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UK Covid-19 Freelance Artist Resources List

This document is a collection of links to resources to help freelance creatives and artists during the current Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. It is the UK version of the original American / International list, we just moved to our own site to make life easier for the team in the US.

This document will be updated frequently. It was most recently updated on Thursday 9th April, 2020. You can share this list using the URL https://ukcovid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/

Contents

About This List

This list is for freelance artists and creatives, including precarious FE/HE teaching staff, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community. This includes (but is not limited to) artists, actors, designers, producers, technicians, stage managers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, craftspeople, teaching artists, dancers, writers, poets, playwrights, photographers, creative technologists, indie games-makers etc.

What this list IS: an aggregated list of FREE resources, opportunities, and financial relief options available to artists and creatives 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.

We have not checked the validity of any of the grassroots crowdfunding initiatives listed. Please use your own discretion when donating or requesting money. We do absolutely believe in the fundamental good of people, but if you have problems, please let us know.

This list has grown out of the American COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources List created by Nicole Brewer, Ann Marie Lonsdale, Quanice Floyd, Tiffany Wilhelm, Brian Herrera, Hannah Fenlon, & Clementine Bordeaux. To see American and International resources, visit the US site at https://covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/

Thank you so much for letting us jump on the US list whilst we got ourselves together!

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How To Contribute

Please send information or resources to us using this google form.

This page is maintained by Erica Scourti Kim Plowright and Laura Kriefman – we’re trying to capture the many links we’re seeing being shared on different social platforms. You can contact us via the Google form or via Twitter.

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Official Information

  • UK Government Response
    • https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
    • Current government guidance, including travel information, information for businesses and educational settings
    • Also includes information about financial help for small businesses, statutory sick pay for the self-employed, and business interruption loans.
    • 26th March: Self Employed Income Support Scheme announced.
    • A taxable grant of 80% of the average monthly profit over the last three years, per month.
    • Coming at the beginning of June 2020, money will be backdated.
    • Open to anyone with trading profits UP TO 50k p/a.
    • Only those in self employment who have a tax return for 2019 qualify. You need 3 years of accounts – but for those that don’t have 3 years, they will look at just 1 year. You need to have done one tax return minimum.
    • You have 4 weeks from today to file your 18-19 tax return if you’re late in order to qualify.
    • HMRC will contact you directly if you qualify.
Arts Councils / Creative Scotland Emergency Funds and Info

9th April: ACE Grants schemes are now live. First round deadline is 16th April. READ THE INFORMATION ON THIS TWITTER THREAD: https://twitter.com/ace_national/status/1248217137187037184 Grantium, the portal, is under strain, and is a pain in the bum of a system at the best of times. Download and work in the word document provided from this page https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/financial-support-artists-creative-practitioners-and-freelancers#section-2 Read the guidance notes for applicants in full, and check the FAQ. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news-and-announcements/our-emergency-funding-your-top-queries

  • Arts Council England Coronavirus information
    • ACE are making £20 million available to individuals working in the cultural sector, including artists, creative practitioners and freelancers.
    • https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/financial-support-artists-creative-practitioners-and-freelancers#section-1
    • There are two rounds – you can only apply in one round, grants will be up to £2500.
    • Round 1 opens on 9th April, and the deadline is 16th April. Round 2 opens on 16th April, and the deadline is 30th April.
    • You need to read the guidance, and register on Grantium in order to apply. Don’t leave it to the last minute to apply, as the Grantium system will probably be under strain.
    • It is open to creative practitioners whose main work is focused on these artforms and disciplines:
      • Music
      • Theatre
      • Dance
      • Visual Arts
      • Literature
      • Combined Arts
      • Museums practice
      • Libraries (activity that helps deliver the Universal Library Offers)
    • ‘Creative Practitioners’ include: choreographers, writers, translators, producers, editors, freelance educators in the disciplines and artforms we support, composers, directors, designers, visual artists, craft makers and curators. You must have experience of delivering work that was funded (directly or indirectly) by bodies such as Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Lottery Community Fund, local authorities, universities, public sector bodies, trusts and foundations, etc.  You need to have been part of the delivery of publicly funded work, even if you didn’t directly apply for the funding yourself.
    • The new fund also includes a £4m contribution to various benevolent funds – that will be distributed through those funds. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/financial-support-artists-creative-practitioners-and-freelancers#section-8
  • Arts Council of Northern Ireland
    • http://artscouncil-ni.org/news/coronavirus-covid-19-advice
    • Information about funding and support, including information for grant-holders.
    • “We will honour all grants already made in 2019/20 (including but not limited to: Annually Funded Programme, Lottery Project Funding, Small Grants, Rural Needs and Support for the Individual Artist) and will work flexibly with you should you need to reschedule events and/or tours… Funded arts organisations, in exchange for Arts Council support, are asked to continue as far as possible to honour agreed contracts with artists and freelancers.”

Petitions

Write to your MP. Here’s a suggested letter asking for more support for the self-employed during the coronavirus pandemic. https://worknotes.co.uk/well-being/coronavirus-write-to-your-mp.

Find your MP (and check out their voting record) at https://www.theyworkforyou.com

Search TheyWorkForYou for Self-employed Freelance Creative or Artists to see what has recently been discussed by MPs in parliament or written questions.

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Emergency Funding And Financial Support

Arts Council Support

See above. for information about emergency funding schemes.

Metal are running online seminar sessions to help artists applying for ACE emergency funding http://www.metalculture.com/event/emergency-funding-for-creatives-free-digital-seminar-and-qa/

Tax, Benefits and Government Financial Support

  • UK Government: Covid-19 Guidance for Employees and the Self Employed
  • UK Government: Self Employed Income Support Scheme (26th March)
    • Announced in the chancellor’s briefing, 26th March
    • A taxable grant of 80% of the average monthly profit over the last three years, per month. Open to anyone with trading profits UP TO 50k p/a.
    • Coming at the beginning of June 2020, money will be backdated.
    • Only those in self employment who have a tax return for 2019 qualify. You need 3 years of accounts – for those that don’t have 3 years, they will look at just 1 year. You need to have done one tax return minimum.
    • You have 4 weeks from today to file your 18-19 tax return if you’re late in order to qualify.
    • HMRC will contact you directly if you qualify and invite you to apply online. You cannot apply yet. If you receive phone calls, text messages or emails asking you to apply now, these are a scam.
    • The implication is that Tax and NI breaks for self employed may well go away in the future in order to pay for this.
    • You can still access Business Interruption Loans, apply for Universal Credit or ESA. Advance payments can be given, you don’t necessarily have to wait for 5 weeks for payment. (Chancellors briefing, 26th March)

HMRC and Tax

HMRC: Difficulties Paying HMRC https://www.gov.uk/difficulties-paying-hmrc

HMRC Tax helpline to support businesses affected by coronavirus If you run a business or are self-employed and are concerned about paying your tax due to coronavirus, you can call HMRC Coronavirus Helpline for help and advice.  Telephone: 0800 024 1222 Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm, Saturday, 8am to 4pm. This is a helpline for sole traders and the self-employed.

Rent and Mortgages

UK Government: Complete ban on evictions and additional protection for renters https://www.gov.uk/government/news/complete-ban-on-evictions-and-additional-protection-for-renters (18 March 2020) Government announces radical package of measures to protect renters and landlords affected by coronavirus.

If you have been asked to negotiate pay deduction and or reduced hours – you can speak to your mortgage company and get a three month mortgage holiday.  https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/mortgage-payment-holidays

Buy-to-let mortgages aren’t currently included in the mortgage holiday. BUT a lot of landlords are reaching out to tenants offering a reduction/ rent holiday. 

Support for Businesses and Companies

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Financial Advice

BBC Radio4 Money Box Live 14 Mar 2020 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000gd86 The financial fallout from the Corona Virus pandemic. Making sense of the help available. (Useful information, but already out of date!)

MoneySaving Expert https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/03/uk-coronavirus-help-and-your-rights/ Coronavirus Help and Your Rights, being actively updated. Includes: Financial product help for Mortgages, credit cards and savings / Help for renters / Your rights as an employee / Your rights if you’re self-employed / Prepaid energy top-up help / Your rights on cancellations, subscriptions etc / Important – watch out for coronavirus scams

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Benevolent, Hardship and Emergency Funds

Trussell Trust: Find a Food Bank https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/
“We know it’s a challenging time for everyone at the moment as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds. Food banks are grassroots, community organisations aimed at supporting people who cannot afford the essentials in life. If you cannot afford food, please contact your local food bank using this map”

Theatre, Performance and Dance

Equity Charitable Trust (Actors)
http://www.equitycharitabletrust.org.uk/financial-help/

Actors Benevolent Fund
https://www.actorsbenevolentfund.co.uk/

Dance Fund UK https://www.dancefund.org.uk/ Financial grants to dance professionals of all ages. Grants due to illness or injury, support for everyday living costs or crisis funding for the unexpected.

Live Events PSA Stagehand Welfare and Benevolent Fund
https://www.psa.org.uk/pages/about-welfare-and-benevolent-fund

Visual Arts, Crafts, Design, Illustration

A-N Artists Newsletter https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/a-n-artist-bursaries-time-space-money-plus-financial-support-for-artists-and-arts-organisers/ “Bringing forward the next round of a-n Artist Bursaries, & also announcing new funding for artists & arts organisers who make exhibitions happen […] Working with Arts Council England to distribute £300,000 of financial support for artists and arts organisers who make exhibitions happen. That includes (but is not limited to) self-employed art handlers, technicians, art installers, conservators and restorers, and those who help other artists in the production of their work. Applications will be open soon – follow a-n on social media for updates.”

The Artist General Benevolent Fund (Artists) https://www.agbi.org.uk/

The Axisweb Hardship Fund https://www.axisweb.org/support/hardship-fund/ Supporting our members. In light of the uncertainty artists face due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have introduced a fund to help our members facing significant financial hardship and who are unable to work, disabled, a carer, on low income or freelance. https://www.axisweb.org/thinking-and-ideas/2020/03/hardship-fund/ “Any member experiencing financial hardship is eligible to apply. We won’t ask you to explain why, but please apply only if you need the money. This is for members that are facing significant financial hardship and who are unable to work, disabled, a carer, on low income or freelance. In this first phase we are making a fund of £5,000 available. We are thinking of 50 x £100 awards decided on a lottery basis (this is how we have run a similar initiative in the past). Any member in receipt of this award won’t have to repay any money.”

