RESOURCES updated on March 25, 2020

Here is an ongoing list of local and national resources for Bay Area artists, educators, freelancers, and parents impacted by COVID-19. I compiled these links from various online posts, websites, friends and colleagues. I need to better organize this list/page but for now it’s currently divided into: general resources, resources for artists/freelancers, wellness/creativity, and resources for parents/artist educators. I'll continue to update the list and format. Send me an email if you want to add any resources or have any questions. Stay safe and healthy.

General Resources

COVID-19 Online Events

Local Info

General Arts Resources

Local & National

Opportunities, Grants, Tools

Wellness & Creativity, Entertainment

Resources for Artists, Teaching Artists, Activists & Freelancers

SF Bay Area-Focused

Resources for Artists, Teaching Artists, Activists & Freelancers

National and Regional

Resources for Artists, Artist Educators, Parents & K-12 kids

Smithsonian Resources

Social Distance Festival Site for celebrating art from all over the world, showcasing amazing talent, and coming together as a community at a time when we need it more than ever.

Stay At Home Fest Online Music Festival and Events Calendar

Creative Capital: Online Art Events CC list of events that have moved online due to the crisis, in an effort to support artists, arts professionals, and cultural organizations, as well as to provide an enriching experience for those isolated at home as COVID-19 continues to spread. They will continue to update this list in the coming days. If you have an event to add, please fill out their form.

HOWLROUND: Ways of Gathering in the Age of COVID-19 A Guide to Livestreaming on HowlRound TV

Foundwork If you’ve had a show postponed, canceled, or left in a closed gallery due to COVID-19, please send Foundwork an email to support@foundwork.art with the relevant information: show title, gallery/venue name, location, dates, press release/show text, collaborating artists (if any), and up to 5 accompanying images.

City of Oakland: COVID-19 Business and Worker Resources Resources for Oakland businesses, nonprofits and workers to Plan, Prepare and Respond to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

City of Berkeley: Berkeley Relief Fund Berkeley City Council has approved $3 million for emergency relief grants to small businesses, nonprofit arts organizations, and residential tenants, that are hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeking community match this amount for those in need. Funds will be used only for emergency grants, and managed by the City of Berkeley. Applicants in need will be able to apply soon.

211 Alameda County COVID-19 Information

California Association of Food Banks

CalFresh CalFresh is California's food stamps (SNAP) program. Apply to get up to $192 a month per household member on an EBT card.

Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area (AEABA) Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area is a coalition of arts providers, educators, and advocates working together to ensure that all youth in the San Francisco Bay Area receive a comprehensive and quality arts education.

The Big Artist Opportunities List Residencies, funding, and gallery info.

Complete Guide to 2020 Artist Grants & Opportunities

Creative Capital Online Resources Creative Capital is committed to sharing knowledge, resources, and opportunities that support artists of all creative disciplines. This page offers useful information to help artists build sustainable careers and best practices for the business side of art practices. Also, a link to their regular workshops online, covering topics like strategic planning, fundraising, budgeting, time management, communications, website development, and promotion. Learn more.

Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) Arts organization based in LA/SF that promotes knowledge sharing, networking, and financial independence for individuals in the arts by providing business training, grants, and incubating innovative projects that create new program knowledge, tools and practices for artists in the field, and conditions that contribute to realizing financial self determination.

Fractured Atlas: Blog Artist spotlights, resources, tips, tricks, and tools to ignite your artistic & creative progress.

Gibney: Artist Services

OF/BY/FOR ALL: 3 Things to Do to Help Build Community Here are three specific things you can do right now to build a stronger future for you and your community by Nina Simon of OF/BY/FOR ALL.

adrienne maree brown: Additional Resources for Facing Coronavirus/Covid19 Some resources that might help you think about where to be, how to be, and how to see the possibilities even in this moment, how to move towards life.

East Bay Meditation Center EBMC’s groups and classes are now online. Includes POC Yoga, Sangha, Teen Circle, and other wellness programs.

Free YMCA Online Classes More than 60 free online exercises classes and youth programs to support the health and well-being of the community. Among the classes: boot camp, barre, yoga, weightlifting, boxing, Tai Chi and more.

