NEVADA COUNTY ARTIST RELIEF FUND SUPPORTS TWENTY-SEVEN LOCAL PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS
– FUND TO REMAIN OPEN –
Nevada County Arts Council is pleased to announce the awarding of $12,500 in micro-grants to 27 professional artists across all disciplines, through what represents the first tranche of funding raised as a result of the Nevada County Relief Fund.
Eliza Tudor, Executive Director at Nevada County Arts Council said: “Having assembled a review panel of partners across the county, it was heartening to know the relief these grants of $500 will bring for each of the fund’s twenty-seven recipients. On the other hand, it was heart-rending not to be able to fund everyone this time around. We know there’s so much more work to be done.”
Nevada County Arts Council received 64 eligible applications and was able to fund 40% of its applicants. Says Tudor: “We will keep our relief fund open, and we encourage our community to continue to contribute to it. The more donations we receive, the more artists we can help.”
Artists who received grants have been enthusiastic. Bob Davis, ceramicist, said, “It couldn’t have come at a better time. Even though we’ve shifted pottery sales totally online and sales are slowly growing, the costs of the new model of business are additional overhead that is difficult to fund. This funding will help a lot.”
Musician Mariee Sioux spoke of the efforts of all those who have worked to create Nevada County Artist Relief Fund, “I feel so deeply grateful – I was really glad to be able to apply and so humbled at this offering. Thank you for all the for all the work to help support us artists and performers!!”
Nevada County Arts Council and its partners recognize the generosity of all contributors to the Nevada County Relief Fund. Says board member, Michelle Amador: “Our County’s artists and their works are deeply embedded in our cultural well-being – economically, emotionally, and as part of what makes and keeps us a community in a time of incredible isolation. It feels great to be able to provide this much-needed support; we only wish we had more funding to meet the growing demand. We hope more people are encouraged to give to the fund.”
Long-time Eastern Nevada County actor, theatre director and teacher, Courtney Simpson, said: “When COVID 19 hit, I lost significant income due to the shutdown of my theater camps, workshops, and clubs in Truckee. This micro-grant is so appreciated, not only financially, but also emotionally.” Truckee ceramicist, Brad Henry, said, “This $500 grant will enable me to purchase more clay. With this clay I will stock my local galleries and sell to local customers. These funds are very much appreciated and needed!!!” Artist Mira Clark said, “I am deeply grateful for the grant provided by the Nevada County Artist Relief Fund, which will support the completion of a community art project, Womxn | Nature, that I have been working on for the past year.”
Angele Carroll, a musician based in Truckee, describes her working life since COVID-19: “This has been one of the hardest years on record for me. I am so grateful to receive this grant. It means that I will be able to pay rent… I needed a ray of hope and sunshine in contrast to the struggle I have had this year.”
The following artists have each been given $500 micro-grants: Mira Clark, Kelly Wallis, Jan Pellizzer, Marie Sobonya, Katie Wolff, Forest Aliya, Pamela Klein, Chanthou Lam, Cosmo Merryweather, John Girton, Paige Anderson, Shawnna Frazer, Jori Phillips, Christy Gurley, Robert (Bob) Davis, Chad Wood, Serena Cole, David Wong, Angele Carroll, Brad Henry, Claire Lawrenson, Courtney Simson, Kaylee Venneman, Mary Kenny, Troy Corliss, Naomi Cabral, and Al Martinez.
The Council recently won the Dr. Leland and Sally Lewis Award for both Visual Arts and for Performing Arts. In the Performing Arts category, its online festival, WHAT A RELIEF! was recognized as vital fuel for its relief fund efforts, and featured over twenty performances by musicians, artists and actors. The award also recognized the Council’s work to make accessible one of the first entirely online festivals in the country last April, as events across the nation were being cancelled or postponed. Offered free of charge, Sierra Poetry Festival entertained, and provided comfort for, close to 10,000 people across multiple social media platforms as they sheltered-in-place at the outset of the pandemic.
In the visual arts category the Dr. Leland and Sally Lewis Award was awarded to Nevada County Arts Council in recognition of its work with Arts in Storefronts, in which the work of eleven artists transformed otherwise vacant storefronts in Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District’s downtown areas. Also recognized was Shopping with Artists, which was developed in advance of the holiday season – though will continue on as an alternative shopping resource for the community.
Says Tudor, “We are grateful to Nevada City Chamber of Commerce for its recognition of our work – and the work of so many others who have contributed to region’s economic viability and social fabric. The Chamber itself has performed an extraordinary role throughout the COVID-19 public health crisis, for all local businesses, and worked as an exemplary partner on initiatives for the Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District.”
Nevada County Arts Council is also grateful for its partnerships with arts organizations across the county who are part of the coalition to raise funds for artists. So, far, these include Nevada City Film Festival, The Miners Foundry Cultural Center in Nevada City, The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley, Music in the Mountains, InConcert Sierra, CATS, Sierra Stages, Neighborhood Center for the Arts, Trails and Vistas, InnerRhythms Dance, Truckee Arts Alliance and Truckee Tahoe Community Chorus.
Jesse Locks, a board member at Nevada County Arts Council, says: “When, eventually, our performing arts venues and events open up, our partners are generously volunteering that a percentage on ticket sales be given to the Fund… Way to go! In the meantime, we are asking the community to continue its support of local artists by contributing to our fund.”
Nevada County Arts Council encourages the generosity of community members who connect with the idea that local professional artists are key part of Nevada County’s economy and that now is a time to support them. Donations to the Nevada County Artist Relief Fund can be made via https://www.nevadacountyarts.org/artist-relief-fund. Every donation is tax deductible, in recognition of Nevada County Arts Council’s charitable status in the State of California.