BALTIMORE – The Bromo Arts and Entertainment District has awarded emergency relief grants to twenty-four artists who live or work in its Downtown Baltimore district. Each artist selected will receive a $500 grant that can be used to recoup financial losses due to the pandemic shutdown.
The fund was created when shelter in place orders were announced in March. Artists had until April 17 to apply. Originally, the fund was intended to support 20 artists, but Emily Breiter, Executive Director of the Bromo Arts District, identified additional grant money to accommodate all 24 qualifying artists who applied.
“Artists were some of the first individuals to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as performances, shows, and events were canceled immediately,” said Emily Breiter, Executive Director of the Bromo Arts District. “The largest impact we could have was to reposition our funds to directly support our artists, who help tell the diverse stories of our neighborhoods.”
“The largest impact we could have was to reposition our funds to directly support our artists, who help tell the diverse stories of our neighborhoods.”
The individuals selected represent a wide variety of genres, including actors, fine artists, recording artists, and musicians.
The selection committee for the Artist Relief Funds included:
- Amy Cavanaugh, Maryland Art Place;
- Julianne Hamilton, Current Space;
- Ron Legler, the Hippodrome Theatre & France-Merrick Performing Arts Center;
- Zach Michel, Charm City Fringe;
- Christen Taylor, Sofar Sounds.
More information about the artists and their work can be found at, www.bromodistrict.org.
The Bromo Tower Arts & Entertainment District was established in 2012 to realize the area’s potential as a thriving downtown arts neighborhood. The Bromo Tower A&E District, anchored to the south by the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, stretches north to include the historic Lexington Market and up to Antique Row, just blocks away from Mount Vernon. The District builds on a significant collection of existing cultural assets, including large visual and performing arts venues and local artist-run spaces offering a professional, high-caliber of visual artistic production and display, performance art and theatre