NFB Indigenous Films Online Filmmakers and curators make recommendations from the National Film Board’s free catalog of Indigenous film online.

Liberate Meditation App Mediation app for People of Color

Living Room Concerts by Broadway Actors

10 Free Online University Art Classes Free, self-paced classes allowing you to take classes at your own convenience.

92Y Archived Live Programs Watch and participate in select 92Y programs with free live broadcasts!

Who Yo People Podcast Hosted by Sharon Bridgforth, "Who Yo People Is", is a podcast series dedicated to conversations with artists whose Work serves our communities through healing/cultural/creative/artistic/Spiritual traditions - centered in Love.

Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area (AEABA):Surviving & Thriving During COVID-19 AEABA shares useful information and helpful links for artist educators in the Bay Area.

Center for Cultural Innovation: Emergency Resources for Artists & Freelancers List of resources compiled by the Center for Cultural Innovation(CCI) in CA of local (Bay Area/LA/CA) and national funds for artists and freelancers.

COVID-19 Resources List- Bay Area Focused Comprehensive list of local and state-wide resources list initiated by Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) - Bay Area, CA, APEX Express, Asian Prisoner Support Committee, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, APIENC, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Hmong Innovating Politics, HYPHEN, Network on Religion and Justice, Visibility Project, VietUnity - East Bay, Asian Refugees United.

Intersection For The Arts: Artist Resources Intersection for the Arts (based in SF) recognizes the immense burden COVID-19 places on artists and their livelihoods. Intersection provides an extensive and amazing list of tools and resources to help Bay Area artists navigate this moment: Emergency Grants, Businesses Resources, Resource Databases, Take Action, Tools, Take Action, Bay Area Support.

KQED Bay Area- Emergency Funds for Freelancers, Creatives Losing Income During Coronavirus A list of mutual aid funds that distribute emergency grants to artists, creative professionals and freelancers facing financial hardships. Most of these funds also accept donations—many of which are tax deductible—from those among us who are more fortunate and looking to help.

Theatre Bay Area: Performing Arts Worker Relief Fund This fund is a resource for performing arts workers who are facing a loss of income due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.Theatre Bay Area has launched this fund with the generous donations from individual donors, many of them fellow artists.

The Safety Net Fund- Bay Area The Safety Net Fund is a non-profit designed to help support artists in the Bay Area during the COVID-19 crisis. SNF prioritize artists that typically make their living offline at events & retail establishments that have been cancelled or closed due to coronavirus. This includes performing artists, musicians, visual artists, event producers, and other types of creators. Fund will offer grants to artists, with no expectation of repayment, to help provide direct monetary support through this crisis. This money is offered with the intent of helping artists survive and continue to create despite the maelstrom. The maximum grant is $500 per person per month, and the number of grants per month is dependent upon the funds raised.

The San Francisco Arts & Artist Relief Fund San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) & Grants for the Arts (GFTA) have launched an emergency relief fund to mitigate COVID-19 related financial losses that artists and small to mid-size arts and culture organizations have suffered. The Fund will prioritize the financial needs of individuals and organizations who are of and serving cultural populations that have been and remain financially vulnerable—black, indigenous, immigrant, trans, and people with disabilities. Individuals (artists, teaching artists, cultural producers, etc.) may apply for up to $2,000, Awards to organizations (501c3 nonprofits, fiscally sponsored organizations, collectives and mutual aid societies of artists, artist cooperatives, cultural land trusts, etc.) will range up to $25,000 and will be scaled based on budget size, up to $2 million.

Untitled, Art Emergency Fund- Bay Area Emergency funds of $250 for artists in the Bay Area, includes financial assistance for freelance, hourly, and wage working artists impacted by the economic conditions of COVID-19.

adrienne maree brown: Additional Resources for Facing Coronavirus/Covid19 Some resources that might help you think about where to be, how to be, and how to see the possibilities even in this moment, how to move towards life.

Artist & Activist Relief Fund This fund, created by The Soze Foundation, TaskForce, and Invisible Hand, will support artists and activists whose work has been impacted by COVID-19. They will be making $250 grants to selected applicants on an on-going basis, and currently have $42,000 total for this first round of grants.