The Eaton Fund http://www.eaton-fund.co.uk/help-artists.asp Grants are restricted to artists and students working in the visual arts fields, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, print-making, photograpy, and video installations. We do not give grants for the performing arts. Only make grants to artists or art students who live or study in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Musicians and Music Industry

Help Musicians (musicians and music related roles) https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/news/latest-news/advice-relating-to-coronavirus-covid-19 Have launched a £5m Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund. Applications for this fund are submitted through an online form and offers a one-off payment of £500 per applicant. Only to apply if you are indeed suffering significant financial hardship to enable us to provide help quickly to those who need it the most. “The Health and Welfare team offers structured support to professional musicians in times of personal crisis. Our approach is person-centred; building tailored support around an individual’s specific needs. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, Help Musicians is unable to replace lost earnings. But we are able to provide financial support in cases of significant financial hardship as well as signposting for debt/welfare related issues.” They also operate a mental health support line.

Musicians’ Union https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/Advice/Your-Career/Protection/grants-funds-financial-assistance Benevolent grants available for exceptional circumstances – talk to your local office. Also offer Maternity, adoption, parental and funeral grants.

The Royal Society of Musicians https://www.rsmgb.org/supporting-musicians-in-need/ Are contributing to the Help Musicans fund. They operate a benevolent fund; all applications must be supported in writing by a Member or Honorary Member of the Society, or a Society-approved organisation. Application information is available from the page above.

PRS Members’ Fund https://www.prsmembersfund.com Helps musicians who have been a PRS member for seven years or more (and their families). They are also operating an Emergency Relief fund  PRS Emergency Relief Fund available to PRS members globally and offered in grants of up to £1000 each, depending on need. Open to people who have been a PRS writer member for at least two years, have earned at least £500 of PRS royalties within the last two years and are suffering genuine hardship from loss of work. https://www.prsmembersfund.com/2020/03/18/covid-19-information/

Writers, Poets, Playwrights, Journalists

The Society of Authors (Author’s Emergency Fund / Contingency Fund) https://www.societyofauthors.org/Grants/contingency-funds The SoA is the UK trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers. “The Society of Authors (SoA) distributes around £95,000 each year to authors in need through its contingency fund charities. These grants of up to £1,500 are invaluable to authors but during the current health crisis, demand is already rising to a level that the Fund cannot meet. The SoA has been approached by partner organisations who recognised an urgent need for an industry-wide coordinated response. The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), Royal Literary Fund (RLF), the T S Eliot Foundation in partnership with English PEN, and Amazon UK, have very generously contributed a combined £235,000 to the Authors’ Contingency Fund for the support of authors through the crisis. These donations have more than tripled the funds the SoA had expected to distribute this year, with the fund to be called the Authors’ Emergency Fund.” Apply here: https://www.societyofauthors.org/Grants/contingency-funds

Royal Literary Fund https://www.rlf.org.uk/ The Royal Literary Fund is a UK charity that has been helping authors since 1790. It provides grants and pensions to writers in financial difficulty.

WGGB Welfare Fund https://writersguild.org.uk/member-benefits/welfare-fund/ The main focus is on emergencies and the unexpected. Grants and loans are limited to £1,000 except in exceptional circumstances. The Fund helps writers who have been members of WGGB for at least two years. The Welfare Fund does not pay tax bills or consider applications for ongoing liabilities.

Film, Cinema, TV, Interactive and Games

 Covid-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund BFI and The Film and TV Charity have partnered to create a new industry-backed fund to help support the creative community, with a £1 million donation from Netflix https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/news-event/covid-19-emergency-relief-fund-announced/

Film and Television Charity (Film, TV and Screen) https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/

BECTU https://bectu.org.uk/get-support/

NABS (advertising and media industries)
https://nabs.org.uk/

Royal Variety Charity
http://www.royalvarietycharity.org/royal-variety-charity The Royal Variety Charity assists those who’ve worked professionally in the entertainment industry and are in need of help. The charity strives to support all those, both young and old, who’ve worked on the stage, in the wings, in front of a camera, or behind it, as well as all those who have spent their lives working in the numerous support industries dedicated to entertainment.

Thanks to Alison Surtees at http://futuresventure.net/ for her help with this section

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Crowdfunding and Collective Action Efforts

New funds and crowdfunding campaigns set up specifically to relieve artists in financial crisis as a result of COVID-19. We have not checked the validity of any of the grassroots crowdfunding initiatives listed and can’t vouch for the methods by which funds/services are distributed. Please use your own discretion when donating or requesting money. We do absolutely believe in the fundamental good of people, but if you have problems, please let us know.

Fundraiser for booksellers affected by Covid-19 https://www.gofundme.com/f/fundraiser-booksellers-covid-19
Crowdfunder for booksellers, who are some of the most precariously employed workers in the book trade; the Covid-19 crisis has now seen their livelihoods come under even greater threat.

SWARM Collective Hardship Fund https://swarmcollective.org/donate SWARM (Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement) is starting a hardship fund for UK sex workers in financial crisis due to #Corvid19. All donations via our website will go to the hardship fund to support sex workers in crisis. It’s time to step up our efforts of mutual aid and solidarity

Support Freelance Musicians https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-freelance-musicians Organised by David Cohen, (concert cellist and Professor) and Thibault Blanchard-Dubois (cellist and audio/video engineer). “Anyone who is a freelance musician can request funds. We plan to fulfil every request with a £200 offering on a first-come-first-serve basis.”

Bryony Kimmings #GigAid https://twitter.com/BryonyKimmings/status/1239286413658673153 Performance artist Bryony Kimmings is crowdfunding emergency grants to performers who have had gigs cancelled. “If you feel you could donate £200-£500 to a theatre artist in need then please DM me. People are having gigs cancelled with no back ups, money disappearing with no sign of help from govt yet; end of month bills INCOMING! #GigAid We’re matching donors to artists ASAP”

@PennyBabakhani a salaried artworker, has pledged to donate her entire March pay check to the GigAid fund and is encouraging others to do the same. “My next paycheck is due to land on Friday and – because I can afford to – I’m donating all of it. Yep. All of it. 50% to @BryonyKimmings’s #GigAid and 50% to regional crowdfunds. Who here can I inspire to pledge £100 from their payday?”

@OrlaDoherty “I’ve been lucky enough to work from home during all this. I get paid tomorrow so I would like to give the cost of my commute to some creatives or groups who are struggling. Please tip me off if you know any good sorts who could use it. DMs welcome if preferred.” https://twitter.com/OrlaDoherty/status/1243125566942982144

Precarious Workers & Artists Hardship Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-precarious-workers-amp-artists-hardship-fund Organised by Artists And Freelancers Fund: Luisa Le Voguer Couyet and Lily Cheetah. Distributing using a survey: check the link in the Update on the page. “At the moment we are following the Berlin Artists Fundraiser and offering distributions of a £50 micro-fund per applicant this week. We are hoping to make more available as funds come in and in the coming weeks.” 

London Artist & Creatives Coronavirus Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/london-artist-amp-creatives-corona-virus-fund Josh Akapo and Denzel Kessie are organising. “To provide 10 x £200 hardship funds for any artists, cultural workers, practitioners and creative freelancers that cannot work during this time or who have been affected by cancellations or other impacts. Denzel & I are also going to support the first person to receive from this fund – we’re starting off with £200 in the pot.” Distributed first come first served, application will be via a google form and allow you to request further assistance with bills.

Wales Arts Review – Artists and Freelancers Emergency Fund https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/wales-artist-and-freelancers-coronavirus-fund#start Crowdfunder, setting up 10 x £300 hardship funds, to be handed out on a first-come-first-serve basis to freelancers who have had their income affected by the widespread cancellations of projects throughout Wales

Teeside Covid Impact Fund for Artists https://www.gofundme.com/f/-covid-impact-fund-for-Teesside-artists Gordon Dalton is organizing. Grants available to artists with a TS postcode. 

Liverpool Artists Coronavirus Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/liverpool-artists-coronavirus-fund Luke Barnes “10 £200 hardship funds for any artists that cannot work during this time. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis and there will be no questions asked.”

Manchester Artists Coronavirus Hardship Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/manchester-artists-coronavirus-hardship-fund Laurence Young, a freelance theatre director and maker in Manchester. “10 x £200 hardship funds for any artists, practitioners and creative freelancers that cannot work during this time or who have been affected by cancellations or other impacts.  First come first served basis, no questions asked, no proof needed.“

Coronavirus North East Creatives’ Hardship Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/newcastle-creatives-coronavirus-hardship-fund Daneka Etchells and David Loumgair are organising this fundraiser. “10 grants of £200 to creatives who are living and working in the North East, and who require urgent financial assistance due to hardship, loss of employment and additional challenges. Open and available to any freelancer who works in the creative sector who lives and works in the North East.”

Hull Artists Coronavirus Fund by Middle Child https://www.gofundme.com/f/hull-artists-coronavirus-fund-middle-child Paul Smith and Middle Child Theatre Company “10x £200 hardship funds for any artists that cannot work during this time. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis and there will be no questions asked… The first will be available in a month’s time when we have a better idea of how it will impact us. Please note that no money donated as part of this fundraiser will go to Middle Child Theatre Company, nor will any of the money raised be used to pay those employed by Middle Child Theatre Company..”

Leeds Creatives – Corona Virus Impact Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/leeds-creatives-corona-virus-impact-fund Sam McKay “10 x £200 hardship funds for any artists, practitioners and creative freelancers that cannot work during this time or who have been affected by cancellations or other impacts. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis. Details of how out soon.” 

South Yorkshire Creatives Covid-19 Hardship Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/south-yorkshire-creatives-cv-hardship-fund Linda Bloomfield is organizing “If you need a small amount, up to £200, very quickly for rent, bills, a food shop, transport or petrol, access support, childcare or anything else then this is for you. Please get in touch, and don’t be shy. First come, first served – let’s look after each other. Just email SYcreativesfund@gmail.com and we’ll get it sorted. You don’t need to tell us much – just what’s happened and how much you need to get you through in the immediate term. Most people ask for between £50 and £200.”

