The Anonymous Was A Woman Emergency Relief Grant
The Anonymous Was A Woman Emergency Relief Grant provided grants for women artists over the age of 40 who were impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
About the Award
The Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) Emergency Relief Grant distributed unrestricted grants of up to $2,500 to artists who had experienced financial hardship from loss of income or opportunity as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis. As with AWAW’s annual award, the program was open to women-identifying visual artists over the age of 40 in the United States and territories, and aimed to address the unique challenges faced by artists in middle age or older, particularly at this critical time. While the annual AWAW award is nomination-only and chosen by a panel in recognition of artistic accomplishments and potential, this program allowed artists to apply directly for the emergency relief grant, which was an award based solely on documented loss.
The initial inception of the grant was for the distribution of $250,000, funded by Anonymous Was A Woman. Two anonymous donors also came forward to add an additional $75,000 to the relief fund for a total of $325,000.