Many non-profit art groups (galleries, theaters, symphonies) and museums are struggling. In partnership with the Knight Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation reached out to these groups to discuss their specific needs and offer grant funding to help them operate during COVID-19. Funding could include, but would not be limited to addressing social distancing, safety and regulatory requirements needed to operate; determining ways to operate digitally or remotely; or even supplementing operating costs due to fewer people venturing out at this time. Grants ranged between 1,000 and $5,000, and were offered to 11 local arts organizations:
- Lynn Meadows Discovery Center
- Ohr O’Keefe Museum
- Walter Anderson Museum of Art
- Maritime and Seafood Museum
- Gulf Coast Symphony
- Mary C O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center
- Biloxi Little Theater
- Gallery 782
- Coastal Mardi Gras Museum
- Gulfport History Museum
- Center Stage
“The Knight Foundation is pleased to offer much-needed assistance to the art organizations of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. They have been and will continue to be such an important part of the livability and vibrancy of our community,” says Lilly Weinberg, Knight Foundation Director of Community and National Initiatives. “Artists provide necessary connections among people and places, and it is vital that they be able to continue their work engaging the community through shared cultural expression.”