Nottingham Artist Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/nottingham-artist-fund Light Hustle is organizing. “A minimum of 50 x £100 hardship funds for any artists that cannot work during this time. If we raise more then that will also be available. The first payments will be available on May 1st. To register for the fund or if you have any questions please email: hello@hockleyhustle.co.uk”

East Midlands Artists Corona Virus Impact Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/east-midlands-corona-virus-impact-fund?rcid=r01-158453726392- Rafia H supported by In Good Company @rafiaproduces “looking to raise £2000 and distribute £200 to 10  people on a first come first served basis. If you need to access this fund because you have been affected by loss of income due to COVID-19 then please do get in touch. It can be for rent, childcare, groceries etc – there will be no questions asked. “

West Midlands Artists Coronavirus Impact Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/WM-artists-coronavirus-fund Amahra Spence at MAIA “£200 hardship funds for any artists, cultural workers, practitioners and creative freelancers that cannot work during this time or who have been affected by cancellations or other impacts. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis.”

Gloucestershire Artists Hardship Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/gloucestershire-artists-survival-fund Jackie Garner is organising. “target of £3000 would allow a payment of £250 to 12 artists (more artists if funds allow). It won’t cover their losses, but it would replace one workshop fee. Perhaps enable them to pay a bill that would otherwise be unaffordable. One level of stress averted.”

Artists In The East Coronavirus Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/artists-in-the-east-coronavirus-fund Dilek Shine and Matt Jewson are organising. “Aiming to be able to provide a minimum of 10x £200 hardship funds for any East based artists that cannot work during this time. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis and there will be no questions asked”

Essex Artists Coronavirus Impact Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/haq4h2 Warren Harper at The Old Waterworks is organising. “Provide £200 hardship funds for any artists, cultural workers, practitioners and creative freelancers that cannot work during this time or who have been affected by cancellations or other impacts… we are currently figuring our the fairest possible distribution method but please do get in touch.” Apply by email / DM, details in post.

South West Creatives- Corona Virus Impact Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/south-west-artists-corona-impact-fund Jay Crutchley is organising. “10 x £200 hardship funds for any artists, practitioners and creative freelancers that cannot work during this time or who have been affected by cancellations or other impacts. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis.”

UK Cinema Worker Solidarity Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/thwvq-uk-cinema-worker-solidarity-fund James Collie and Jan Dunn are organising. “With the assistance of Violet Pictures and the Kent Film Foundation, we have started a fund to help these workers pay for immediate costs.  We’re focusing specifically on London and Kent cinema workers so that we can provide fast support to those workers in need.” Apply via a link in the crowdfunded. First funds to be distributed on 23rd March.

Stonewall Housing’s Crisis food and supply fund (COVID-19 appeal) https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stonewall-housing Stonewall Housing provides supported accommodation to LGBT+ homeless youth and older people across London. More than half of our service users have reported having financial difficulties either with being made redundant, zero hour contracts coming to an end or a delay in benefit payments.  With all major food banks within our operating boroughs closing and with limited access to affordable food in the shops – we need to act NOW. We need your help to preorder food, sanitary products and emergency supplies online and deliver it to all our vulnerable service users today.

Artists Relief Tree https://artistrelieftree.com/ Distributed crowdfunder in the US, giving grants on a first-come-first-served basis, appears to be open to international artists. As of March 18, 2020, have 3500 requests for funds from artists around the world and raised over US$185,000 (not currently accepting new applications)

Artist Support Pledge https://www.instagram.com/artistsupportpledge/ A culture of generosity for artists founded by Matthew Burrows – Sell art for under £200 via the hashtag #ArtistSupportPledge and when you make £1000, spend £200 with another artist.

  1. Post your image/s on your Instagram account
  2. If possible use the ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE image and text by reposting or using a screenshot.
  3. Give details of the work and price
  4. Ask for anyone interested to DM you
  5. Add #artistsupportpledge
  6. Follow the #
  7. When you have sold £1000 worth of work fulfil the pledge and spend £200 on another artist.
  8. If in doubt do it with generosity, that’s all that matters.

HOAX online-only platform showing and publishing art and writing, and supporting artists and writers during this difficult time. Submissions are open now, and a crowdfunder has been launched in order to pay contributors.
https://www.hoaxpublication.co.uk

The Print Block: The Offcut Project https://www.theprintblock.com/section869557.html Send in work for print editioning. Get an edition of 14 back for signing, keep 1. 1 goes to the studio, 2 go to other artists involved – everyone gets two prints from someone else. The remainder go up for sale for £30, split 3 ways between Print Studio, Artist and the Trussell Trust foodbank charity.

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Other Funders, Funding Sources, and Commissions

Coventry 2021: Coronavirus Resilience Fund https://www.heartofenglandcf.co.uk/coventry-2021-coronavirus-resilience-fund/ Arts organisations and individuals in Coventry and Warwickshire. As an individual, we require evidence of cancellation of work or proof of loss of earnings. Max £1000 for organisations, £500 for individuals.

Creative Black Country Creative Comissions https://www.creativeblackcountry.co.uk/creative-communities Small creative commissions of £500 – £2000 for projects that develop creative activity with and for local communities in the Black Country to make connections and support local people during these extraordinary and difficult times. Deadline for submissions is midday Monday 13th April

Unlimited https://weareunlimited.org.uk/contingencies-for-coronavirus/ “We have increased the number of external blogs we are commissioning. These don’t have to be written material, but can be video, image based etc. We’ve asked artists to pitch to us if they wish to create something. We are offering some small micro commissions (£500 each) for any of our artists who are self isolating. Is their a mini work they could make that we can share? Is there an online way people could interact with the work they have already made?”

Farnham Maltings http://theatre.farnhammaltings.com/portfolio/covid-19-responses/ have put an immediate call out for South East based theatre makers to make work for extraordinary times right now and have a grants programme for this.

Disability Arts Online https://disabilityarts.online/magazine/news/disability-arts-online-announces-new-commissions-for-disabled-artists/ announces new commissions for disabled Artists. “We know artists, freelancers & our wonderful community are struggling. That’s why we’ve announced a new commissions pot of £8000 for disabled artists to do online/digital work/artist talks etc. We’re looking to arrange live talks and online socials. We’re paying everyone already commissioned in full. Our content will be continuing unabated (A great guest editorship w/@san_alland & podcasts to come). We’re offering more online artist development sessions too.”

Culture In Quarantine: Commissions https://www.thespace.org/resource/culture-quarantine BBC Arts / ACE / The Space is launching a Culture in Quarantine fund for around 25 established England-based artists of any discipline to produce new works in creative media – video, audio and interactive. […] each work will be hosted by the BBC online and/or on-air. We will be inviting brief expressions of interest explaining your idea, how it could be made, and a ballpark budget by Wednesday 8 April.

LADA DIY 2020 – Professional development projects BY artists FOR artists. https://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/opportunities/diy-2020-call-for-proposals/
Live Art Development Agency invites artist proposals for DIY workshops as part of DIY 2020, with selected projects due to take place between June and November 2020 (these dates may shift depending on the developing and ongoing pandemic). In response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis we have to extend the DIY 2020 deadline by two weeks, with the new deadline of 12noon, Thursday 9 April. Plan to support 24 DIYs in 2020 with project awards of £1,600 each.

Film and Video Umbrella CURATORIAL PRACTICE AWARD #2 https://www.fvu.co.uk/projects/curatorial-practice-award-2 An open call for people looking to develop their practical curatorial and commissioning skills via a year-long placement at Film and Video Umbrella [FVU], delivered in partnership with John Hansard Gallery [JHG]. This opportunity is intended to enable people from low-income backgrounds to pursue curatorial careers in the arts. We are extending the deadline for the Curatorial Practice Award to Tuesday 14 April 2020 at 12 noon, to give more time and space to potential applicants affected by COVID-19.

South East Creatives Top Up Grants https://www.southeastcreatives.co.uk/grants If you are sole trader or company trading in the creative, cultural or digital sector you might want to think about applying for one of our Top-up Grants. If you’re looking to spend between £3k and £4k, South East Creatives could fund 35% of your costs. 

DACS Payback Scheme https://www.dacs.org.uk/for-artists/payback If your visual art work has been published, apply for ‘Payback’ royalties – a share of funds generated by reproduction and photocopying licenses.

ALCS https://www.alcs.co.uk Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is a royalties collection membership organisation for writers (of all kinds, publishing and broadcast). You can apply for a share of royalties generated by reproduction and photocopying licenses.

Facebook Small Business Grants Programme https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/grants “We know that your business may be experiencing disruptions resulting from the global outbreak of COVID-19. We’ve heard that a little financial support can go a long way, so we are offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time… for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries where we operate. We’ll share more details as they become available.”

Edge Fund https://www.edgefund.org.uk/ “is a grant-making body with a difference. We support efforts to achieve social, economic and environmental justice and to end imbalances in wealth and power – and give those we aim to help a say in where the money goes.”

Edge Fund: Other Funders https://www.edgefund.org.uk/other_funders A list of funders who support similar work to Edge Fund. These “tend to fund more formally set up groups (eg constituted or registered charity) and work that is considered ‘charitable’ (eg many would not support politically motivated / campaign groups but may support campaigns of registered charities).”

Future’s Ventures Foundation http://futuresventure.net/ “Established in 2015 to support the work of artists making radical work with an ethical focus… The work of the Foundation is based on principles agreed at the first meeting of Trustees in 2015. This manifesto forms the ethical basis of all our decisions. Awards are only given to work that clearly supports the ethical and environmental ethos of the Foundation.”

Industry Organisations, Unions, and Advocacy Organisations

Cross-sector Resources

SWARM – Sex Worker Advocacy UK – also running a crowdfund to support sex workers.

