News from California Desert Arts Council

California Desert Arts Council offers $50,000 in grants and promotion to support artists and arts organizations during the COVID-19 crisis.

Palm Springs, CA: Arts and culture in the Coachella Valley are taking a hard hit from the COVID-19 crisis. Musical and theatrical performances, museum and gallery exhibitions, film screenings, and other events have been canceled or postponed, arts institutions shuttered, and jobs lost. Like everyone else, California Desert Arts Council (CDAC) is grappling with how best to serve our mission and the community during these fluid and harrowing times. While continuing to provide timely information and vital resources, we want to do more to Keep Art Alive.

In this spirit, CDAC and affiliate La Quinta Arts Foundation (LQAF) have established a $50,000 fund to award grants to artists of all disciplines and nonprofit arts organizations to create thoughtful, inspiring, and relevant works responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are commissioning Coachella Valley artists working in all media — visual, performing, and written and spoken word — to create new works that we will share with the community in unity and hope,” says Christi Salamone, president and CEO of the organizations. “We want to support creative individuals as well as organizations with a financial and promotional boost when they need it most.”

The Keep Art Alive program will award $500 grants to selected artists and $1,500 grants to selected nonprofit organizations with budgets up to $1 million. CDAC will publish and promote selected works and tell the stories of the artists and organizations through our outreach platforms.

CDAC welcomes submissions in the following disciplines: Visual Art and Craft, Music and Sound Art, Dance, Written Word (poetry, short story), and Spoken Word. All works must be original and created for this initiative. Previously published or exhibited works are ineligible.

For eligibility information and to submit art, visit cadesertarts.org.

About California Desert Arts Council
The nonprofit California Desert Arts Council unifies, promotes, and empowers the arts and culture communities in the Coachella Valley region through its initiatives in cultural tourism, business and workforce development, education, and advocacy. Visit cadesertarts.org.