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May 12, 2020

By May 12, 2020
Keni Anwar for Prospect.5.

Prospect.5 postponed until 2021

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NEW ORLEANS—The highly anticipated fifth edition of the New Orleans triennial Prospect has been postponed until fall 2021. In an emailed statement, Nick Stillman, the executive director of Prospect New Orleans said,“Prospect New Orleans was originally born out of a crisis—a time of hardship and coming together. We’re a nimble and resilient organization. We’re well equipped to think quickly and improvisationally about how to handle this,” andWhile we regret having to postpone, we’re optimistic about the future. We also know this is the right decision for our artists, our staff, and for the city.”

Curator Naima Keith said, “As a city-wide triennial, Prospect has a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all. The decision to postpone will benefit not only the artists, staff, and our collaborators, but everyone in the city. It’s an unfortunate, but necessary delay, and we’re looking forward to opening the exhibition next fall.”

The tentative opening day is slated for October 23, 2021.


C4 Atlanta Distributes $38,000 to Atlanta Artists for COVID-19 emergency relief

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ATLANTA—Since its creation by C4 Atlanta on March 17, the Atlanta Artist Lost Gig Fund has collected and distributed over $38,000 in relief for Atlanta’s arts workforce. As of this week, eighty-two Atlanta area artists have received support from this fund, which provides emergency assistance to Atlanta creative workers who have been hardest hit during COVID-19 forced closures and social distancing. Both artists and arts workers of any discipline may apply for small grants of up to $500 to cover unmet needs, with funding often being released to those approved within forty-eight hours.

“Our goal was to get money into the hands of artists as quickly as we could. When you’ve lost two upcoming months of wages and you need to feed your family, you do not have time to wait for four weeks while a stimulus check or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance paperwork is being processed.” said C4 executive director Jessyca Holland. “Our team was already considering creating an emergency fund for artists in our city. We were able to get the Lost Gig Fund up and running within three days of when initial social distancing measures were beginning, which just underscores the compassion and drive of our staff to support our community. The requirements are very minimal. We know artists work in many ways, so we do our best to work with whatever documentation of their losses that artists are able to provide.”

The Atlanta Artist Lost Gig Fund is currently open for applications to arts workers in need of emergency support. To apply, artists should fill out the online application at c4atlanta.org/covid19apply. Donations to the fund can be made online at c4atlanta.org/covid19donate.


Inaugural Tennessee Triennial postponed until 2022

NASHVILLE—In an emailed statement, Tri-Star Arts, the organization behind the inaugural Tennessee Triennial, has postponed the event until 2022. Brian R. Jobe, the executive director said, “The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis upon the art world has already been profound. This decision was carefully weighed by staff and the board and in conversation with the Tennessee Triennial co-curators, as well as related institutions, organizations, and similar events. Tri-Star Arts will continue to be present and working throughout Tennessee, serving the general public and art world in tandem as has been its mission from the beginning.”


Pérez Art Museum Miami, bayside view. Photo by Daniel Azoulay photography.

Pérez Art Museum Miami lays off half of its staff

MIAMI—Facing a three- to five million-dollar shortfall and remaining closed through at least September, PAMM has made major cuts across all departments. At the time of this writing, fifteen of the 120 full- and part-time staff had been laid off, and fifty-four were furloughed. While some museums nationally seek to re-open in July, several Florida museums have extended their closures, including PAMM and the Frost Art Museum.


Art workers stand against anti-Asian discrimination in the wake of COVID-19

NEW YORK—At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, artist Kenneth Tam created a Google spreadsheet titled WE ARE NOT COVID detailing the rise in hate crimes directed towards Asians and Asian Americans. The resulting project, StopDiscriminAsian, seeks to collect accounts of experiences of Asians around the country. The FBI has reported a startling rise in hate crimes against Asians, including violence, slurs, and other forms of harassment.

A graphic from the new online art project called StopDiscriminAsian, created to counter racism directed towards Asians in the wake of COVID-19.

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