United Voices of the World (UVW) Members-led, campaigning trade union for outsourced industries, which are primarily cleaning, catering, portering and security; also including sex workers, artists, architects, social workers, and the legal sector https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/

London Renters Union– housing support and solidarity, help for people facing evictions https://londonrentersunion.org/

ACORN Tenants Union https://acorntheunion.org.uk ACORN tenants’ union is a community based union of working class people – tenants, workers, residents. A member-led campaigning organisation supporting & empowering low-income communities across the country to fight for a better life. They run a facebook group for tenants to discuss their problems – high rents, insecurity, disrepair, deposits etc and support each other to organise collectively for better standards. https://www.facebook.com/groups/tenantsupport/

Gingerbread https://www.gingerbread.org.uk Supporting single parents

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Understanding the Economic Impact (Surveys and Research)

Art Workers Forum survey: (UK-based) Art & Culture workers: How is your boss responding to the COVID-19 pandemic? To keep track of how employers are treating arts workers. “This survey will help us understand the situation, identify which workers need help, and which workplaces and studio spaces we need to hold to account.”

Data collection about sector impacts on freelancers from @laurajsweeney
Calling UK Arts Freelancers! (artists/self-employed arts & cultural workers)
-have you had paid work cancelled/postponed? Pls contribute to this open source spreadsheet to track how COVID-19 is impacting our livelihoods each month #ArtsFreelancersCovid19 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oSOtqRajR5P_hcm2BnasFLb1X5M-FrwFM2J5nsksZM0/edit?usp=sharing

Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre https://www.pec.ac.uk/news/how-can-the-creative-industries-come-together-to-share-how-covid-19-is-impacting-the-sector A central list of all of the various impact surveys running across the industries. Email them to add your survey, and consider sharing data and pooling resources, please!

Official Government Survey: Send questions to be put to government at an evidence session soon (March 18th) https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/petitionscommittee/ “As the result of the large numbers of petitions and signatures we’ve received on coronavirus, we will be putting your concerns and questions directly to the Government at an evidence session (a question and answer session with representatives from the Government) in the coming days. Tell us what question(s) you’d like us to the ask the Government and experts in this short survey.”

Tracy Brabin MP: Call for information about affects of Covid 19 on Freelance community (MP will raise the issue of supporting freelancers in parliament)

Kent Creative are running a survey to understand the support the local creative community’s needs. http://kentcreativearts.co.uk/how-will-the-coronavirus-impact-arts-and-culture-in-kent/ The deadline is 5pm on 25 March.

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Theatre, Performance and Dance

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Visual Arts, Crafts, Design, Illustration

A-N Artists Newsletter https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-guidance-for-artists-and-arts-organisers/ Providing a list of resources specific to the visual arts. Via Twitter: @an_artnews “In light of the Coronavirus Covid-19 public health crisis, we are keen to understand the impact on our membership and visual arts sector. Please take this 5 minute survey to help us identify ways we can advocate on your behalf. Complete by 5pm Mon 23 March” https://surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DF53P25

AOI Association of Illustrators https://theaoi.com/illustrators-and-covid-19/ Excellent clear information on Covid-19 for Illustrators. Guide to financial, emotional and practical support. Illustrators may be able to access funds through the Authors’s Emergency Fund – open to illustrators as well as authors.  You do not need to be a member of either SoA or AOI to apply.

Craft Scotland https://www.craftscotland.org/journal/article/maker-guide-to-coronavirus Makers Guide to Coronavirus, includes information about the Scottish Hardship Fund available through local authorities.

DACS Payback Scheme https://www.dacs.org.uk/for-artists/payback If your work has been published, apply for ‘Payback’ royalties – a share of funds generated by reproduction and photocopying licenses.

Crafts Council: Supporting the Craft Community at this time.
https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/articles/crafts-council-gallery-opening-postponement/
Resources and updates from the Crafts Council for makers. Includes information about government schemes. Also running Makers Meet-up sessions on Zoom, and providing Craft for Home School resources https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/articles/craft-for-home-school1/

Musicians and Music Industry
Writers

WGGB The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain https://writersguild.org.uk/covid-19-advice-for-members/

ALCS https://www.alcs.co.uk “Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is a not-for-profit membership organisation started by writers for the benefit of writers. We collect money that’s due to our members for secondary uses of their work. Since 1977, we have paid out around £500 million.”

Film, Cinema, TV, Interactive and Games

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Mutual Support Groups

Covid Mutual Aid UK https://covidmutualaid.org/ Covid Mutual Aid UK is a group of volunteers supporting local community groups organising mutual aid throughout the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK. We focus on providing resources and connecting people to their nearest local groups, willing volunteers and those in need.

Mutual Aid Community Facebook Groups  https://airtable.com/shrUCI7eE8xDqXLEx/tblFqGvhbICXwl493/viwenxDwDhhfOUiQu?blocks=hide A list of community Facebook groups across the UK, for coordinating the support of people who are self isolating.

Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK: Guide for Supporting Migrants During Coronavirus https://docs.google.com/document/d/11cKMCy08ebN-lJQsP1jvsTcSfwC6YeE8FYrmAZCoZ1w/edit “Many migrants, refugees, and people with insecure immigration status in the UK will be particularly at risk during Coronavirus, due to lack of or restricted access to council services, healthcare, and housing. JCWI, Migrants Organise, and Medact have put together a short guide for Mutual Aid groups to consider how best to support at risk migrants. Please share this far and wide!”

Black and POC / QTIPOC volunteers needed to offer online support to LGBTQI + POC community
https://twitter.com/unmutedbrum/status/1240199717042216962 We’re putting together a timetable of online activity to support our #qtipoc community who have got in touch to say their mental health is impacted by lack of routine and things to look forward to. If you’re a facilitator/artist and can help, click here: https://bit.ly/2TWs7n0

Voluntary Arts #CreativeNetwork Morning Calls https://www.voluntaryarts.org/creativenetwork “A daily online get-together open to anyone involved in arts, culture and creativity who would welcome the opportunity to talk to others about dealing with the current situation, the challenges of working from home and what we can do together to make the most of difficult circumstances. We are starting this open daily Zoom gathering from Tuesday 17 March. 9:30 – 10:30am”

Anti-viral work for freelancers and small businesses Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/142964673673928/ Support and discussion group for freelancers. Resource and information sharing, peer advice. Please read the rules, watch the intro video, search before you post and use tags to help out the poor admins! “On March 11th 2020, we set up a Facebook group called ‘Anti-viral work for freelancers and small businesses’ in response to the severe impact of COVID-19 on the self-employed. Within a week we have grown to over 10,000 members, across sectors and locations. We are still growing every minute.”

Theatre Industry Corona Virus Facebook Group “A group dedicated to the Performing Arts industry to share news, tips, advice or anything helpful to do with the Corona Virus and how it is effecting you/your business.”

Promotional support for independent film makers with festival screenings cancelled “allocating a small amount of our genuinely meagre budget to extra independent film coverage over the coming month or two. Thus: if you’re an independent filmmaker, and have a movie that you want to get reviewed/covered, send us details to screenings at filmstories co uk. If you’ve been due to attend festivals and now can’t, alert us to that too. We will also be using this opportunity to hopefully give more paid writing breaks to reviewers as well.”

London Mayor’s office advice on volunteering in London london.gov.uk//what-we-do/volunteering/coronavirus-covid-19-volunteering

Labour Transformed’s Virtual Social Centre https://virtualsocialcentre.org.uk/
Social Solidarity in the time of Social Distancing

Creative Distance Festival https://creativedistance.org/ Thanet Network of Theatre are already in action to hold an ‘online festival’. Online festival, accepting submissions. Will be Pay-what-you-like. They are doing an open callout and plan to share any donations made by audiences amongst artists. “We plan to stream a series of events, filmed and live-streamed throughout the next month, from real artists, local to thanet and beyond – just for you!”

The Help Hub https://www.instagram.com/the_help_hub/
from Rebecca Mason Neon For artists and small creative businesses In conjunction with The Co-OperARTive @the_cooperartive “This is a hub I have quickly put together in my spare time to try to provide ideas and advice for creatives and small businesses. It started off over the weekend of 14/15 March as a place for me to post some advice and tips based on my own experience as an artist but as the COVID-19 lockdown has escalated etc it is widening to include any useful tips, info, advice, projects and initiatives I find during this time that might help out the self employed creative sector.”

Future Togetherness Handbook: Practices for Community Resilience and Vision https://www.notion.so/Future-Togetherness-Handbook-3ea8b4d78fbc47028f4854ec052e7316 A Wiki-book by Human Systems and Collaborators. Covers community resilience—practices that help people grow and explore together, and that defend against loss of meaning and power games, and future togetherness— that is, inventing the social future together—including design of group rituals and envisioning broader social systems.

Let’s use this breathing space wisely https://parliamentofdreams.com/2020/03/25/lets-use-this-breathing-space-wisely/François Matarasso – community artist, writer and researcher. An article about what the ACE changes might mean for the sector and organisations: what does the future look like? The funding changes just give us space to regroup and plan.

Do it all, for artists’ sake, now. http://www.padwickjonesarts.co.uk/do-it-all-for-artists-sake-now/ “An introduction to the specific economic circumstances of visual artists and, mindful of the wide and extensive impacts of the Corona virus pandemic on their work prospects and livelihoods, a four-point ‘hopeful proposal’ sets out how to ensure artists survive the fall out, and can bring their multiple values to benefit the arts and society in the decade ahead.” Basically: 1. Pay artists for cancelled work anyway 2. Give micro grants for R&D, no matter how tiny 3. raid budgets (travel!) to give hardship grants 4. Care: build community, support people like the lovely humans we are.

COVID-19 Digital Rights Tracker https://www.top10vpn.com/news/surveillance/covid-19-digital-rights-tracker/ This live tracker documents new measures introduced in response to COVID-19 that pose a risk to digital rights around the world.

Open Letter: Contact Tracking and NHSX https://medium.com/@rachelcoldicutt/open-letter-contract-tracking-and-nhsx-e503325b2703 As responsible technologists, we call upon the NHSX leadership and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure new technologies used in the suppression of Coronavirus follow ethical best practice

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Best Practices for Online Teaching


Putting courses online (and why you should do it badly) Rebecca Barrett-Fox https://anygoodthing.com/2020/03/12/please-do-a-bad-job-of-putting-your-courses-online/ An amazing article about the realities of trying to transition fast to online teaching at a time when everyone is stressed, and sick. Read this first.

