Arts Council gives grants to artists affected by Hurricane Helene
The Greater Augusta Arts Council recently distributed grants to local artists affected by Hurricane Helene.
The $30,000 relief fund, provided by the Augusta Foundation for the Arts, allowed the Arts Council to offer aid to members of the creative community. The $500-$1000 grants were distributed to support costs associated with replacing equipment or reimbursement of lost wages due to canceled gigs.
The funds were initially earmarked to support general Arts Council programming and funding. A press release sent out Monday, January 27, stated the urgent needs in the creative community following Hurricane Helene prompted reallocation of those funds.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve supported artists through re-granting,” said Greater Augusta Arts Council Executive Director Denise Tucker in the release. “But it is the first time we’ve done so with funds originally intended to meet our own organizational needs.”
“We knew we could weather the storm (no pun intended), but the artists who make Augusta a vibrant cultural hub needed us no more than ever.”
The grants were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and ranked according to need. Applications were reviewed by an independent panel and distributed on a rolling basis until all the funds were allocated.
The Arts Council also organized a post-Helene supply drive, with members of the community donating everything from paint to photography equipment to arts in need.
“While this grant was only a small drop in the bucket compared to the losses our region endured, it was our way of showing that Augusta’s creative community matters, to our culture, to our economy, and to our future,” Tucker said.
The 51 grant recipients included: Adrion Au Bell, Aislin Sparrow, Alex Foltz, Aort Reed, Art S. Abdon, Brandon M. Wiggins, Brandon T. Truesdale, Cameron Young, Daviana Reynolds, Destinee N. Wright, Devon McSherry, Erica M. Pastecki, Evy Danckers, Felina Martin, Francie E. Klopotic, Gregory Alan Young, Haliegh E. Key, Jacki Mayo Van Dyke, James Thompson, Jason K. Craig, Joe Stevenson, Jon Paschal, Jonathan Cook, Jonathan Soto Perez, Joseph David Johnson, Judi T. Dudley, Justice M. Kirkman, Karen Gordon, Karell Moses, Katherine Schiller, Kathleen Silvester, Keller A. Jones, Kigwana Samuel Cherry, Krislyn Murphy, Mafia Cartwright, Marty E. Duff, Matt Dahlheimer, Melissa Coffey, Nicole Swanson, Richard Tucker, Rickey R. Jones, Shanita Newton, Si-Long Chen, Symphoni M. Wiggins, Tarika M. Holland, Theron Cartwright, Thomas C. Reed, Tiphiknee De Herrera, Trey McLaughlin, and Will McCranie.