Bryony Kimmings
Bryony Kimmings and Brian Lobel (A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer) are the driving forces behind an emergency financial lifeline for creative artists whose projects were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched last month #GigAid raised and gave over £30,000 of support to artists with an average assistance of £300. Aimed at helping those people who have fallen outside of the various Government and charitable initiatives, the scheme matches each artist to a donor who offers direct peer-to-peer assistance. To date individual donors have offered from £100 up to £500 each.
The April funding round aims to make payments by tomorrow (24 April 2020) with over £5,000 already received for this month.
Applications for help have come from musicians, drag artists, singers and performers who usually supplement their income by playing children’s parties or working in cafes and bars.
Commenting on their attempts to plug the current gap in the welfare system, Kimmings and Lobel said: “We need broader systemic change. We need better support for artists and precarious workers. We need the government to honour the tremendous contribution that culture and the arts (and those who work in these fields) make to the UK. Until then, #GigAid wants to help how we can, and provide that help NOW.”
Angela Thomas
(gigaid@bryonykimmings.com)
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