Curator Space: Call for art workshops and courses for new online listing https://www.curatorspace.com/opportunities/detail/call-for-art-workshops-and-courses-for-new-online-listing/4357 “CuratorSpace is developing a new (free) service for artists who have experience delivering workshops. This service will allow them to set up, organise and promote online courses through CuratorSpace to our international database and social media following. The service will be made available for free for 6 months to support artists who are struggling to make a living due the loss of income from face-to-face workshops.  The new service will allow course organisers to create listings and to accept bookings through CuratorSpace or through their own platforms (e.g. EventBrite). If bookings are taken through CuratorSpace you will be able to accept payment for these and will give you a place to share resources and downloadable material with participants who have signed up.”

JISC Recording lectures: legal considerations https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/recording-lectures-legal-considerations Clarifying the legal aspects of recording lectures at UK further and higher education institutions. (Including performers’ Intellectual property)

JISC Ensuring continuity of learning during enforced absence https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/ensuring-continuity-of-learning-during-enforced-absence Practical tips to maintain teaching, learning and business operations during circumstances where staff or learners are unable to physically spend time on campus.

JISC Designing learning and assessment in a digital age https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/designing-learning-and-assessment-in-a-digital-age A massive guide to learning design for digital delivery in the HE and FE sectors.

JISC Technology and tools for online learning https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/technology-and-tools-for-online-learning Provides guidance, resources and case studies around the use of technologies to support online courses and distance learning programmes.

TaylorKerek – Online Harms: Safety Planning, Privacy and Protection https://taylorkerek.co.uk/online-harms-safety-planning-privacy-and-protection/ The basics of how to plan to retain your privacy online, what actions you can take if you experience online harassment and some links to support resources online. Put together for artists, adults who probably want to continue expressing themselves online, but may well be useful for other people too. Take away messages: It’s never your fault if you experience online harassment, and if you do, please seek support from your trusted loved ones, your employer, the police or online support communities such as iHeartMob.

Online Art & Design Studio Instruction in the Age of “Social Distancing” public Facebook group

“Can’t we just turn it into a digital exhibition?” https://twitter.com/katiprice/status/1243142790588006400 A useful thread of GLAM professionals talking about what ‘good’ digital looks like, and why it isn’t just ‘putting the exhibition online’ Also links to Kajsa Hartig on Museums in the Digital Space https://medium.com/@kajsahartig/museums-in-the-digital-space-some-reflections-on-online-exhibitions-758a24ca50c4

Open Culture http://www.openculture.com/2020/03/use-your-time-in-isolation-to-learn-everything-youve-always-wanted-to.html Use Your Time in Isolation to Learn Everything You’ve Always Wanted To: Free Online Courses, Audio Books, eBooks, Movies, Coloring Books & More; plus a database of free online courses http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

MCN Guide to Virtual Museum Resources http://mcn.edu/a-guide-to-virtual-museum-resources

Coursera https://www.coursera.org/ Free to join, some courses free, you can get a certificate from Universities if you complete. Select ‘audit’ option for the free version.

Teaching Art Online Under COVID-19 https://hyperallergic.com/547986/teaching-art-online-under-covid-19/

Distance-Learning Tips for Gallatin Arts Workshops (NYU) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sCy0T8-0_B8vPvQoh8jjGtyyOGys40_HwiNUfcOM_s4/edit?

Accessible Teaching in the Time of Covid 19 https://www.mapping-access.com/blog-1/2020/3/10/accessible-teaching-in-the-time-of-covid-19 (suggestions come from disability culture and community)

SignLive https://signlive.co.uk/ Live BSL interpreters, available 24/7

Cambridge University Press: Free Textbooks https://www.cambridge.org/core/what-we-publish/textbooks CUP is making higher education textbooks in HTML format free to access online during the coronavirus outbreak. Over 700 textbooks, published and currently available, on Cambridge Core are available regardless of whether textbooks were previously purchased. Free access is available until the end of May 2020.

Yodomo: Making a Living https://yodomo.co/collections/making-a-living Yodomo is designing free courses to help artists and makers support themselves using digital tools, including How to conduct a live webinar / Public funding for creative businesses / How to shoot creative video content / Developing a workshop for corporate clients / Crowdfunding for your creative business / Finance for creative businesses / Social media for arts, crafts and design / How to create a home photographic studio / Learn how to create digital content. Register interest and let them know which courses are most useful.

Critical Commons https://criticalcommons.org/latest
A free media sharing service that does not do automated copyright takedowns (in over 10 years, they have never removed a piece of media due to a copyright challenge), Critical Commons is ideal for uploading and sharing media clips and critical commentaries with classes.

Association for Theatre in Higher Education – Resources list
https://www.athe.org/page/resources_teaching_online

Resources For Teaching Media Production Courses Online In Case Of Emergency
https://docs.google.com/document/d/115zQ_t-mS-iuhJj6GKiK9vHkteIwW06yAw2Rh8SJm1c/preview List of resources for teaching media production remotely / online

How to Be a Better Online Teacher Advice Guide https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/advice-online-teaching From the Chronicle of Higher Education.

FutureLearn – How To Teach Online: Providing Continuity for Students
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/teach-online FREE Practical course for educators designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taught by Learning Designers from FutureLearn, which is an online MOOC platform developed by the Open University. See all their online teaching courses: https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/teaching-courses/how-to-teach-online Disclosure: Kim worked with these guys recently – they know their stuff.

CourseCraft An Artist’s Guide to Creating an E-Course https://coursecraft.net/c/artists-guide/splash A free online course in creating online courses. Is a ‘barker’ for the platform they’ve used – you may be heavily marketed to, we haven’t checked; proceed according to your comfort with that.

Artworks Alliance’s Knowledge Bank (Participatory Arts) https://www.artworksalliance.org.uk/knowledge-bank/ Research, evaluations and reports, toolkits and guidance, case studies and videos to help develop participatory arts practice. “We are a group of organisations and individuals with a passion for participatory arts… working together to strengthen support …both the organisations delivering participatory arts and the artists working in the field, leading to higher quality experiences for participants.“

Collective Encounters’ Centre for Excellence (Participatory Theatre) http://collective-encounters.org.uk/centre-for-excellence/ “The Centre for Excellence in Participatory Theatre is a virtual space for learning and debate. It is for anyone with a passion for participatory theatre. It aims to advocate for, strengthen and connect the participatory theatre movement nationally and internationally.”

Home Schooling Ideas and Resources

Activites to do whilst at home https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WCc2zM7M8HtIVUqu1mRY9NwGR96pT_71jBXCkw9NGsk/edit?usp=sharing A spreadsheet collection of activities and resources for people home-schooling kids now UK schools are closed.

Parent.club https://www.parentclub.scot/topics/health/coronavirus Resources from the Scottish government for parents, including how to talk to your kids about coronavirus, lesson ideas, working from home tips etc.

Home Educating advice from Phillippa Perry
https://twitter.com/Philippa_Perry/status/1241072631249584128 “Hello new educators, I think you are going to relish home schooling your amazing children. Here’s a bit of applied psychology that might help.”

Audible Stories https://stories.audible.com/start-listen For as long as schools are closed, we’re open. Starting today, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese) for free, so they can keep learning, dreaming and just being kids.

The Make Bank https://www.themakebank.org.uk A social project which addresses issues associated with creative poverty, enabling disadvantaged young people to pursue creative educations and careers. Provides Art and Design Kits for disadvantaged pupils who want to pursue creative education and a creative career. Pupils can apply for a Make Bank kit in partnership with their teacher and we will send each kit directly to their school.

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Online Platforms, Tools and Remote Working

CovidCreativesToolkit ✂️https://blog.codekat.net/post/614021219451273216/covid-creatives-toolkit-mutual-aid-for-digital Covid Creatives Toolkit: Mutual aid for digital spaces from Kat Baybrooke: “A set of curated* mostly free & open source resources to support creative practitioners (artists, makers, curators, designers, hackers, educators, facilitators, etc) who need to migrate their practice onto digital places & spaces, and don’t have time to mess around.” Kat’s list is a little more focused than this one, and has many useful links to bootstrapping a digital practice.

Remote Working Advice and Resources

Suzanne Yada: How musicians (and other creatives too) can transition their business online ASAP https://medium.com/@suzanneyada/how-musicians-and-other-creatives-too-can-transition-their-business-online-asap-d580189bacf8 This is a really good, straightforward article with clear advice about how to set up an online side-hustle to support yourself. Breathe, and start small.

Remote Work Survival Kit – comprehensive document of resources for working from home, including technical advice, logistics, mental health etc

Coronavirus tech handbook – evolving resource for technologists, civic organisations, public & private institutions, including resources for librarians, and for people working from home

Accessibility in Video Conferencing and Remote Meetings “what we have learned so far and how we approach online video conferencing in order to make it more accessible for everyone.” https://www.drakemusic.org/blog/becky-morris-knight/accessibility-in-video-conferencing-and-remote-meetings/

Lauren Currie: How the fuck do you work at home with a baby? Tips for working from home when you’re a new parent. https://laurencurrie.co/redjotterblog/2020/3/19/how-the-fuck-do-you-work-at-home-with-a-baby

FutureLearn: Digital Skills for the Workplace A collection of FREE short courses (4h/week, 2 weeks) includes collaborative remote working course, and social media marketing. “Discover essential digital skills such as coding, design, marketing and using data, or focus on professional skills such as great communication, resilience and working remotely.” Disclosure: Kim wrote three of these!

Scottish Contemporary Art Network: Digital Working Meetings and Events Factsheet “When we asked members what sort of support and advice they needed to help deal with the effects of Coronavirus, one clear area was in working digitally, including holding remote meetings and events. There is so much to learn about out there, so as a starter we have pulled together a factsheet with tools and tips on working remotely, running digital meetings and conferences, and live streaming. It also contains some useful links.”

Wikimedia Foundation: WikiProject Remote Event Participation https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiProject_remote_event_participation
This is quite an interesting article from Wikimedia Foundation, listing all the different remote and collaborative working tools out there and an overview of what they do. The aim of WikiProject remote event participation is to facilitate the remote participation in Wikimedia-related events or to craft completely online alternatives to in-real-life meetups.

