Culture
GoFundMe Raises over $3k for Artists in Central Ohio
By: Emily Votaw
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Longtime participant in the independent music scene of Columbus, Lisa Cave says that music has “gotten her through some of the darkest times of her life,” and that passion for regional music has most recently manifested itself in the Columbus Artists Relief Fund COVID-19. Cave started the GoFundMe campaign on March 12, inspired by Seattle-based artist Ijeoma Oluo’s Seattle Artists Relief Fund Amid COVID-19, which has raised over $149,000 as of March 17, 2020.
Cave created her fundraiser after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine banned all gatherings of more than 100 people at a time in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, a decree (alongside his later order to close all Ohio restaurants and bars indefinitely) that has impacted artists dependent on the “gigging economy.” As of March 17, 2020, Cave’s campaign has raised more than $3,500 for artists of all types in Central Ohio.
Cave told WOUB that so far her campaign has received 36 applications for aid from Central Ohio artists; those artists sharing heartbreaking stories of potentially career-changing opportunities being upended by the pandemic and the country’s measures to contain it. She added that many artists work in the service industry in addition to creating art, which has also been impacted greatly by measures to contain COVID-19.
The fundraiser’s intention and intended distribution is explained as follows on the campaign’s website:
Artists can apply at this link by filling out this survey completely.
WOUB spoke to Cave about the fundraising campaign, what her ultimate hopes are for the project, and how we can support local artists in this uniquely challenging time, in the feature embedded above.