Relief Fund.

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, Platforms Fund has suspended its normal granting program in order to provide $2,000 individual emergency relief grants to local creators. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has allowed all Regional Re-granting Program sites, of which Platforms Fund is one of sixteen, to re-allocate their annual $100,000 grants to establish and administer COVID-19 emergency relief funds in their communities. This initial support seeded the Creative Response Relief Fund, which in addition to Antenna and Ashé Cultural Arts Center, now includes the efforts of Junebug Productions and the Weavers Fellowship, pooling resources to distribute a total of $190,000 in support within the greater New Orleans region.

To qualify, you must:

• Be a practicing artist of any discipline (culture bearer, filmmaker, painter, performer, photographer, sculptor, writer, etc.), with a demonstrated body of work and a clear commitment to an ongoing creative practice.

• Have lived and worked in the greater New Orleans metro area for at least 12 months, and be at least 21 years of age or older.

• You must rely primarily on income from your creative practice. And you must communicate a significant or dire need as a result of the pandemic, which could include funding to cover necessary living expenses such as food, housing, utilities, medical costs, or family care.

DEADLINE IS ROLLING, WITH THE FIRST ROUND OF GRANTS TO BE DISTRIBUTED MID-APRIL 2020.

Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, and immigrant artists are strongly encouraged to apply.

Our Mission.

The Platforms Fund is a collaborative effort of Antenna and Ashé Cultural Arts Center to provide support for the development and presentation of self-organized artistic projects in and around New Orleans. The Platforms Fund seeks to emphasize New Orleans’ historical characteristics of creativity, collaboration, and resiliency, while pushing the boundaries of where community engagement and the dissemination of creative ideas can intersect.

A National Network.

The Platforms Fund is part of a growing national network of regional re-granting programs supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation, including Alternative Exposure (San Francisco, California), The Idea Fund (Houston, Texas), Precipice Fund (Portland, Oregon), Propeller Fund (Chicago, Illinois), Rocket Grants (Kansas City, Missouri), WaveMaker Grants (Miami, Florida), The Kindling Fund (Portland, Maine), Grit Fund (Baltimore, Maryland), Fulcrum Fund (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Visual Arts Fund (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota), Satellite Fund (Cleveland, Ohio), Insite Fund (Denver, Colorado). The Foundation aims to support the independent creative activity of artists by partnering with leading artist-centered, visual arts organizations across the country. Collaborations like the Platforms Fund allow the Foundation to reach a sizable population of informal, non-incorporated artist-initiated endeavors.