Trello – How to Embrace Remote Work https://info.trello.com/embrace-remote-work-ultimate-guide

Buffer – Everything we know about Remote Work https://open.buffer.com/remote-work/ Comprehensive list of articles on remote work published by a fully remote digital social company. See also A Guide To Conquering Remote Work Loneliness from Remote Workers Around the World https://open.buffer.com/remote-work-loneliness/

Zapier – Ultimate guide to remote work https://zapier.com/learn/remote-work/ A huge collection of resources on working remotely, managing remote team and collaboration tools that you can also download as an ebook (epub and mobi) or PDF

In The Ether https://intheether.xyz/ In the Ether is an approach to fully remote meet-ups, meetings, conferences and events. It is a remote first approach to bring like minded people together from across the globe, to discuss, share and learn about topics they care about:

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Platforms for Video Conferences, Meeting, Streaming, Broad/Narrowcasting

The Space: Live streaming for the arts: lo-fi and low cost options https://www.thespace.org/resource/live-streaming-arts-lo-fi-and-low-cost-options A guide to live streaming, concentrating on lo-fi and cheap technology options. “Jason Crouch, a freelance digital consultant with expertise in live streaming and a PhD in contemporary arts and technology, shares his tips on how to get started.”

Platforms for collaborative documents and research
  • Padlet – collaborative boards, documents, and webpages
  • Notion – all-in-one collaborative workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.
  • Are.na – Save content, create collections, and connect ideas with other people. Collaborative bookmarking and research tool.
  • Microsoft FlipGrid https://info.flipgrid.com/

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Digital Tools to Manage Your Creative Practice

Unity https://unity.com/learn Free cross-platform games / VR / AR coding tool offering 3 months free tutorials. “COVID-19 community support: Unity is committed to supporting our community of creators during this challenging time. Get three months of complimentary access to Unity Learn Premium, and join Create with Code Live, a virtual course for students, teachers, or anyone interested in learning to code.” https://learn.unity.com/course/create-with-code-live https://store.unity.com/academic/unity-student

Free Software for the Creative Industry
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19fL3JD0v-AfuTdAdY9r4mlxb2OyUZZvx8lW31VE9Q2A/edit#gid=0 A google sheet with a mix of free-as-in-libre and free-as-in-beer software for creative use: video editing, 3d modelling, games environments… Also has a sheet of covid-19 special offers from software vendors.

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Health and Mental Health Resources

If you need medical help for any reason, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. If you have symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature or a new, continuous cough), use the NHS 111 coronavirus service online. Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.

NHS Coronavirus Covid-19 information https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ NHS information about how coronavirus is spread and how to avoid catching or spreading germs.

The Samaritans @samaritans – https://samaritans.org 116 123

Mind UK @mindcharity – http://mind.org.uk 0300 123 3393


UK Government Guidance on social distancing for everyone in the UK and protecting older people and vulnerable adults https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

UK Government Stay at home: guidance for households with possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

Mencap Easy Read Guide to Coronavirus https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/health/coronavirus “Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new type of illness. There are now a number of people in the UK who have got it and it is spread easily. We have created some easy ready information about Coronavirus for you to use.”

Helplines

  • The Samaritans – 116 123
  • Asthma UK helpline – 0300 222 5800
  • Diabetes UK helpline – 0345 123 2399
  • Age UK helpline – 0800 678 1602
  • British Heart Foundation helpline – 0300 330 3311
  • Scope helpline – 0808 800 3333 (Type Talk by dialling 18001)
  • Mind UK – 0300 123 3393
  • Money advice – 0800 138 7777
Addiction Control

ReportCOVID Self-reporting of COVID19 cases: https://reportcovid.org/

Unlimited: Access: Autoimmune Conditions https://weareunlimited.org.uk/staff-with-autoimmune-conditions/ Best practice for employers and employees for supporting staff with autoimmune conditions

Rachel Dobbs Self Care Checklist for Precarious Workers https://rachel.we-are-low-profile.com/blog/self-care-checklist-precarious-workers/ Excellent checklist to help you think through the impact of work opportunities, and help you to say no to ones that may be inappropriate at that time. “As precarious work (self-employed, freelance, zero hours etc) becomes increasingly the norm for countless workers, what do we need to think about to ensure that the work we do does us more good than harm? This self care checklist offers an easy way to reflect on how best to choose the work you do as a precarious worker.” Inspired by Sheila Ghelani’s Checklist of Care

Mind: Coronavirus and your Wellbeing https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/ Excellent mental health support for dealing with Coronavirus and self-isolation.

ArtsMinds https://www.artsminds.co.uk Set up to support people in the creative industries ArtsMinds is a collaborative initiative from BAPAM (British Association of Performing Arts Medicine), Equity, Spotlight and The Stage to bring together into one place a raft of resources for performers and creative practitioners facing mental health issues. 

Music Minds Matter https://www.musicmindsmatter.org.uk If you work in music and are struggling to cope, or know someone who is, talk to us. It doesn’t have to be a crisis, or about music. We have trained advisors that are here to listen, support and help at any time. You can contact Music Minds Matter on 0808 802 8008 or email MMM@helpmusicians.org.uk.

Care for your Coronavirus Anxiety https://www.virusanxiety.com Resources for anxiety and your mental health in a global climate of uncertainty.

UK Government: COVID-19: cleaning in non-healthcare settings https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings “This guidance covers the cleaning of environments in the community.” Cleaning procedures for non-healthcare settings.

QueerCare Resources https://queercare.network/our-work/resources/covid-19/ Includes protocol for disinfecting deliveries to self-isolating vulnerable people. (CW: this one can feel a bit overwhelming as the disinfection protocol is incredibly thorough.)

At Home Guidelines to Reduce Risk of COVID-19 – pdf based on best practices employed by Crumpton Group (CG) risk management professionals throughout their careers in government and the private sector. drive.google.com/file/d/1d-SDoNN7HqSTfdMPjk-j6mEMw17ERq60/view

Useful Links for Disabled People COVID-19-UK https://tinyurl.com/DPsCovidList A master list of #covidー19uk mutual aid resources for Disabled people with a UK focus. It includes template letters/policy for PAs & carers, survival guides, support groups and signposting. Please share widely. Solidarity forever x (via @Fran_Face ) The list includes resources relevant to people on low incomes, workers, renters and anyone else requiring mutual aid.

Free Sewing pdf template to make facemasks for healthcare workers https://freesewing.org/blog/facemask-frenzy/

NMD United COVID-19 Plan & Prep Guide– NMD is a non-profit organization composed of adults living with neuromuscular disabilities https://www.nmdunited.org/covid-19-guide

Protect yourself from RSI if you’re Working From Home Check that your chair and desk are at a good height, and that you aren’t reaching too far or flexing your wrists at a bad angle on your keyboard. If you can, use an external monitor or raise up your laptop and use an external keyboard. Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a real thing, and if you’re a bit more stressed than usual you’re likely to be tensing up and placing more strain on your back, neck and arms. There’s more advice on the NHS website about preventing RSI https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/tips-to-prevent-rsi/ and on good sitting positions for working https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/how-to-sit-correctly/.

UCL Covid-19 Social Research Study http://www.covid19study.org Take part in a new social research study into the psychological and social experiences of Covid-19 in the UK. The study by MARCH Network is open to all adults in the UK. Participation involves answering a 15-minute online survey now and then answering a shorter 10-minute follow-up survey once a week whilst social isolation measures are in place.

Sanctus: Managing your Mental Health during the Coronavirus Outbreak https://sanctus.io/managing-your-mental-health-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/ A good reminder that feeling anxiety at the moment is normal, and steps you can take to manage that.

Protect Your Mental Health While Social Distancing https://sojo.net/articles/protect-your-mental-health-while-practicing-social-distancing

That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief David Kessler is the world’s foremost expert on grief. He shared his thoughts on why it’s important to acknowledge the grief you may be feeling, how to manage it, and how he believes we will find meaning in it.

Jamie Hale: Surviving Inside – fifteen tips on how to cope with self-isolation
http://jamiehale.co.uk/surviving-inside-self-isolation-advice/ “Last summer I spent 6 months in hospital… Before that, I’ve spent long periods bed and housebound due to illness and inadequate equipment and support. This list is based on the things that made those experiences liveable“

A Therapist on What You Need to Know About Your Own Mental Health in the Time of COVID19 https://www.autostraddle.com/a-therapist-on-what-you-need-to-know-about-your-own-mental-health-in-the-time-of-covid19/ Really good overview of some key impacts on mental health, and the psychological mechanisms behind them.

Exercising 

Because not all of us live near a park/ have a personal gym: 

The Body Coach on Youtube has workouts for adults and kids https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ

https://www.youtube.com/user/popsugartvfit popsugar has videos (very american :grinning:) and yoga too

Yoga with Adrienne, is very accessible and also has kids and family workouts including yoga for anxiety..etc https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFKE7WVJfvaHW5q283SxchA

Laura’s pilates teacher (and many others) REALLY rate Pilates Anytime: https://www.pilatesanytime.com/ They do a 15 day free trial.

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Opportunities, Open Calls, Job Sites, Temporary and Remote Jobs

Open Calls, Commissions and Opportunities

University of the Underground http://universityoftheunderground.org/university-underground-announces-underground-cloud allocating its charity budget towards delivery of online classes in support of creative freelancers, nightlife artists and alumnae. Open call for students, and for freelance creatives to teach online classes. Emphasis is on radical changes to education and creativity, public participatory practice. Open Call Announced: Tuesday 24th March Deadline for all sign-ups and proposals:  Friday 3rd April, 23:59 GMT Results Communicated: Monday 6th April Programme begins: Wednesday 8th April End of Programme: TBC (likely end of June)

Flamin Fellowship 20-21 http://flamin.filmlondon.org.uk/projects/flamin-fellowship “Calling early-career moving image artists living in England! Applications are now open for The #FLAMINFellowship 2020-21, our development and commissioning programme offering £2,500 funding, professional practice workshops & mentoring Apply by 5 May.”

Linda Bloomfield’s #OpportunityTuesday twitter thread of 10 #artsopps, commissions, open calls and applications closing soon. Always PAID (or free/cheap for training) and for a range of artists; emerging to mid-career, 16-80+ https://twitter.com/LindaBxx/status/1242545552082026502 – this one lists corona-specific opportunities and commission calls.

