MIAMI, FLA.- Oolite Arts today announced the creation of a relief fund for Miami-Dade County visual artists impacted by COVID-19, which has caused the closing of exhibitions, galleries and lay-offs in the cultural community and beyond.

Visual artists who are Miami-Dade residents can now apply for up to $500 in relief through the Oolite Arts Relief Fund for COVID-19. The fund, launching with $25,000 in seed funding, will cover lost income due to the cancellation of specific, scheduled employment (whether in the cultural arts sector or not) or a professional artistic opportunity, including commissions and exhibitions.

To create the fund, Oolite Arts is repurposing money saved from canceled Oolite Arts programming and is investing it back into local artists and the economy.

“Like many Miami-Dade residents, our visual artists often live paycheck to paycheck, and the stories we are hearing are heartbreaking,” said Dennis Scholl, president and CEO of the Miami-Based Oolite Arts. “Our founder Ellie Schneiderman saw Oolite Arts as a resource for visual artists, a place that would ‘help artists help themselves.’ The fund is the latest expression of that mission.”

The funding will be dispersed on a rolling basis, with applications accepted through April 16, 2020. Toapply, artists can go to oolitearts.org/relieffund, where they can find a simplified application that asks for details on lost income and a CV to demonstrate the applicant is a working artist.

Oolite Arts is the leading resource for Miami-based visual artists. Now in its 36th year, Oolite Arts, formerly ArtCenter/South Florida, helps Miami-based artists advance their careers, by providing visual artists with free studio space, exhibition opportunities and the financial support they need to experiment and grow.

Oolite Arts’ 2020 resident artists will each receive $500 in relief, separate from the artist relief fund.

In addition, Oolite Arts has two grant opportunities for artists this spring.

• The Block: Applications are now being accepted online for The Block, a short documentary contest on Miami neighborhoods.

• The Ellies: Starting April 22, Oolite Arts will accept submissions for the Ellies, Miami’s Visual Arts Awards, offering a share of $500,000 to both visual artists and art teachers.