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GULF COAST ARTS RECOVERY 

Helpful Links and Contacts:

Mississippi Arts Commission Katrina Blog

Other Relief Sources

  • Mississippi native and Santa Fe artist Carol Pigott, in her relief efforts, has posted a multitude of resources and opportunities on her website, http://www.carolepigott.com, for artists and craftsmen in need due to Hurricane Katrina.
  • Self-employed artists and craftsmen and those who worked part time without compensation insurance qualify for Disaster Unemployment Assistance. For those who cannot work because of disaster, visit http://www.dol.gov/opa/hurricane-recovery.htm. Mississippi residences can call 1-888-844-3577 to make application. Compensation is $210 a week for a set period of time. This also applies to musicians and other performers who are not able to perform because of the disaster.
  • The Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, a 501-c-3 charity, has for some years had a fund to help needy Mississippi musicians. They also are trying to collect instruments for those musicians on the coast who lost theirs in the storm (students and professionals). They are trying to increase efforts now to meet the above objectives. Contact them musicrelief@arts.state.ms.us.
  • The Mississippi Humanities Council has an Emergency Relief Initiative for institutions and organizations affected by Hurricane Katrina, supported by special funding from the Endowment for the Humanities. Please direct questions and requests to Dr. Barbara Carpenter, Executive Director, Mississippi Humanities Council, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Room 311, Jackson, MS 39211; 601-432-6752; barbara@mhc.state.ms.us; or consult the web site: www.mshumanities.org. 
  • In response to the devastation left in the wake of hurricane Katrina, the Santa Fe Art Institute announced today that it has reestablished its Emergency Respite Residency for Gulf Coast artists.  The Institute is ready to make available its facility in Santa Fe for artists, writers and crafts people who lost homes, studios, art work, jobs.  The program will provide living space, studios, basic foods and some transportation support to artists whose lives were compromised by the hurricane.  Each residency lasts from one to three months with space for 4-6 artists at a time. The Institute’s first Emergency Respite Residency was created immediately after 9/11 for New York artists and more than 130 painters, sculptors, photographers, environmental artists, filmmakers and writers came to Santa Fe. The emergency residency, the only program of its kind in the nation to respond to 9/11, gave these artists who lived and/or worked in the shadow of the World Trade Center an opportunity to recover from the trauma. In making the announcement, Director Diane Karp commented, “The Institute is a hands-on institution and one of its great strengths is its ability to respond quickly to challenges such as hurricane Katrina.  We offer an environment that supports discourse, discovery and individual talent with creative alternatives not often available in traditional arts programs,” she said.   “Artists who came after 9/11 were so grateful to discover New Mexico’s extraordinary landscape, the multicultural Santa Fe community and the Institute’s wonderful facilities.  Their presence in Santa Fe had a profound effect on us all.  We have already begun to receive inquiries from Gulf Coast artists,” she concluded. Support for this initiative has been given by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Department of Cultural Affairs, State of New Mexico and others throughout the country.  Artists wishing to come to Santa Fe and individuals wishing to contribute to this program can contact The Santa Fe Art Institute, telephone 505 424 5050, or by email:  dkarp@sfai.org.  Residencies can begin immediately, download application at www.sfai.org.
  • Mississippi Theatre Association Board has established the MTA Katrina Relief Fund . The funds collected through this fund will be distributed to Mississippi theatres that are in need as a direct result of hurricane Katrina. For more information, contact the Mississippi Theatre Association's Katrina Relief Fund at 1247 Bardwell Road , Starkville , MS 39759 or http://www.mta-online.org/news/katrina.htm.
  • The Vermont Studio Center, an international artists' and writers' community in Northern Vermont, some three hours north of Boston, and some six hours north of New York City, is offering several fellowships to artists and writers who have been adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina--those who have lost their homes and/or studios and are in need of a temporary place to live and work. www.vermontstudiocenter.org All interested artists may apply to the Joan Mitchell Foundation for funds to live and work at Vermont Studio Center. The contact information for the foundation is: Joan Mitchell Foundation 155 Avenue of the Americas, 14th Floor, New York, New York 10013. 212-524-0100 (Phone)  212-524-0101 (fax) Joan Mitchell Foundation is offering a good deal of financial support for artists who have suffered from Hurricane Katrina. Artists may elect to come to Vermont Studio Center or to any other arts colony of their choosing. Artists may also apply for general support funds.
  • Louis Katz has set up a website tracking clay artists whereabouts and status. For details, visit falcon.tamucc.edu/wiki/Katz/LAMIPotters.
  • The following links are resources on "Wet Collection Recovery" the process of the salvage of storm damaged papers, books, art, etc provided by the National Parks Service. The Powerpoint presentation & copies of other handouts are available on the web, www.nps.gov/hfc/products/cons/wet-recovery.htm. The Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel is available through the bookstore at Heritage Preservation www.heritagepreservation.org. The NPS paper conservator who has prepared this training is Nancy Purinton at Harpers Ferry Center, 304-535-6143, or at nancy_purinton@nps.gov.

 

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