Artist Open Calls Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1592211484404009/ Post Artist opportunities, Call For Entries, Open Call, Residency, Arts Job, Artist Opps

Employing Artists FB Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/212320030134739/
(Mainly US?) Use this group solely for the purpose of offering at-home employment or suggesting at-home income sources to artists who have suddenly lost their other means of employment.

ArtQuest WFH Residency https://www.artquest.org.uk/project/wfh-residency/ A £1K award to support (London based?) artists during the covid-19 pandemic. Projects should aim to generate content that can be shared online &/or are physically viewable from wherever you are. Applications open from 10am Monday 30 March until 10am Monday 1 July 2020. 4 awards, one per month. Check eligibility and apply at the link.

Artquest AWP Internships https://www.artquest.org.uk/project/awp-internships/ “Annual internship programme for recent graduates from University of the Arts London in high-quality internships at some of London’s most respected small scale arts organisations.” (Applications may be closed for 19-20)

ArtRabbit Artist Opportunitites https://www.artrabbit.com/artist-opportunities “A selection of international open calls and opportunities for contemporary art related competitions, prizes, exhibitions, awards, proposals, and grants for artists, writers and curators.”

ArtLicks Opportunities http://artlicks.com/opportunities

ArtQuest opportunities https://www.artquest.org.uk/opportunities/ “Updated daily from a huge selection of magazines, newsletters, emails, submissions and tips from artists. Only high-quality, fair opportunities are listed, and never for advertising fees.”

Become a Yodomo.co Instructor https://yodomo.co/pages/become-a-yodomo-instructor Register your interest in becoming a Yodomo Instructor – online platform for crafting projects.

LeedsTrinity University virtual placements scheme for media students (FB Group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/LTUVirtualPlacements2020/
For Freelancers, small businesses and other good folk who could do with a helping hand from a media student seeking work experience.

https://twitter.com/tracylandu/status/1241129049726091265 Just, :heart emoji: for @tracylandu. The kids are alright.

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Jobs Boards and Job Listings Sites

Arts Job Finder https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/jobs Jobs listings for jobs in arts and culture from Arts Professional @artsjobsfinder, Facebook

Arts Jobs Online https://www.artsjobsonline.com/ We deliver a diverse range of jobs in arts, culture and heritage via web, email and social media. @artsjobsonline Facebook

Artful Jobs https://artfuljobs.com Arts, museums, cultural and creative job listings for the UK

Arts Council Arts Jobs http://www.artsjobs.org.uk/arts-jobs-listings/

Arts and Media Jobs https://www.artsandmediajobs.com/

Art, Frankly; https://artfrankly.com/

Creative Opportunities by UAL http://creativeopportunities.arts.ac.uk/findajob

Creative Pool http://creativepool.com/jobs/

Creative Entrepreneurs Club – Job Board https://creativeentrepreneursclub.co.uk/job-board/

The Dots https://the-dots.com/jobs/search “A professional network for the people and teams that don’t wear suits to work. We connect, support and champion the people, teams and brands that make ideas happen. Get credit for the projects you’ve worked on, network, collaborate and land your next dream job or client.”

D.R.A.W Recruitment https://www.drawrecruitment.com/jobs/ “D.R.A.W is a market-leading Recruitment Agency, specialising in Arts Jobs and sourcing talent for the Fine Art, Auction, Antiques and Luxury Markets sector.”

English Heritage https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/jobs/job-search/

Glassdoor https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Job

Guardian Jobs:

If You Could https://ifyoucouldjobs.com/jobs Creative jobs board from It’s Nice That. “If you’re a charity or a social enterprise we can help you promote your job for free.”

Museum Association http://www.museumsassociation.org/find-a-job

Museum Jobs http://www.museumjobs.com/

National Museums Directors Council https://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/jobs/

Dribbbble https://dribbble.com/jobs

Behance https://www.behance.net/joblist

Angel List – https://angel.co/jobs Tech/startup jobs, including designers and content producers. US but has London / Edinburgh / Remote listings.

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Freelance Directories and Marketplaces

Bless Our Hustle https://blessourhustle.com/ Support and hire creative freelancers. “A directory with UK-based creatives working across different parts of the sector – many in depserate need of work after suddenly losing income. If you are not able to provide paid work, you can still help by sharing this website with as many people as possible. If you are someone working in the industry and have recently lost income, and would like to be added to the directory, please visit the Submission Form link in the main menu.“

Fiverr https://www.fiverr.com/start_selling Freelance work marketplace

UpWork https://www.upwork.com Freelance work marketplace for freelancers and agencies, mainly digital / online roles.

YunoJuno https://www.yunojuno.com/ “The YunoJuno platform pairs the UK’s best creative professionals with the best freelance jobs, on-site or remote.”

Black Book https://www.blkbk.co/ “A non-profit community of freelance graphic, motion, product, brand, interface, experience designers, developers, illustrators, strategists and makers based in the UK, Europe & USA.” You can apply to be a freelancer.

Ilovecreatives https://ilovecreatives.com/ Find and hire freelance creatives, job ads. US, also covers London.

Women Who Design https://womenwho.design/ A Twitter directory of accomplished women in the design industry.

People Per Hour https://www.peopleperhour.com/ Freelance marketplace: set up a profile and receive job requests.

My Opportunity https://www.myopportunity.com/ “Hire, Recruit, Network, Job Hunt, & Prospect Sales Leads with Artificial Intelligence.”

Topal https://www.toptal.com/ Freelance marketplace that aims at ‘top 3%’ of freelancers. Mainly tech, design, product management and digital roles.

Working not Working https://workingnotworking.com/ “We seek out the most respected, most awarded, and hardest working creatives so companies don’t have to.” Freelance marketplace for vetted creatives across many disciplines. Unclear from site if you need to pay to be a creative, or if it’s just hiring companies that pay.

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Remote Work Opportunities

Hire Academics https://twitter.com/hireanacademic “Aggregating #remotework opportunities for academics (consulting, freelance, full-time etc). Apply & please RT! Work in progress by @ebyral.”

Remote Working opportunities list https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lMb_k8s3PcnL_5R9eOwobOooLniCGdT2seWlGKFuAps/preview (US based list, some may be open to UK people too, needs checking!)

List of Interdisciplinary Remote & Remote-Friendly Employers https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5VZipnZVrb-5HvtedCIbI3uFixnjfVK8cEN4gz9Rmc/htmlview?sle=true#gid=0 (by Words Of Mouth http://www.wordsofmouth.org a US based opportunities newsletter.)

Rev.com https://www.rev.com/freelancers Earn money transcribing or captioning from home. [edit: as of March 23rd, no new work available; check back in coming weeks]

Remote https://remote.com/remote-jobs “Remote jobs for anyone, anywhere.” Mainly tech industry roles

Remote IO https://www.remote.io/ “Careers for the location independent, digital nomads, and those wishing to work from home” Mainly tech but includes customer support roles, and content roles.

Remote Hub https://remotehub.io/ “Get a remote job, Apply with one profile and keep track of your job applications” Mainly tech, may include some design and social media roles.

Pro Remote Jobs https://proremotejobs.com/ “Work remotely from your home or anywhere in the world!” (Currently seems to have no listings available.)

Remote OK https://remoteok.io Programming, design, marketing roles.

Remotive https://remotive.io/ ‘Find a remote startup job’. Mainly tech roles, includes design, social and customer support. However, this one has a cute illustration of Doge on it.

We Work Remotely https://weworkremotely.com/ Another remote tech jobs site. Includes project management, marketing, design and copywriting roles.

Working Nomads http://www.workingnomads.co/jobs “We curate the best digital jobs for those looking to start their telecommuting career.” Tech, design, some marketing and management. Oh god all these sites just feel identical, sorry.

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Nice Things to Do Whilst You’re Socially Isolating

The Social Distancing Festival https://www.socialdistancingfestival.com/ The Social Distancing Festival is an online artist’s community made to celebrate and showcase the work of the many artists around the world who have been affected by the need for social distancing that has come about due to the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Grayson Perry’s Art Club https://www.swanfilms.tv/2020/03/enter-your-artwork-here/ “@Alan_Measles “Please join my Art Club. I’m inviting the nation to my studio. I’ll be showing you what I’m up to, talking to other artists and I want you to send me images of what you are making #C4ArtClub@Channel4 here is where you can upload your art https://bit.ly/2UwlQyG

Fermynwoods Isolated Moments http://fermynwoods.org/tag/isolated-moments/ Creative prompts set by artists. “We’ve asked some of our staff and artists to provide online workshops, prompts and tutorials for our series Isolated Moments, to keep spirits buoyed and creativity alive during COVID-19 global social isolating and quarantining measures. Our first online workshop is for people who think they can’t draw, courtesy of Jessica Harby, artist and Assistant Director of Fermynwoods Contemporary Art.“

Wysing Arts Centre Residencies http://www.wysingartscentre.org/whats_on/residencies/2020_residencies “Throughout 2020, online and digital communities will have greater importance as we seek to support and connect with one another throughout the current global health crisis. Through residencies, live broadcasts, podcasts and events we will use digital and other technologies to connect with remote and physically distant audiences in a way that privileges listening as much as the transmission of ideas and which builds and sustains radical online communities.”

Get Creative at Home https://getcreativeuk.com Festival of participatory creativity goes online, is providing a central hub for listing online events and activities around arts and creativity at home. Linked to the BBC’s Quarantine Culture festival.

Quarantine Book Club https://www.quarantinebookclub.com Talk to authors without touching anyone. Chats happen over Zoom. After getting a ticket you’ll be sent a login link two hours before the event. Tickets are $5. Asking Authors to get in touch – scroll to bottom of the page.

Quaranzines https://www.instagram.com/p/B9uU9QCl0Cr/ Digital zine swap: “Quaranzines is a big Google drive folder of zines. Can be about anything and any medium (if it’s on paper you could take pictures). Can be made anytime but we encourage new ones. Suggested donation to a mutual aid fund (on venmo). Reaaaally loose timeline – we just wanna make art and have community”

New York Public Library remote resource– free ebook borrowing for laptop and mobile

OneStar Press: Free PDFs of Books by Artists http://onestarpress.com/books

BBC Virtual Festival Culture In Quarantine: bringing arts and culture into the home

Ann Arbor Film festival – live-streaming its programme from 24th march

OnTheBoards.TV Subscription service to watch streamed contemporary performance, offering free streaming through the end of April 2020. Use the code ARTATHOME20.

