Main fundraiser photo

Help for student artists displaced by COVID-19

Tax deductible
Please help support the PLACE+SPACE COVID-19 Creative Residency fundraiser in order to help get MFA student artists whose ability to work and create has been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic back into studio space and housing in order to create once again!



The PLACE+SPACE creative residence initiative of the nonprofit Boyd’s Station in Harrison County, Kentucky in collaboration with the Ki Smith Gallery in NYC is working to provide safe workspace and residence for Master of Fine Arts (MFA) students from across the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Goal

Many MFA students across the country find themselves sheltering in place in small apartments or in different cities away from school with zero or very limited access to any studio or workspace. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, private and educational studio spaces will continue to be shuttered with many artists unsure of what is next.

PLACE+SPACE is an artist residency program offered by Boyd’s Station, a Kentucky nonprofit focused on promoting student journalism and bringing the arts to rural northern Kentucky.






Boyd’s Station will utilize its wide-open rural location in Harrison County, Kentucky, to provide a number of creative residence opportunities to immediately help make a difference, and if funding for this effort exceeds goals, it will continue into 2021 and for as long as the funds will allow.

Boyd’s Station and the Ki Smith Gallery will work with schools and programs hardest hit by the pandemic to identify those artists who could most benefit and provide emerging MFA students a NO-COST place to live and NO-COST studio space to create while PROVIDING STIPENDS for both living needs and materials.

In addition to the no-cost housing and no cost studio space provided to each artist, the artists will be provided a $500 a month stipend for living expenses and a $500 a month materials stipend to offset creative costs.

Creating a safe environment to social distance and isolate while creating works to sustain the artists and their future endeavors, Boyd's Station will ask visiting artists to agree and adhere to the current local and Kentucky state and CDC guidance requiring social distancing. The safety of the artists and the community is paramount.

The ability to work and live with very limited interaction with people while still being able to fully work and create art makes Boyd’s Station a wonderful opportunity for displaced artists over these coming months of uncertainty.

Located in Boyd, Kentucky, where cows outnumber humans 3-1, the Boyd’s Station facilities currently include a spacious and modern renovated 1950s era three-bedroom home and the renovated former Spicer General Store, now the Boyd’s Station Shop Studio Space, offering 3,000 square feet of open concept studio space available for creating 24 hours a day with no worry of disruption to the community. The artists would be steps away from additional studio spaces located on the Boyd properties and the ability to have the luxury of roaming this expansive rural property of woods and pastures and wildlife with the safety of distance from others in the community allowing for a secure and safe social distancing environment to work.

How can you help?

This artist relief effort came about as the need arose and our goal for PLACE+SPACE has been modified to help as many artists affected by this pandemic as possible in the coming months. Supporting the arts and future generations of creators is as important as ever. Any contributions you are able to make will have a huge impact on emerging artists in need.

All donations go directly to the nonprofit Boyd’s Station (www.boydsstation.org) to fund the PLACE+SPACE COVID-19 MFA Artist Relief effort which will benefit emerging artists during this pandemic.

Donations made through this PLACE+SPACE COVID-19 MFA Artist Relief effort fundraising GoFundMe.com portal will be acknowledged and receipted for tax-deductibility by Boyd's Station. Boyd's Station is a not for profit 501c3 organization, Federal Tax ID #46-1864320.

If you have the means to take action, your tax-deductible donation would be most appreciated. If sustaining funding exceeds fundraising goals for 2020, Boyd’s Station will continue with these relief residences into 2021, and for as long as the funding resources will continue to allow.

Levels of giving: (Goal of $40,000)

We want to thank you for your generous support!

$2500 & Up - A tree planted and dedicated in your name with a  plaque at Boyd’s Station in Harrison County, KY plus an amazing Boyd's Station hat and a selected piece of work from an MFA student in residence.

$1000 - Selection of 3 works on paper from different MFA students in residence

$500 - Drawing from one of the MFA students in residence 

$250 - Photograph from past Reinke Grant Project 306.36 recipients

$100 - Boyd’s Station Swag (hat)

$50 - Letter of appreciation and Boyd’s Station Swag (magnet)

$25 - A very heartfelt thank you email

100% of your contribution to this Boyd’s Station PLACE+SPACE COVID-19 MFA Artist Relief effort is allocated for this artist relief program entirely. No Boyd’s Station volunteers, the board of directors, or other individuals receive any financial compensation.

Due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming months, if conditions become unsafe or due to the future State of Kentucky and CDC mandates, Boyd’s Station reserves the right to cancel or postpone current or future residences at any time due to safety concerns. All donations for the PLACE+SPACE COVID-19 MFA Artist Relief effort will be allocated for future PLACE+SPACE coronavirus artist relief residences when conditions allow.

