Getty Trust, Philanthropists Unite to Aid Artists, Arts Workers, Devastated by Los Angeles Fires.

A coalition of arts organizations and philanthropists, led by the J. Paul Getty Trust, has announced the creation of the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund. With $12 million already raised and growing, the fund will provide emergency relief for artists and arts workers who have suffered losses due to the devastating Los Angeles fires. Perhaps a segment of overlooked workers in the city, artists, and art workers also face some of the same challenges as members of the food industry. 

The initiative, supported by institutions such as the Mohn Art Collective (comprising the Hammer Museum, LACMA, and MOCA), the Mellon Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, will be administered by the Center for Cultural Innovation. The fund aims to assist individuals across artistic disciplines who have lost residences, studios, or livelihoods.

The fund’s contributors include prominent organizations such as the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Qatar Museums, along with national and international supporters. Major donations have also come from foundations such as the Broad Art Foundation, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and the Smidt Family Foundation.

Artists and arts workers impacted by the fires can apply for emergency grants starting Monday, Jan. 20, at www.cciarts.org. The process is designed to distribute funds quickly to meet urgent needs.

The Los Angeles arts community, recognized globally for its vibrancy and diversity, has been severely affected by the wildfires, which have destroyed homes, studios, and archives. Entire neighborhoods with high concentrations of artists, such as Altadena, have been devastated, highlighting the broader cultural and economic toll.

“People around the world are watching in horror as vast areas of Los Angeles burn, but this regional tragedy has global cultural repercussions,” said Katherine E. Fleming, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. “Amid the losses suffered by the artists and arts workers who so strongly define LA, Getty is grateful to the many partners, local, national, and international, who have come together to meet the urgent needs of this community.”

Philanthropic leaders have emphasized the fund’s importance:

• Elizabeth Alexander, Mellon Foundation: “Los Angeles shapes our collective consciousness as a locus of astonishing imaginative power. Its people need the nation’s immediate support. Mellon is honored to join in launching this crucial fund.”
• Lise Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation: “The fires exemplify the devastating impacts of climate change. We join the Getty to offer resources to LA’s arts and cultural community.”
• Joel Wachs, Andy Warhol Foundation: “Contributing to this fund is a moral imperative for those who recognize LA’s critical importance to the world of the arts.”
• H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar Museums: “The arts connect cultures and bring people together. We are honored to help Los Angeles’s great arts community.”

The LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund is one of several relief efforts launched in response to the fires, building on emergency funding networks established during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other initiatives include the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, the Entertainment Community Fund, and the We Are Moving the Needle Microgrants.

“The moment demands strengthened collaboration,” said Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation. “We invite fellow funders to join us in supporting all impacted artists and ensuring disability inclusion as part of this vital effort.”

For more information or to join the coalition, visit www.cciarts.org.