The city of Atlanta wants to provide $725,000 to the city’s independent content creators and creative entrepreneurs, according to the mayor’s office.
On Friday, Mayor Andre Dickens announced that the city is converting its Creative Industries Loan Fund into the Creative Industries Grant Fund. The program will award between $5,000 to $20,000 to creative professionals recovering from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Additionally, creative professionals who received a loan through the previous program may have some or all of their loan forgiven through the new grant program, according to the city. Applicants must have a valid city business license.
Invest Atlanta is accepting applications from Friday through Nov. 9 at www.investatlanta.com/creatives. The city wants to disburse the funds to
awardees at the beginning of next year after the application reviewing process ends in early January.
Invest Atlanta President and CEO Eloisa Klementich said in a statement that the arts, entertainment and recreation industries are not expected to make a full recovery until 2025 or later. She said 84% of the creatives who responded to a 2020 Invest Atlanta survey said their income fell.
“The pandemic hit our independent creative sector hard as entertainment venues, performance spaces, filming, music and other productions were temporarily closed or suspended,” said Mayor Dickens in a statement.
“By offering grants we can do more to accelerate economic recovery and growth in one of our city’s most important industries.”
The grant awards can be used for production, post-production, distribution, marketing outreach, touring, prototype development, product development, sales and attraction for their creative projects, according to the city.
The fund is open to the independent Atlanta artists who plan to create content within the city. This includes designers, photographers, illustrators, web designers, graphic designers, and multimedia designers. This also includes record management labels and their talent, and businesses who provide resources and platforms to creative entrepreneurs.
About the Author