90 days of free MUBI film streaming https://mubi.com/watershed Bristol indie cinema Watershed has done a deal with MUBI to offer 90 days of free streaming. You’ll need to enter your credit card but they won’t take payment, and you can cancel at any time before 90 days is up.
*Film/ art students can sign up for free using their .ac.uk email address*

CPH:DOX https://cphdox.shift72.com/ Online Documentary Film Festival

IDFA https://www.idfa.nl/en/collection/documentaries?page=1&filters%5BtvPrice%5D=Free Free documentaries to watch online (some interactive)

Bertha DocHouse – A Creative Response to Self-Isolation (Competition)
https://dochouse.org/cinema/screenings/creative-response-self-isolation-competition
A call out for documentary form creative responses to self-isolation that are produced at home. We will then choose a winner, who will receive £50 + social media promotion. Accepting short films, desktop docs, essays, articles and reviews that form a non-fiction response to the theme of self-isolation. Deadline Tue 31 March

Open Justice online video exhibition https://www.openjustice.ca/ curated by Ronald Rose-Antoinette, commissioned by Denise Ferreira da Silva March 06 — June 05

MayDay Radio https://audio.maydayrooms.org/ an experiment in oral histories and sound production, will be broadcasting programmes online for the next few months

450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free

Tolstoy Reading Club https://twitter.com/APublicSpace/status/1239702990782676992 Join Yiyun Li and A Public Space for a free virtual book club. Let’s read #TolstoyTogether. WAR AND PEACE starts Wednesday, March 18. https://apublicspace.org/news

Covid-19 Creative Tool-kit https://www.dayofaccess.co.uk/2020/03/covid-19-creative-tool-kit.html “We’re all going to run out of box-sets, so please send your suggestions for this creative tool-kit, in particular, let’s share ways of being creative for those who find themselves in isolation. These are suggestions I’ve received, borrowed, or stolen, adding in a few of my own. I won’t be crediting authors for these. You are welcome to share them on any platform as long as you make it clear they are by many different people. I add new ones regularly.“

Isolation Art School https://www.instagram.com/isolationartschool/
Creative community. Projects, lessons and tips by artists to help people get creative while housebound during Covid19 crisis. #isolationartschool @artistsupportpledge

It’s True, It’s True, It’s True: Artemisia on Trial https://twitter.com/breach_theatre/status/1241059320546168832 Streaming online via Youtube from 31st March 2020 for 30 days

Art Monthly https://twitter.com/ArtMonthly/status/1241312813127213056 “We have made 3 recent issues of Art Monthly available for free in their entirety via our digital partner, Exact Editions. You can read these issues either online or through the ‘Exactly’ iOS/Android app – we recommend the app on an iPad. Happy reading!” https://shop.exacteditions.com/art-monthly

Good Mammals https://goodmammals.com/ Companies that do good in times of crisis. “COVID-19 is a nasty bug, but some are trying to ease things out. We’ve collected a list of great offers from companies that help you get through the #stayhome period. Products that are usually paid and are now free, subscriptions discounts, giveaways, or simply put – things you should be checking right now.”

Stuck at home? View cultural heritage collections online
http://www.openobjects.org.uk/2020/03/stuck-at-home-view-cultural-heritage-collections-online/ Huge list of GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) collections that are available digitally. From @mia_out 

Quarantine Chat https://quarantinechat.com/ Talk on the phone with someone else stuck at home. Get calls at random times and get paired with another person in a one-on-one. Talk about anything: what you’re cooking for dinner, your dreams, or the global economy. It’s totally free, worldwide, and your number is anonymised.

IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) nearly 800 films and projects streamed for free or a small amount www.idfa

Identify Media www.identifymedia.net offering free advice on social media and digital marketing

Creative Quarantine https://wearenonsuch.com/creativequarantine/ From Nonsuch. Creative Quarantine is a daily email of creative activities and adventures for people young and old to do in their own home. Led by a group of artists and creatives who’ve been sent home because of the coronavirus, like most of the country, we want to test what’s possible, have fun and connect with people across the world. So whilst we’re all inside our homes, let’s be as creative as possible!

Jamyang Buddhist Centre Online Programme https://jamyang.co.uk/index.php/buddhism/online-programme
meditation courses and dharma talks

12ø Collective 30/30 project https://www.12ocollective.com 30works30days, is a month long project for artists where they are required to submit a new piece of work daily, every day for the month of April. If you fail to submit something on one of the days, you are out of the project. 30/30 is to encourage making and experimentation, testing what you think you know about your practice. Registration fee of £3 goes towards 12ø’s running costs, if you can’t afford to pay the £3 fee please email us to arrange for free registration Now FREE thanks to support from ArtQuest

Friday Art Club https://www.fridayart.club/
STEP 1 On Monday think about of an idea for your art project: it could be a photo, a drawing, a painting, wood carving … STEP 2 From Tuesday to Friday realise your Art Project. STEP 3 Take a photo, send it to us and we will post it on this website, Instagram and Facebook during the week-end.

AtHomeAlone https://www.athomealone.co.uk/ A round up website of the all things you can do during isolation or lockdown. “We will bring you the apps and the websites that you can use whilst you are at home. We’ll keep you fit, keep you educated, keep you entertained and keep you positive – and if you have any ideas just let us know.” Join their Facebook group to keep updated.


What Artists Listen To https://www.whatartistslistento.com
…a podcast that explores the stories and soundtracks of artist’s lives

Five Films for Freedom https://film.britishcouncil.org/about/work/fivefilmsforfreedom
FIVE FILMS FOR FREEDOM The world’s widest-reaching digital celebration of LGBTIQ+ themed film. Watch for free until 29 March 2020.

Goldsmiths CCA https://goldsmithscca.art/channels/ Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art videos of recent talks

London: Independant bookshops offering free delivery for books
https://www.timeout.com/london/news/london-bookshops-are-delivering-books-for-free-to-those-in-self-isolation-031720

Corona Games by Human Systems https://www.notion.so/Corona-Games-f18f1e6546494e74b323cbe81248a6da
We might be quarantined, but we can still connect. And have fun. And enjoy life together. Here are some games for you to play. All you need are humans on the other side of a video chat, and time. The list beneath will grow as our friends, old and new, send us their games. Scroll down to request a game or ritual you want us to custom-make for you, or if you want to submit your own game.

Create to Connect from DoThinkShare http://dothinkshare.com/creative-inspiration/create-to-connect/ 14 days of daily creative challenge prompts.

National Videogames Museum https://www.thenvm.org/nvm-at-home Worksheets and suggestions for educational games that are actually fun.

Loose Threads https://www.threadskent.com/loose-threads WHEN _ TWO + BECOME = |_ONE_| a digital exhibition of seven curated rooms from Threads

Forced Collaboration https://forcedcollaboration.org an online platform that matches artist’s practices anonymously and creates a space for cross-disciplinary collaborations. Running a Self-Isolation special, apply by 1st April. https://www.instagram.com/forcedcollaboration_/ Run by Georgia Gendall

Art Refuge Corona Quilt https://artrefuge.org.uk/corona-quilt Take part in an innovative idea from @artrefugeuk to bring us together in this time of self-isolation. Help create a piece of a patchwork tablecloth, a #coronaquilt, on the theme of ‘Rituals of the Everyday’. And share your pattern with others.

Seb’s Art List https://sebsartlist.com/ Online art events calendar – listings for online arts events, and a Coronoavirust list. https://sebsartlist.com/covid-19-updates

Free Theatre Screenings https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JC9gQn8-e_hL6vZGPBENdt_a3QEkcZVmbi3rv4_xNzE/ Google spreadsheet of free streaming theatre, organised by date.

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Misc. Wisdom

This too shall pass. It’s going to be OK.

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Other Lists

COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources (US / International List) https://covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/ The original list which this UK list grew from. Thank you!

Creative Scotland Covid-19 Directory https://www.creativescotland.com/resources/professional-resources/covid-19-directory Excellent and comprehensive list of resources from Creative Scotland

Tutti Space https://www.tutti.space/free-resources “We have compiled a list of free resources for freelancers struggling in the UK because of COVID-19 and its widespread affects. None of them are created by us – we’ve simply found them online and thought they might be useful to our community, so compiled them here.” Has more coverage on transitioning work online, Live Streaming and Temporary work than this list.

 Independent Arts Projects http://www.independentartsprojects.com/covid-19-impact-on-arts-workers/ COVID-19 Impact on Arts Workers. Signposting benefits, statements, support for arts workers following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mayday Report Covid-19 resource list
https://airtable.com/shr3bbDqHOjxPuAJb/tblO4FZsug5Kkd6NJ/viwbyl5E4SQOQtfBG?blocks=bipzTW6e5rs4bIadS This doc was created by the team at www.mayday.report We are a collective of activists, writers, & data scientists dedicated to helping foster resilience in these uncertain times.

The Skinny: Support for artists and creatives (Scotland) https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/news/coronavirus-support-for-artists-and-creatives Some advice and information on support for artists and creatives affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in Scotland

Museum Freelance Dealing With The Covid-19 Outbreak As A Freelancer https://www.museumfreelance.org/news-and-views/2020/3/13/dealing-with-covid-19-outbreak-as-a-freelancer

PowerPlay Theatre https://mobile.twitter.com/pplaytheatre/status/1239495639999840258 Twitter thread of resources to help freelancers in the Theatre and creative industries.

MARCH Networks Creative Isolation Resources https://www.marchnetwork.org/creative-isolation “As a mental health network focused on the power of bringing people together with social, cultural and community assets, … we want to share some home-based, creative ways to support mental health during these unique and uncertain times.”

MIF Resources for Artists and Freelancers List https://mif.co.uk/resources-for-freelance-creatives/ “We’ve put together an evolving list of resources for the freelance creative community who might be looking for support and guidance as a result of the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.”

New Arts West Midlands Resources List http://newartwestmidlands.co.uk/editorial/useful-resources-for-arts-professionsals/

United In Isolation https://www.unitedinisolation.com/ Resources directory: An information hub for creatives during COVID-19 crisis, 2020

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