Pandemic is ‘savage’ for artists at this time

By Aideen O’Flaherty

THE Civic Theatre has set up an online fundraiser for Irish artists who are experiencing lost income as a result of productions winding down in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, and are currently accepting applications from artists who’ve lost work and who would like to be considered for one of their grants.

The GoFundMe page was set up on Sunday, and has in the past four days rasied nearly €24,000. 

Civic Theatre Tallaght 

Initially the fundraising campaign had a goal of €20,000. 

However, after receiving more than 400 applications from artists in the space of nine hours, the local theatre has made a fresh appeal – and has introduced a new target of €50,000. 

According to Marketing Manager at the  Civic Niamh Honer:  “We hope through this fund to be  a bright spot in worrying times.

“As we have seen in recent days the importance of the Arts in providing hope and distraction as communities virtually come together to enjoy music, share live streaming experiences or get involved in art classes and workshops.

“The applications have far exceeded the fund so we are appealing for more donations to help provide immediate support”.

According to the Civic, applications have flooded in from across the community including choreographers, painters, actors, musicians, opera singers, directors, writers, producers, stage managers, theatre technicians, designers, singers and songwriters.

The fund was established to provide financial relief through €500 grants, paid rapidly on a first-come, first-served basis to affected artists and groups.

 

Donations will be accepted from individuals and corporations in order to replenish the fund and continue making payments to eligible artists in the queue.

The Civic in Tallaght is covering all admin/processing costs so 100 per cent of every donation goes directly to artists in the community.  

According to the Civic Theatre’s statement on the fundraising page: “Artists in Ireland are living with no safety net, working from gig to gig, event to event. 

“To push us on further, The Civic is donating a further €1,000. Please give if you can, and please share!

“This virus isn’t going away any time soon and these event cancellations aren’t going away either – we’re going to need to be in this for the long-haul.”

If you’d like to donate to the fund, or if you’re an artist who would like to apply for one of the grants, visit the GoFundMe page for further details.