ArtsReady- An online emergency preparedness service by and for arts/cultural nonprofits, provides arts organizations with customized business continuity plans for post-crisis sustainability.

Artwork Archive A list of emergency resources for artists as well an ongoing list of crowdfunding efforts to provide financial relief for artists.

COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources This list is specifically designed to serve freelance artists, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community. This includes, but is not limited, to actors, designers, producers, technicians, stage managers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, craft artists, teaching artists, dancers, writers & playwrights, photographers, etc. If you have resources or upcoming virtual events you’d like to add to this list, fill out a form. What this list IS: an aggregated list of FREE resources, opportunities, and financial relief options available to artists of all disciplines. What this list IS NOT: a place to promote individual artist practices (we love you, but we’re not equipped for that); a place to promote fee for service work; or a place to seek direct emergency funding.

Common Field: Open document COVID-19 Resources for the Artist Organization Field This list is for arts organizers- please add resources, ideas, thinking and information surrounding best practices during pandemics and other emergencies. OPEN document.

COVID-19 Resources for Undocumented Communities Nation-wide resources by state.

COVID Support for Immune Suppressed Folks

Creative Capital: List of Resources for Artists As COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States, CC has created a list of resources for artists working in all disciplines, as well as arts philanthropists, and arts professionals. They will continue to update this list over the next few months. If you have a resource to add, please fill out their form.

Fractured Atlas: Emergency Resources for Artists in the Wake of COVID-19 Fractured Atlas has put together a list of emergency resources for artists and arts organizations of all disciplines and designations.

Mass MOCA- Coronavirus/ COVID-19 Emergency Relief Helpful links to MA relief funds/resources for local artists but also links to national funds/resources for artists.

National Association of Latino Arts (NALAC): Responding to COVID-19: Arts Resources & Field Survey NALAC continues to update a list of key resources that are relevant to both independent artists and cultural workers as well as arts organizations and collectives. In the resource directory on AirTable you will find emergency funding opportunities, information for freelance workers, information for nonprofit organizations, statements from arts service organizations, surveys & needs assessments, and self-care tips.

New Music Solidarity Fund This fund is an artist-led initiative that aims to grant emergency funding to musicians impacted by COVID-19. It is designed to help new/creative/improvised music freelancers whose livelihood has been threatened as a result of performances which have been canceled during the COVID-19 crisis.

Pooled COVID-19 Resources Many resources have been compiled by and/or for LGBTQIA+, GNC (gender non-comforming), QTPOC (queer and trans people of color), AIDS/HIV+, underemployed, undocumented, uninsured, artists, culture workers and activist communities who have long had to deal with systemic crises and neglect, and have made grassroots connections and invested in robust networks more so than those with vastly different privileges. Some of these resources are explicitly for those people, and to match the assets of those with more privileges directly to those with few. All documents required a lot of black & brown labor, mental, emotional and intellectual, and a fluency in being attentive to both their communities and those outside or in opposition to their communities. 

Teaching Artist COVID-19 Community Conversations On Friday, March 13, 2020, Association of Teaching Artists, Teaching Artists Guild, Creative Generation, National Guild for Community Arts Education, the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, and Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic hosted a free webinar to address how the COVID-19 health crisis is affecting teaching artists. A full transcript of the conversation can be download here. A rich list resources discussed in the webinar (and more) is hosted here on the Teaching Artists Guild’s website. You can submit more resources to the list as well!

Alphabet Rockers This intergenerational group creates brave spaces to shape a more equitable world through hip hop. Their GRAMMY nominated albums inspire American kids and families to stand up to hate and be their brave and beautiful selves.

Giant List of Ideas For Being Home With Kids List of ideas for actual quarantine, school closures, weekend social distancing, anytime!

Homeschool Hideout: 150+ Educational Shows on Netflix

Kids Activities: List of Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions

Kids Activities: Things to do While You’re Stuck at Home

KQED- Bay Area: How Teachers Can Navigate School Closures Due to the Coronavirus Use these trusted resources to continue to provide meaningful learning experiences for students during school closures. This post will be regularly updated as new resources become available.

