Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Tuesday launched Artist Power Center, a web and hotline resource for artists affected by the novel coronavirus to access relief funds and peer support.
The national resource, supported by San Francisco software company Zendesk, relies on YBCA staff to alert artists to grants and other economic relief opportunities and provide personalized guidance. The site also includes a forum for artists to share resources amongst themselves.
Deborah Cullinan, director of YBCA, described the service as a personal assistant: “As soon as we learn of something that can help you or move you forward you’re going to hear about it.”
YBCA committed four workers to researching opportunities and ten to provide call and text support in Spanish and English during business hours. The power center, funded for the next six months, aims to mitigate the economic as well as emotional toll of the pandemic on artists.
Ninety-five percent of artists in the country have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Americans for the Arts, and a growing number of relief funds have emerged.
