As multiple fires continue to ravage parts of Los Angeles County, cultural organizations and individual artists have kickstarted initiatives to offer support and resources for those in Altadena, Pasadena, Malibu, and other areas hit by the concurrent blazes. A working list of these available resources and relief efforts is included at the end of this article.
“Everything is gone. Every neighbor of mine has lost their house,” artist and writer Christina Quarles, whose adjacent Altadena homes and temporary rental were incinerated by the Eaton Fire along with a majority of structures in her neighborhood, told Hyperallergic over the phone from Joshua Tree.
Her family had already suffered from a devastating house fire last April that destroyed everyone’s belongings and almost all of her artwork. Quarles and her wife Alyssa had been overseeing renovations for the past eight months before the Eaton fire reduced everything to ash once again.
“I don’t know how an entire community rebuilds,” she continued. “Altadena is such a racially and economically diverse area, and so many artists have been drawn here for generations. It’s such a beautiful and special place, and everything is gone.”
From fundraisers to support individual homeowners and businesses to mutual aid drives gathering supplies to distribute to those in need, there are many ways to help the people affected by this week’s fires, which still remain partially uncontained.
“While watching our colleagues and friends’ homes, studios, and apartments be destroyed, we were also receiving inquiries from our networks outside of LA asking how to help,” Ariel Pittman, senior director at the gallery Various Small Fires, told Hyperallergic.
Yesterday, Pittman and four other artists and cultural workers launched a Gofundme campaign to support affected artists and arts organizations, which has so far raised nearly $35,000 of its $500,000 goal. The group, which is also looking to work with some California institutions and is actively recruiting more administrative team members, has also released two surveys to assess community needs and to compile mutual aid resources.
“We all know intimately how precarious stability is for art and art workers, so our initial aim is to stabilize and come together to make a meaningful impact as quickly as possible,” Pittman continued. “We’re creative people, we take action when something needs to be done.”
Beatriz Cortez, a Salvadoran sculptor and welder who lived in an artist community in Altadena, told Hyperallergic that she also thinks expert assistance can be helpful.
“People need expertise dealing with insurance companies, they need architects who can help them rebuild their studios or their homes,” Cortez said. “They need funds to be able to pay for the labor to rebuild, but there’s also pro bono work.” Yesterday, she launched a fundraiser to help rebuild the house and apartment where she has been living the past three years after the property was hit by the Eaton Fire.
Several organizations including the Glendale nonprofit Junior High, Crenshaw gallery Thinkspace Projects, and the Black Image Center in Culver City have also opened their doors as places for displaced residents to gather in filtered air, recharge phones and laptops, refuel with snacks and water, and temporarily store belongings, as have independent artists with private studios.
There are also multiple grants and relief funding opportunities for artists affected by the fires. Online guides can also be helpful resources, such as the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response’s “An Arts Field Guide to Federal Disaster Relief,” which aims to simplify the disaster assistance process for artists and cultural nonprofits by outlining what programs are available.
A list of resources for artists can be found below. This list will be continuously updated.
Mutual Aid Resources
- Superchief Gallery is hosting an art supplies drive at their Chinatown gallery address and on Saturday, January 11, a night market to support fire victims. Those interested in volunteering with the effort or helping deliver supplies can email Celina Rodriguez at celina@thecelinarodriguez.com.
- Thinkspace Projects is collecting supplies to donate to Red Cross LA and is also distributing N95 masks at their gallery space.
- Art advisor and collection manager Thea Smolinski began a community spreadsheet to coordinate an arts materials exchange.
- Glendale community gallery Junior High has been periodically opening its space for those affected by the fires, offering wifi, K95 masks, water bottles, hot meals, snacks, hygiene products, and other resources. Check the organization’s Instagram stories for updates.
- Culver City’s Black Image Center has been periodically open to offer water bottles, air-conditioning, snacks, and masks. Check their Instagram stories and posts for updates.
- Chinatown bookstore and gallery The Fulcrum Press is offering its space to those in need of internet, electricity to charge devices, filtered air, and space to store belongings. Reach out to them on Instagram to coordinate.
- Thomas Martinez Pilnik and Brea Weinreb, artists who work out of Mohilef Studios in Downtown Los Angeles, invite artists in need of studio space, storage, and clean-up assistance to message them directly at @mohilef_studios on Instagram for assistance. Martinez Pilnik has also confirmed with Hyperallergic that he can accommodate artwork at his San Clemente ceramics studio to those who reach out to @feia.studio on Instagram.
- Hashimoto Contemporary Director Dasha Matsuura has offered temporary artwork and supply storage at the gallery space between Mid City and McManus neighborhoods. Reach out to Matsuura via @dashasayshi on Instagram to coordinate.
Donation Campaigns
- As mentioned above, Pittman and four other volunteer Angelenos created the Art World Fire Relief LA Gofundme campaign collecting donations to distribute as stipends for artists and art workers who have lost their residences and places of work.
- Here, here, and here are working lists of Gofundme campaigns to directly support families displaced by the Los Angeles fires.
- This Gofundme campaign is raising funds to rebuild Zorthian Ranch, a community artist farm in Altadena that was destroyed by the fire.
- This Gofundme organized by Beatriz Cortez is focused on rebuilding the Altadena artist community created by Peter Kim and Alice Könitz
- This campaign is directing funds toward rebuilding the Public Displays of Altadena, a performing arts theater destroyed on Tuesday.
- The art research initiative For the Future is gathering funds via Venmo and CashApp to support artists impacted by the fires. Donations will support replacing lost instruments, materials, and equipment; providing access to studio space; and connecting artists with resources to help them rebuild.
Relief funding, Grants, and Residencies
- Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation Emergency Grant — Eligible painters, printmakers, and sculptors who have maintained a practice for a decade or longer may receive a one-time grant of up to $15,000 (typical grants are between $5,000–$7,000) in assistance in light of a catastrophic event. (FAQs on eligibility and turnaround times available here.)
- Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) — $3,000 emergency relief grants for individual craft artists with public-facing practices using traditional or folk materials who have recently experienced a disruptive emergency or disaster.
- Artists’ Fellowship One-Time Emergency Aid — Need-based financial assistance to professional visual artists and their families or dependents in the event of sickness, natural disaster, bereavement, or unexpected extreme hardship. The fellowship notes that professional artists “make their livelihood through sales as reported on a Schedule C with a U.S. Federal tax return,” and that a demonstrated exhibition history is ideal.
- Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant — Urgent grants between $500–$3,000 for visual and performing artists who have sudden and unanticipated opportunities to exhibit or present with insufficient time to seek other sources of funding. (Application guidelines and FAQs)
- Entertainment Community Fund Emergency Financial Assistance — Monetary assistance available to performing artists and entertainment industry workers who have documented income criteria within theater, film, television, music, radio and dance for the most recent six consecutive years. The organization will work with California-based applicants who don’t have access to the required documents to fulfill their application. (Eligibility and turnaround time FAQs here)
- Arts&Rec Upstate New York Artist Residency — In conjunction with OSMOS, the Western Catskills-based recreational arts organization Arts&Rec has decided to open its multi-person artist residency in Stamford, New York, to affected artists from Los Angeles county. The residency can accommodate four parties (individual artists, couples, or small families) and typically lasts one month but the duration is negotiable considering the circumstances. Stipends for travel and materials and studio space are available. Reach out to director@artsandrec.com or @artsandrec_catskills on Instagram for details.
