The CERF+ COVID-19 Relief Grant provides $1,000 to artists working in craft disciplines who are facing dire circumstances due to food, housing, and/or medical insecurities as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
To be eligible for a “CERF+ Covid-19 Relief Grants”, applicants must:
Work in a Craft Discipline
CERF+ broadly defines eligible artists to include those who create work using historically recognized craft materials such as clay, glass, textiles, wood, metal; as well as those whose work expands on these historical definitions through the incorporation of non-traditional materials, new technologies and experimental approaches.
CERF+ is equally committed to the preservation of folk and traditional arts, as rooted in, and reflective of, the cultural life of a community. We recognize and support the ways that information is often passed on from one generation to the next and celebrate practices rooted within a common ethnic heritage, geographic region, religious affiliation or occupation.
August 10, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. (ET) – Application Cycle Opens
August 31, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. (ET) – Application Cycle Closes
September 1, 2021 through September 12, 2021 – Application Review
September 13-20, 2021 – Notifications Made
CERF+ serves artists at all stages of their careers and seeks to support people from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. Eligibility is not determined solely by the amount of money an artist generates from their work and we recognize that many individuals have careers that rely on multiple streams of income and financial support.
Craft objects may be functional or nonfunctional, but both types derive part of their meaning from their association with traditional functional forms such as chairs, vessels, garments or implements, and/or their association with cultural tradition. Qualities that contribute to the success of a craft object include the skill of the maker, the use of the material, the refinement of the design, the originality of expression, its cultural significance – or all of these.
Reside and work in the U.S. or U.S. Terrorities for the last two years
Dire Financial Emergency
Experience a dire financial emergency as a result of Covid-19 including food, housing, or health insecurities.