RI Creatives Seek Statewide Artist Relief Fund

Our local economy has collapsed in the wake of COVID-19, leaving thousands of people down and out in the Ocean State with an unemployment rate rapidly approaching Great Depression levels. Creatives have decided to organize. Artists, musicians and gig workers under previously existing rules were unable to collect unemployment or benefits for lost income. The recent $2 trillion relief package passed last week for the first time will expand unemployment insurance to these workers. More than 200 Rhode Island creatives have signed a letter of demands that will be sent to state and local lawmakers across the state.

Signees are demanding federal funds be made available as soon as possible and as widely as possible, with no undue burden on applicants. They are seeking an emergency Statewide Artist Relief Fund, to provide needs-based grants to struggling creatives. Another demand is that the Small Business Association disaster declaration should apply to such self-employed gig economy workers as well as undocumented workers. Lastly, they are asking lawmakers to suspend all rent and mortgage payments for the duration of the crisis, something Governor Gina Raimondo has punted to the federal government.

“In a state that prides itself for boasting a ‘creative capital,’” said Ian O’Neil of Deer Tick in a press release. “The gig workers, small businesses, artists and musicians of Rhode Island deserve to be recognized fairly for their invaluable cultural and financial contributions.” O’Neil is among the dozens of Ocean State creatives who have signed a letter, a list that includes Roz Raskin, Justice Gaines, Muggs Fogarty and more. Freelancers and contract workers of all stripes, writers, journalists, rideshare drivers, tech workers and more are impacted by the crisis and should be covered under UI. Entertainment organizations like IATSE and SAG-AFTRA have been calling for similar expansions of unemployment.

While the letter has been a collective effort involving numerous people, its main organizer is Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, a member of the Downtown Boys, a solo artist, organizer and labor historian. DeFrancesco helped to organize a similar effort on the national level, with signees including Neutral Milk Hotel and Bikini Kill and garnering coverage in Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. More than 1,000 bands and artists signed it, and it was presented to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. DeFrancesco views the national effort as a success in organizing artists, getting its message into the press and reaching Congress. Organizers received responses from Pelosi’s office, as well as appreciation from the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

“The energy off the national letter certainly informed the Rhode Island campaign,” said DeFrancesco, “but we had wanted to organize at both the national and local level for a long time now.” Both national and local coalitions are going to be kept active. The intention is to build a lasting organization of musicians and artists that will be able to join other workers to push for power and resources through the crisis and beyond.

You can view the open letter to state and city lawmakers at docs.google.com/forms/d/17hDkDbz55LDDGV0FDWWDZCb922JzuqaKCW7idOLaq0k/edit. Artists, musicians, creatives and gigworkers of all types are encouraged to sign.