$25k fund helps Tucson arts groups, artists go virtual in a coronavirus world

The $25,000 Emergency Fund Relief, administered by the Arizona Commission on the Arts and funded by the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, received 500 applications for emergency funds; it had enough money to fulfill 150 of those, arts commission officials announced on the organization’s website.

But there still is opportunity for artists and arts organizations to tap into the Arts Foundation’s Pivot Grant, supported by the city of Tucson and Pima County. The fund supports efforts by individuals and organizations that have taken their art to the virtual world.

Pivot Grant amounts range from $500 to $1,000 for individual artists to $1,000 to $2,500 for nonprofit organizations.

“The mission of the Arts Foundation is to advance artistic expression in our region, and we are doubling down on that commitment,” Eva Romero, president of the foundation’s board of directors, said in a written release. “Artists are struggling, yet our communities need their work now perhaps more than ever.”

Tucson’s vibrant arts community, from its theater and dance troupes to its orchestras and choirs, went silent in mid-March when social distancing measures by the city and state kicked into high gear. The Tucson Symphony Orchestra on March 14, 24 hours before it was to perform, announced it was canceling its season, the same day that the professional True Concord Voices & Orchestra ensemble also called off its remaining performances.

Theater companies citywide shut down productions; Arizona Opera ended its season before its finale, Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos”; it would have been the first time in 25 years that the company had mounted the comic opera.

Art galleries and museums, meanwhile, closed their doors and some have gone to the virtual world.

While many of Tucson’s pop musicians have made the transition to streaming concerts online, the classical music world is still largely quiet. A few have chimed in — Arizona Opera pianist Christopher Cano and his mezzo-soprano wife Jennifer Johnson Cano performed a recital in late March to raise money for the opera company, and the TSO Brass Quintet got together in front of Tucson Music Hall to perform “Amazing Grace” in memory of the orchestra’s benefactor Dorothy Dyer Vanek, who died on March 25 at the age of 93. But it’s nearly impossible given social distancing etiquette for an orchestra or choir to perform.

That’s where the Pivot Grant comes in, organizers said. The idea is to encourage organizations to think outside of the box for alternate methods of creating and presenting art.

The Arts Foundation of Tucson and Southern Arizona is looking to support new, ongoing or works in progress by providing funding to cover artist fees, staff wages or the cost of new technology. Apply at artsfoundtucson.org/grant/pivot-grant.