Precipice Fund: Emergency Relief Grants

In 2021 the Precipice Fund distributed a total of $60,000 in relief funds. Awards of $1500 each were distributed to forty local artists who were working at the intersections of art, activism and culture work. 

The artists supported through these awards had been actively self-organizing projects, relief efforts, mutual aid, and other support systems for other artists and community members throughout the pandemic and beyond, with an attention to contemporary artistic and cultural practices and politics.

Through various channels and forms of feedback and observation about the funding and artist support landscape,  we heard that much of the work being done in our community at that time was intentionally not visible, to preserve safety and anonymity and that there was a desire for more self -determination and peer-to-peer support when it comes to giving. 

In response, an initial cohort of twenty artists were selected by PICA’s Artistic Directors, Roya Amirsoleymani and Kristan Kennedy. This initial cohort was then invited to nominate twenty of their peers. Priority was given to those who work outside of traditional networks. The final list of forty artists remains anonymous to protect their identity, their work, and those they serve. 

Portland was at the center of nationwide uprisings against police brutality, injustice, and the rise of anti-Black sentiments. These artists responded in a generative and sustaining way for the community, without taking support for themselves. With the help and understanding of the Warhol Foundation, we were able to award these artists quickly and swiftly for their efforts.