There’s a week left to apply to Aurora’s second round of artist relief fund grants. 

The grant is funded by the PNC Bank and will provide $4,000 to five artists of color. Grantees will also take part in a business wellness program that includes workshops and mentorship on best business practices. PNC’s funding is part of their $1 billion pledge to help end systematic racism, which was announced in June.

Joshua King, executive director and co-founder of Aurora, said the organization saw a need to help artists who don’t fit the usual business qualifications of PPP loans or personal grants from foundations.  

“We saw an opportunity here for Aurora to step up and make sure that the artists that have been working aren’t left behind,” King said.

Aurora, the biennial art festival, has also felt the impact of the pandemic, resorting to socially distanced events like their October drive-through experience called Area 3.

In February, The Arts Community Alliance (TACA) and other leading arts groups found that arts organizations in Dallas lost more than $95 million since the COVID shut-down in March. 

“This industry drives significant quality of life benefits and accretive economic impact to our region,” said Brendan McGuire, regional president for PNC in North Texas, in a press statement. “It’s important we seek opportunities to support local artists, arts organizations and artists of color during this time.”

The grantees will be selected by a panel of artists, including Liliana Bloch, gallery director and founder of Liliana Bloch Gallery; Sara Cardona, visual artist and executive artistic director of Teatro Dallas; Viola Delgado, visual artist; Riley Holloway, visual artist; and Christian Vasquez, filmmaker.

The application period will close on March 15. 

Here’s a list of submission criteria, according to Aurora’s website: 

In order to be eligible for this grant, the artist must:

• identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
• be a working visual artist with a sustained practice based in North Texas
• be able to produce proof of residence in one of the following counties: Dallas County, Tarrant County, Rockwall County, Collin County or Denton County
• be at least 21 years of age
• be experiencing dire financial distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• have a resume or CV
• not be a full-time employee, board member, director, officer or immediate family member of anyone involved with the Dallas Foundation or Aurora
• not have previously been awarded a relief grant from this fund

All applicants must submit:

• a brief bio
• a resume or CV demonstrating career path
• a statement of need and intent for use of the funds
• up to 5 images of previous works and/or 1-3 videos

Got a tip? Email Mia Estrada at mestrada@kera.org. You can follow her on Twitter @miaaestrada.

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