Editor’s Note: COVID-19 has impacted all aspects of life, including those who work in or are connected to the arts.  A division of the New Mexico’s DCA is helping ease that impact.

SANTA FE, N.M. - New Mexico Arts, the state arts agency and a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, announced that it will allocate $1.5 million in state and federal funds to approximately 200 arts organizations, colleges and universities, K-12 schools, tribal governments, and government entities.

These funds will support the retention of full- and part-time jobs and independently-contracted artists, arts administrators and arts educators across the state. One-third of the funding is designated for New Mexico’s rural communities.

New Mexico’s arts and culture sector, which typically contributes roughly $5.9 billion each year to the state’s economy, has been especially hard hit by COVID-19 closures. An early and small sampling by respondents to a national Americans for the Arts survey shows that in February and March of this year arts organizations in New Mexico suffered from economic losses and/or incurred additional COVID-19 related expenses of more than $1.2 million. Other important survey results include: 90% have canceled programming and 67% said it’s likely that they will have to make reductions in staff. A third of respondents said they are not confident their organization will survive the impact of COVID-19.

The state and federal funds to be distributed by New Mexico Arts come from the following three sources:

1. The New Mexico Legislature and the Governor-approved Fiscal Year 2021 state budget.

2. The State Partnership Agreement between New Mexico Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Endowment).

3. The federal CARES Act by which New Mexico Arts has received one-time funding via the Arts Endowment (NM CARES).

Source: The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs