For the sake of art

Independent artistes, whose several events have been cancelled due to the lockdown are struggling to survive this pandemic

Every artiste is a freelance artiste, none of them are salaried. If they do have some regular source of income, it’s probably through teaching or taking up classes,” says actor, director and arts consultant, Rahul Vohra, who along with a bunch of other independent artistes and practitioners of arts have come up with a campaign to help those who are most vulnerable at this point in the field of arts.

Independent artistes are struggling during this period of lockdown

ADAA (Assistance for Disaster Affected Artistes), is a crowd-funded campaign that will provide financial support to more than 100 artistes across 10 states in India. “If there is a shortfall of funds, the campaign will still provide support to over 100 artistes, but the period of support will need to be curtailed,” says Vohra.

The countrywide lockdown in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to large scale cancellation of events which has adversely impacted the community of artistes, performers, arts’ teachers, instrument-makers and other arts-related professionals. “In these trying circumstances, lakhs of freelance artistes, who earned their livelihood through performances, face the uncertainty of when and how they will be able to earn again. With meagre savings to support themselves and their dependents, the coming months and a potential recession present a very bleak future for them,” Rahul adds.

The beneficiaries of the campaign will be provided a monthly assistance of ₹5,000 for 6 months beginning from May 1, 2020. Culture practitioner Sameera Iyengar, who is also part of the campaign, says, “The artistes that ADAA is trying to help are part of the cultural community that I inhabit. This is the least I can do for the people who create the magnificent cultural legacy that is India’s. Our effort is, however, a drop in the ocean. Artistes hold the soul of people, and we overlook them at our peril.”

These beneficiaries will be selected by 10 arts organisations working at grassroots level. The criteria for selecting them includes average monthly income, age, gender, medical condition and number of dependents. “I am grateful for the support that the campaign is receiving from artistes, students of music, and people who care for the arts. Their support has made it possible for us to reach over 60% of our target in just about ten days,” says musician Shubha Mudgal, one of the people behind the campaign.