* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmembers Dorsey, Burnett, Cohen
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
Assisting Baltimore City Artists
For the purpose of calling on the Administration, if the City receives additional COVID-19 relief funds from the United States Congress, to invest at least $1 million of those funds to establish an emergency fund to assist Baltimore City artists.
body
Recitals
The Baltimore City Council recognizes the significant contributions of artists in the City and their direct impact on economic vitality, community investment, and tourism attraction. Artists make up an integral part of Baltimore’s cultural heritage and are a vital part of its national identity.
Independent artists make up a unique part of the City’s workforce, many being self-employed and freelance workers. Due to these distinctions, many of the individuals that make up the artist workforce have gone without regular or pandemic unemployment assistance. Without this critical provision, artists have gone without traditional government assistance during a national health and economic crisis.
The Baltimore City Council requests that the Mayor’s office provide critical emergency economic relief for Baltimore City's artists who have suffered undue hardships caused by the health and safety closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Should the City receive additional COVID-19 relief funds from the United States Congress, City Council requests that the Mayor invest at least $1 million towards an emergency artist relief fund.
COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BI-POC), both in terms of economic hardships and healthcare. This pandemic has negatively affected arts communities of color and further stifled their creativity and investment opportunities. The Council requests that any emergency artist fund specifically address and invest in BI-POC artists in Baltimore and that funds should be granted directly to individual artists.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of Baltimore, That the Council calls on the Administration, if the City receives additional COVID-19 relief funds from the United States Congress, to invest at least $1 million of those funds to establish an emergency fund to assist Baltimore City artists.
And be it further resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Director of Finance, the Executive Director of the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, and the Mayor’s Legislative Liaison to the Baltimore City Council.