Today Eau Claire print and design house Ambient Inks launched the “Chippewa Valley Artist Relief Fund” aimed at helping to “support Chippewa Valley artists who have been financially impacted by event/gig cancellations, the inability to sell their work/book shows, and/or lost revenue from their day jobs being eliminated due to COVID-19.”

Volume One has made our donation today, and is further supporting the campaign with advertising and promotion in print and online to help spread the word. If you are able, we hope you consider lending your support, as well!

DONATE HERE!

From the GoFundMe page...

ABOUT THIS FUNDRAISER

This fundraiser is organized by Ambient Inks. 100% of funds donated here go directly to artists in the Chippewa Valley who have been financially impacted by event/gig cancellations, the inability to sell their work/book shows, and/or lost revenue from their day jobs being eliminated due to COVID-19. We will try to help as many artists with need in the Chippewa Valley as we can with priority given to BIPOC artists, transgender & nonbinary artists, and disabled artists.

In addition to direct donations to this Relief Fund, a portion of Ambient's webstore proceeds through the end of April (for our entire roster) will be donated.

APPLY FOR SUPPORT

If you are an artist in need of funds:

Click Here to take our survey and apply for relief funding.

HOW CHIPPEWA VALLEY ARTISTS ARE BEING IMPACTED

The widespread cancellation of concerts and events has a disproportionate impact on the the Chippewa Valley arts community - especially those who rely on gigs to pay their bills. 

As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues its path in our state and the country, a lot of people will be staying close to home in order to try to flatten the curve and help prevent the spread of this virus. This virus can be devastating to our elderly, disabled, and medically compromised friends and neighbors. Social distancing is one of the certain ways that we can lovingly stop it from spreading and protect these vulnerable members of our community. 

Musicians, DJ’s, dancers, visual artists, arts presenters, actors, filmmakers, spoken word artists, comedians, teaching artists—all of these people's jobs rely on people showing up and being able to access their work. In the Chippewa Valley, we are now seeing canceled events through April/May and potentially beyond. This trend and its impact is likely to be felt well beyond the spring season. To add insult to injury, a large percentage of artists supplement their incomes with part time jobs, often in the service industry, another industry that will be hit hard by this pandemic. 

That is why we’ve started this fundraising campaign.

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR OUR CITY

Creative practice, innovation and art have been woven into the culture of the Chippewa Valley since its inception. Arts presenters and arts venues have attracted diverse talent to our city for decades, all while infusing our city with economic viability.

If you came to the Chippewa Valley because of the creative energy...

If you thrive in the Chippewa Valley because of the work of artists...

If you have a favorite local artist, mural, song, venue...

or if you simply know (and have been knowing) that we are going to *need* artists now, more than ever, if we have any hope of getting through this year with our souls intact…