Grants Available for Artist Restart Program, Mental Health Services

Taylor Bennett

Local artists can apply for grants to help with post COVID-19 relief.

Applications for Keep Indy Creating grants are open through Aug. 22. Among the opportunities are 175 $1,000 Artist Restart Grants intended to help artists restart their careers.

“They can be used for anything, studio rental, new tools, equipment, new supplies, submission fees, anything that allows you to get started again in your practice,” Arts Council of Indianapolis Vice President of Artist Services and Engagement Shannon Linker said.

Nearly 100 Wug Laku Mental Health and Wellness Grants of either $250 or $750 are also available to help artists who may have experienced mental or social challenges during the pandemic. The smaller grants are for wellness activities. The larger grants can be used for counseling.

The grant is named after local artist Wug Laku, who died in 2017 at age 63 due to untreated mental illness.

“He was a dear friend of the Arts Council and to the arts community as a whole,” Linker said. “And he was the reason the Circle City Industrial Complex, in my mind, the reason it’s an art studio building and a creative space.”

Who’s Eligible

Grant applications are available at indykeepscreating.org. To be eligible for the Keep Indy Creating grants applicants must:

• Be 18 years of age or older.
• Reside in the central Indiana counties (Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan, Johnson, and Shelby).
• Have been working professionally in the arts for at least two years.
• Have made at least 40 percent of their income from working in the arts, prior to the COVID-19 health crisis. The 40 percent in this case must be derived from their own creative arts practice and may not be derived from fee for service or work for hire work such as wedding photography, corporate videography, creative marketing, commercial graphic design, etc.
• Be an independent artist or nonprofit arts and culture worker.
• Be able to provide a W9 and Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

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