Emergency Relief for Artists Affected by Disaster

Emergency Relief Residences

In its unconditional support for all artists, SFAIs Emergency Relief Residency program provides respite to artists affected by the horrors of political, social, or natural disasters. SFAI began the Emergency Relief Residency in 2001 for New York artists following the devastating events of 9/11. The hurricanes and flooding in the Gulf Coast region underscored our feeling of responsibility toward our US peers and colleagues. In comprehending the loss of lives and the ways in which the work of a lifetime can be wiped out in an instant, SFAI reinstituted our Emergency Relief Residency Program to provide living space and studios to professional artists, writers, and crafts people of the Gulf Coast states, whose lives and livelihoods have been so deeply affected.

The flexibility of the Institute to respond quickly and effectively to such challenges is one of our great strengths. We continue to open our doors to artists whose lives and creative work have been disrupted by natural disasters or personal ones. SFAI has received support for this initiative through generous contributions from the Warhol Foundation, the Pollock Krasner Foundation and the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

The SFAI also partners with freeDimensional, an international non-profit organization dedicated to finding safe-haven locations in residency programs around the world for artist/activists who find them selves in peril as a result of the work that they make. More info at http://www.freedimensional.org