At today's Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners Special Meeting on COVID-19,
legislation sponsored by Commissioner Eileen Higgins was approved, creating the Miami-Dade Arts Support Grant Program
which allocates $10 million in CARES Act funding to help cultural institutions that have been closed, as well as individual artists and cultural workers experiencing financial losses due to the pandemic. The funds can be used for used for business expenses directly related to COVID-19 including employee payroll costs, business interruption costs, support for programming, and re-opening expenses.
Designed to also help individual artists, creatives, and cultural gig workers survive the impacts of COVID-19, the program will also provide them with up to $500 in relief.
Commissioner Higgins said,
“The arts and culture sector is vital to Miami-Dade’s economy. Hundreds of our cultural institutions and thousands of artists and musicians who make Miami-Dade vibrant have lost their jobs and suffered financially. Our museums, theaters, festivals, and local events are part of the cultural ecosystem that makes our County so special, and I am proud to establish a program that provides relief directly to those working in the arts. Now more than ever, it’s important to support our artists, cultural workers, and the institutions that we love so much.”
Miami-Dade County has invested billions of dollars in creating one of the world’s newest, most dynamic and diverse cultural communities. Investment at this critical moment will help ensure the survival of hundreds of cultural organizations and the restoration and preservation of thousands of arts jobs. This sector of the economy is responsible for an approximately $1.4 billion annual impact, more than 40,000 jobs and is essential to making Miami-Dade an attractive place to visit, develop a business, and raise a family.
“We’ve heard from cultural institutions large and small, and many of them have been shuttered since the beginning of the pandemic,”
said Commissioner Higgins.
“From the small, Hispanic theaters in Little Havana to the blockbuster exhibitions that come to the PAMM, we must not only support these institutions but also use our resources to help their employees get back on their feet.”
Applications and information for all portions of the program will be available shortly and can be completed at
www.miamidadearts.org/grants
.
