Artist Emergency Fund

Geographic Scope: Shelby County and Memphis area

A new emergency assistance fund created by ARTSmemphis and Music Export Memphis to support individual artists during unexpected and catastrophic emergencies. This is the first-ever Artist Emergency Fund of its kind in Memphis.

Purpose:
The fund supports artists—defined as individuals earning a majority of their income through artistic practice—in times of unexpected and catastrophic emergency, particularly those that upend the artist's ability to practice and earn income from their craft.

Eligible Emergency Types (examples include but not limited to):

• Medical emergencies
• Catastrophic property damage (e.g., fire)
• Theft of gear or equipment required to perform or create

Eligibility:

• Individual artists earning majority of income through artistic practice
• All career stages eligible
• Non-musician artists: Administered by ARTSmemphis
• Musician artists: Administered by Music Export Memphis (all genres and types)

Funding Background:

• Created with lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic when ARTSmemphis and Music Export Memphis distributed nearly $900,000 to 800 artists
• Recognizes that artists are more vulnerable to financial crises due to lack of insurance and savings

Partner Organizations:

• ARTSmemphis (non-musician applications)
• Music Export Memphis (musician applications)

Contact:

• ARTSmemphis: info@artsmemphis.org or 901.578.ARTS
• For full details: artsmemphis.org

Additional Notes:
This represents a significant shift toward direct support of individual artists, part of ARTSmemphis' stated mission to fund more artists directly.

Application Process

Full details of the grant request and review process available at artsmemphis.org. Specific step-by-step application instructions not detailed in available materials. Contact ARTSmemphis for current application procedures and documentation requirements.