Relief Fund.

Since early April, the collaborative efforts behind the Creative Response Relief Fund — Antenna, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Junebug Productions, and The Weavers Fellowship — have worked together to respond to the COVID19 crisis by pooling resources and distributing nearly $600,000 in relief grants to 510 artists living and working in the Greater New Orleans Metro area with grants ranging from $500 to $2,000 with support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, United Way/BET, Family Independence Initiative, RosaMary Foundation, and individual contributions by individuals like you!

The Relief Fund has re-opened applications with a deadline of August 10th. It will continue by providing $1,500 grants to local artists of all disciplines with additional support from The Joan Mitchell Foundation and The Greater New Orleans Foundation.

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 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.

-Have not already received a Creative Response Relief Grant. Because of the overwhelming need within the community, we cannot provide more than a single award to a creator.

-If you applied during the previous application period and were not awarded, PLEASE DO NOT REAPPLY. We will reopen all previous applications that are eligible, so you can update your application information, and we encourage you to provide more details about your current circumstances.

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

APPLICATION DEADLINE WILL BE AUGUST 10 AT MIDNIGHT. Please be patient as we take time to review all submissions.

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.