The Seattle arts community has held and nurtured me for years. Those of us in the arts community and those of us who are close to the arts community know the financial pressures that have long been increasing for those in the arts - especially for artists of color.

Seattle has so far been the city hardest hit by the COVID-19 coronavirus. This scary and tragic time has a lot of people staying close to home in order to try to help prevent the spread of this virus that can be devastating to our elderly, disabled, and medically compromised friends and neighbors.

The widespread cancellation of group events has had a disproportionate impact on the Seattle arts community - especially those who rely on gigs to pay their bills. Creatives are people whose very existence relies on what they create and people being able to access their work. Musicians, DJ’s, independent chefs, caterers, actors, directors, writers, spoken word artists, teaching artists, all of these peoples jobs rely on people showing up for events but events are being canceled.

I know that so far every speaking engagement I had for the next month has been cancelled or postponed, and I’m in the very rare and privileged position to be able to weather this financially. Many are not. We’re seeing canceled events through the end of this month and it's probably going to continue to grow. A large percentage of artists supplement their incomes with part time jobs often in the service industry which is another industry that is being hit hard.

So if you love Seattle art and the Seattle arts community, and you have the resources to, please consider pitching in to our relief fund. If you are familiar with similar fundraisers I’ve done in the past (like for last year’s snowpocalypse), you know that this money goes directly to people in the Seattle area in need.

This fund is aimed at helping those in the greater Seattle arts community who have been financially impacted by cancellations due to COVID-19. Depending