April 14, 2020

COVID-19: Arts Practitioners Call For Easier Access To Relief Grants

By Newsroom

With the creative industry severely impacted by COVID-19, the Collective Arts Associations is calling on the State to modify the application process, to allow arts practitioners to have easier access to the relief grants.

In addition, another plea has been made for government to honor its outstanding  payments to arts practitioners for work already completed.

The group recommends that there be a “more sector-specific definition of Self-Employed in the Arts” to include persons who own their own business and do not pay NIS, freelancers and persons who may have periods of low/no activity interspersed with high seasons of employment activity.

Among the requests made, is for there to be a third application form, with adjusted terms specific to the Arts. As it stands, there are two variations of the forms available. Furthermore, it proposes that only one recommendation be required from an authorized official of a verifiable Arts Organization.

The Associations are also asking that existing directories and membership databases be accepted as a form of verification for self employed workers in the Arts. These will include the National Registry of Artists and Cultural Workers the Craft Artisan Registry,  the FilmTT Production Directory along with any other public databases under CreativeTT.

Given employment in the arts is, for many, not a rigid contractual arrangement, the Associations believe it is important that this be taken into consideration when workers are called to prove loss of work. It proposes that accepted documents should include projects registered under the Artists Registry, written evidence such as contracts/agreements, time-dated rehearsal attendance sheets, time-dated promotional materials, recurring referral letters, evidence of loss of expected income-earning opportunities or evidence of loss of seasonal employment.

The Collective Arts Associations represents the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO), the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad and Tobago Animation Network (TTAN), the Filmmakers Collaborative of T&T (Filmco), the Photographers Guild of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad and Tobago Craft and Art Producers Association, the Trinidad and Tobago Craft Entrepreneurs (TTCEN) and the National Parang Association of Trinidad and Tobago.

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