbed water, adding to piles of mold-ridden drywall and timber that have been cut out of the neighborhood’s basements and left on the street to await pick-up by the Department of Sanitation. Today the space remains too damp for its drywall to be replaced. The ovens have been stripped down to their metal housing, new fiberboard is being ordered, and the glory holes are slowly being brought up to temperature to burn out the salt so that it does not impregnate and fog the glass.
The process is delicate and painstaking, delaying the itemization of what can and can’t be salvaged. Buxton-Kutch predicts the studio will be functioning again within 3 to 6 months. In the meantime, covering costs of the cleanup and tracking expenses represents a daunting challenge.
“If you could see the amount of paperwork involved in having a disaster,” said artist Alison Schuza, who sublets at Pier Glass, “you would be amazed.” So far the studio has been awarded a $4,000 grant by Restore Red Hook and $3,000 by CERF+; Buxton-Kutch is still awaiting on a response from NYFA, and is applying to other grants. Outside of these organizations, the Red Hook artistic community has banded together to volunteer. Friends have made monetary contributions of $150 to $1500. Buxton-Kutch has been touched by the show of support. “Red Hook has always been that way,” she said. In coming months she plans to organize a Kickstarter campaign as well as a fundraiser to be held at her studio.
Les Snow, Program Manager at CERF+, said in a telephone interview that the organization had begun outreach to art contacts along the East Coast in advance of the hurricane to encourage preparedness. However, he reports that most people’s precautions were taken in relation to what they had experienced in the past, and could not anticipate the severity of Sandy. Since the storm’s devastating blow, CERF+ has received well over 100 inquiries for financial aid. Over half of these were lodged by artists who did not work in craft, and were therefore ineligible to receive funds, but CERF+ helped direct them to other organizations that could help their particular case.
Snow pointed out that the time between the occurrence of damage and the application for a loan is normally about 3 months, so time-consuming is the process of itemizing what has been lost and what is needed. So far about ten grants have been awarded by CERF+, at an average amount of $2,500. “We don’t stop after giving a loan or a grant,” he said. “We stick with these people, and try to figure out what are the other things we can do to help.” In some past cases CERF+ has secured a waiver for booth fees at craft shows, as well as discounts from manufacturers, in the wake of a disaster. To facilitate artists helping one another, CERF+ has set up the online Artists’ Relief Exchange, where artists in need can list items they require, and donations of equipment and craft sundries can be offered to those who have lost the tools of their trade. Sites like these depend on the amount of awareness of the community and is only as effective as the traffic it draws.
There is an array of other organizations offering financial and informational resources, as listed below. See NYFA’s more exhaustive list covering musicians and other artists here; see also CERF+‘s Studio Protector list here. Listed below are some of the organizations artists can turn to in a disaster, with some obviously geographically focused.
—Shirin Borthwick
Art Dealer Association of America
The ADAA Relief Fund will provide grants and loans for member and non-member galleries located in Zone A that have been unable to conduct business due to hurricane damage. http://www.artdealers.org/adaa_relief_application.html
Art Dealers Association of America Disaster Relief Resources
ADAA has compiled resources for members and the entire gallery community regarding ADAA’s Relief Fund, Federal Assistance, New York City Resources, Tax Relief, Private Relief, Insurance, Conservation, Documentation, and Legal Advice and Claims Counsel. http://artdealers.org/sandyreliefresources.html
- RAPID RELIEF: EMERGENCY GRANTS — CERF+’s Emergency Grants are designed to provide immediate help to eligible craft artists after career-threatening emergencies. The maximum potential Emergency Grant is $3,000. The maximum potential Emerging Professional Craft Artist Emergency Grant is $2,000. CERF+ loans and other CERF+ grants are not available to those qualifying for this grant program.
- CAREER RECOVERY: EMERGENCY RECOVERY LOAN — CERF+’s Emergency Recovery Loan is used by an eligible craft artist to re-establish, improve, or possibly expand his/her work capacity after an emergency. The maximum potential Emergency Recovery Loan is $8,000. No interest is charged and loans must be repaid within five years. To be considered for an Emergency Recovery Loan, applicants must answer all applicable application questions, provide a cash flow projection statement for the next 12 months as well a short, loan-related business plan.
The Haven Foundation
Organized by author Stephen King, The Haven Foundation gives grants to freelance artists in need. While it is important to note that most of The Haven Foundation’s grants have gone to writers, according to Haven Foundation board member Fred Sanders the Foundation is currently accepting applications in particular from artists who have been affected adversely by Sandy, including glass artists. http://www.thehavenfdn.org/application.html
Joan Mitchell Foundation
The Joan Mitchell Foundation offers loans to those specifically suffering setbacks caused by natural or manmade disasters. Email info@joanmitchellfoundation.org.
New York Foundation for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund
The Andy Warhol Foundation, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and Lambent Foundation (a project of the Tides Center) have established an Emergency Relief Fund, administered by NYFA to assist artists with damages (broadly defined and include, but are not limited to: damage to physical work; damage to homes/studios/other facilities; loss of equipment or supplies; loss of income, and reimbursement for cancelled performances/appearances/engagements) and losses as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Eligible artists can be working in any discipline and reside in Connecticut, New Jersey or New York. http://www.nyfa.org/level2.asp?id=202&fid=1
Pollock-Krasner Foundation
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation is currently accepting emergency requests for grants to professional visual artists, which will be expedited under the Foundation’s guidelines. If you do not have access to the internet, please contact the Foundation by telephone (212-517-5400) or fax (212-288-2836). All requests will be promptly addressed. A completed application form, cover letter, exhibition history and ten images of your work (jpegs or photos of work will be accepted) will be needed to be considered for our emergency grants. http://www.pkf.org/