San Rafael, CA — The Marin Cultural Association (MCA) has awarded 15 Marin County arts organizations with a total of $51,575 in pandemic relief recovery funds.
Creative organizations such as Marin Shakespeare are receiving assistance checks from the new Marin Cultural Association Arts & Culture Recovery Fund.The
MCA Arts & Culture Recovery Fund was established to provide a lifeline to Marin County nonprofit arts organizations hardest hit by the
COVID-19 emergency. The fund provides flexible funding through a variety of grants to enable Marin’s creative sector to recover from pandemic losses and help ensure a rich cultural future for the community.
With initial seed funding totaling $96,665 from the California Arts Council (CAC), the Marin Community Foundation, the Fenwick Foundation, private donations, and $15,000 from CARES Act funding, grants were awarded to arts organizations that reflect and serve Marin’s diverse communities.
Grants were awarded to the following organizations:
CARES Act Grants
- Surviving the Odds Project – $3,500
- Enriching Lives Through Music (ELM) – $3,000
- Marin Theatre Company – $2,250
- Marin Shakespeare – $2,250
- MC Arts & Culture – $1,700
- Youth In Arts – $1,000
- AlterTheater – $500
Pandemic Grants
- Mountain Play – $5,000
- Bread & Roses – $4,600
- Marin Theatre Company – $4,500
- Gallery Route One – $4,000
- O’Hanlon Center – $3,800
- Youth In Arts – $3,750
- Mill Valley Philharmonic – $3,500
- MC Arts & Culture – $3,300
- MarinArts – $2,425
- Marin History Museum – $2,000
- Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival – $500
“Art teaches us empathy, understanding and appreciation for those who have had different life experiences. The arts reflect not only who we are, but who we aspire to be,” said Gabriella Calicchio, Director of Marin County Cultural Services and MCA Executive Director. “Even before COVID-19, the arts in Marin were threatened by the reality of surviving in a community that has huge disparities racially and economically.”
The grant applications were judged by a diverse panel of Marin artists and arts leaders based on the following criteria: severity of pandemic-related losses; cultural benefits to community at large; cultural equity benefits (to economically disadvantaged communities of color and/or other underserved communities within the County); and organizational professionalism and effectiveness.
“This grant from the Marin Cultural Association will enable us to begin ways of creating online approaches to what we are now up against during these tough times,” said John Wallace, Founder/CEO of Surviving the Odds Project (STOP). “We will now have the opportunity to bring arts education to disadvantaged communities of color. We can’t thank you enough for your continued love and support of STOP.”
The impact of COVID-19 upon the arts sector has been severe. According to the CAC COVID-19 Arts & Culture Sector Impact Survey conducted in March 2020, California’s creative sector has suffered the highest job losses of any industry due to COVID-19. This is due to the widespread cancellation of performances, events and educational offerings as well as venue closures. In addition, a great majority of creative workers do not qualify for safety net protections such as paid family leave, disability insurance, paid sick leave, or worker's compensation.
Arts Recovery Fund grants were designed to further one or more of the goals of the Marin Arts & Culture Plan which was adopted by the Marin County Board of Supervisors in May 2019. The goals include: (1) advance Marin as an arts and culture center; (2) ensure Marin arts are by and for everyone; (3) sustain and grow Marin’s arts resources.
A second round of funding will be announced in the New Year. For more information, visit marincultural.org.