Mo Willems: Lunch Doodles! Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home: Mo Willems invites YOU into his studio every day for his LUNCH DOODLE. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing by visiting Mo’s studio virtually once a day for the next few weeks. Grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons and join Mo to explore ways of writing and making together. New episodes will be posted each weekday at 1:00 p.m. ET and then remain online to be streamed afterwards. 

MoAD (Museum of the African Diaspora): Educator Guides Educator Resource Guides of MoAD’s exhibitions prepared by the Education Dept. Resource Guides are interdisciplinary and written to align with California State Common Core Standards for grades 3 through 12. Each Resource Guide contains artist background information, lesson plans, and hands-on activities to help students gain a deeper understanding of the artworks featured in each exhibition. Check out MoAD’s blog as well.

MoMA: Learning Curve- Art Resources for Teaching & Learning from Home The Museum of Modern Art gathered some of their best resources for hands-on activities and online learning.

Museums & Galleries on Instagram Links to many museums and galleries on Instagram.

NIAD Art Center Free Coloring Pages for You & Yours If you’re stuck in the house with your children or self-isolating yourself, here’s a gift for you! Download Four PDFs of NIAD’s most popular coloring books.

NPR: Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus

PBS Kids For Parents PBS Parents site full of resources and activities for parents and kids. Their new weekly newsletter offers activities and tips you can use to help kids play and learn at home.

Scholastic Learn At Home Classes & Resources- Day by day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and learning. Resources for families and teachers.

Sesame Street: Caring For Each Other Site provides content and resources you can use with your family to offer comfort and spark playful learning activities. Children thrive with structure in their lives and they learn best through play, even in everyday moments like mealtimes and morning and evening routines. We hope the content and resources help you and your family breathe, laugh, and play together! And remember—they are not prescriptions you have to follow, but ideas you can use to spark other playful learning moments.

Smart Schoolhouse DIY Crafts for Kids

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA) In response to temporary school closures due to COVID-19, SVMA is putting together ARTS@Home, special lessons available online for families working and learning from home.These series of art lessons, prepared by SVMA arts education staff, can provide children with hours of stimulating and fun learning activities—good for students and good for parents and grandparents! Each week SVMA will release new ARTS@Home learning activities.

The Spanish Experiment Well-known children's stories translated into Spanish and spoken by a native Spanish speaker. Great for kids... and adults too! Read along in Spanish or English.

Youth In Arts (YIA) Cre8tes: Live-Streamed Arts Activities Starting Monday, March 16th join YIA- San Rafael, every morning at 11:08am for eight minute live-streamed arts activities on Facebook and Instagram. YIA will offer visual arts with supplies you’ll have on hand, and dance to keep them on their toes. Visit YIA Cre8tes Calendar for the daily activity and supply list.

Virtual Field Trips! Over 30 virtual field trips with links, to zoos, museums, parks, and more.

Wendy MacNaughton: Drawing Classes on IG Bay Area artist Wendy MacNaughton is an Illustrator/friendly quarantine art teacher! Draw Together with Wendy: 10am pst M-F on Instagram Live, stays up for 24 hrs in stories.

🖼 Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery’s buildings may be temporarily closed, but the museum is always open online. Explore past and current exhibitions, watch artist interviews, exhibition videos, virtual museum tours, and more. Check out the Education page.

📚 The Smithsonian Learning Lab, which includes pre-packaged collections containing lessons, activities, and recommended resources made by Smithsonian museum educators as well as thousands of classroom teachers across the country. Visit the Smithsonian Learning Lab's Distance Learning hub, which is being updated regularly with the latest information and resources.

🕹 Visit the Smithsonian Science Education Center's Game Center, which is full of fun apps and games to help K-12 students learn about science. Games like "Tami's Tower: Let's Think About Engineering," a design game that will help teach your student how to design a solution to a problem using basic engineering design principles.

📝 Looking for low- or no-tech resources to keep young learners engaged? These activity pages include word and number games, art exercises, and fun quizzes. You can also try some hands-on activities from the National Air and Space Museum.

🎙 Older students can benefit from the Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide, which offers guidance on collecting oral histories to help preserve culture and traditions for future generations.