• 1 hour ago Casey Harlow / HPR
For the first time, the federal government has officially listed the arts as one of the sectors devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the second round of stimulus funds becomes available, there are efforts in Hawaii to aid access to those funds and secure more stable livelihoods for creatives in the state.
Teri Skillman, Executive Director of the Hawaii Arts Alliance, says when weddings, art shows, theaters. bars, conventions, and other social gatherings shut down, of course, creatives lost event related work. Skillman says, many creatives were actually hit twice, since most artists also have jobs, often service industry jobs, that pay the rent. And qualifying for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or “PUA” was another complication.