Projected funding and budget needs

We anticipate offering these residences through 2021 and for as long as funding will continue to allow for the benefit of these student artists. This table highlights the funding needs and what can be accomplished with your generous support.



How we will help artists in the coming months

Boyd’s Station and the Ki Smith Gallery, in discussion with directors and faculty of schools across the country, will seek out and selecting MFA artists for 8-week and 5-week residencies.

Ki Smith of the Ki Smith Gallery in New York City is a major supporter of young and emerging talent offering gallery shows and exposure while offering guidance to countless artists over the past 5 years. He will make safe and appropriate in person and virtual studio visits and communicate with each artist personally during the residences to offer his valuable experience and knowledge of taking the artist’s work to the next level of a combined gallery show in NYC allowing for important exposure and future means of sustaining a career in the arts.



https://www.newsweek.com/big-apple-plants-bluegrass-roots-grow-future-art-1356914 

Boyd’s Station will provide ample workspace and living space for visiting artists to adhere to the current local and Kentucky state and CDC guidance requiring social distancing.

For the safety of the artist and the community, Boyd’s Station and all visiting artists would agree to adhere to the current local and Kentucky state and CDC guidance requiring social distancing and safety in order to take part in these residence opportunities. The well-being of the artist and the community is paramount.

·      An initial 2-week self-isolation on arrival in Harrison County would be required.

·      Artists required to follow established guidelines regarding KY workplace safety.

·      PPE and other health and safety measures would be provided and utilized.

·      Absolute limits to visitors in Boyd, Kentucky, and to all living and workspaces.

·      Artists would have to agree and sign specific terms and agreement waivers regarding residence requirements and safety measures.

·      Please note: Due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming months, if conditions become unsafe or due to the future State of Kentucky and CDC mandates, Boyd’s Station reserves the right to cancel or postpone current or future residences at any time.

The goal is to offer students 8-week residencies and  5-week residencies over the coming months.  We will continue to fill residency slots through 2021 as the need continues and funding allows.

Work produced in Harrison County by these coronavirus relief residents during the Covid-19 pandemic will be exhibited in the gallery space of the newly renovated Boyd’s Station Gallery in Cynthiana, Kentucky for the residents of Harrison County to experience and enjoy before a possible future combined gallery show in NYC at the Ki Smith Gallery in 2021.

How it got started - PLACE+SPACE and the Coronavirus Emerging Artists Relief Residences:

Before the coronavirus crisis, Spring 2020 was to be a soft-launch season for the PLACE+SPACE program to prepare for its official and full roll out in 2021. That plan has since been modified to offer immediate help to as many artists as possible during this difficult time.

The overall goal of Boyd’s Station and the PLACE+SPACE creative residence is to offer emerging artists housing and studio space at no cost to the artist in order for them to create work which would not be possible due to lack of studio space and high cost of housing in other parts of the country.

Boyd’s Station invited NYC based artist, Luke Price, to take part in February of the soft-launch phase of our future artist residence program at Boyd’s Station. The goal was for Price to create work while evaluating best practices for Boyd’s Station artist residence program called PLACE+SPACE to launch fully in 2021.



Luke was to spend eight weeks starting in February as a creative resident at PLACE+SPACE while also providing advice and help in building out the program. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Boyd's Station chose to extend his residency for 5-months. The sculpture work he was able to create with the additional time in Harrison County during the early months of the pandemic was something that would not have been possible had he returned to NYC without the means of working in the studio.

He was able to continue to thrive in the PLACE+SPACE residence which promoted a safe and socially distanced environment due to safety protocols put into place and the overall rural environment of the Boyd’s Station.

The sculptures created during his residence will be showcased in an individual gallery show at the Ki Smith Gallery in NYC later in 2021.

This was the catalyst of the idea of just how beneficial opening up the Boyd’s Station facilities now would be for artists in hard-hit areas of the country during this crisis. These opportunities would afford emerging artists a lifeline to continue to create and a possible lifeboat for their artistic careers.

100% of contributions for this fundraising campaign to Boyd’s Station are allocated directly to this artist relief program. No Boyd’s Station volunteers, the board of directors, or volunteer staff receive any financial compensation.

Questions?

To learn more about Boyd’s Station programs, please visit our website. www.boydsstation.org

Thank you for your continued support!

Jack Gruber
Director, Boyd’s Station  (Harrison County, KY)



Ki Smith
Ki Smith Gallery  (NYC)

Fundraising team (4)

Jack Gruber
Organizer
Berry, KY
Boyd's Station
Beneficiary
Gregory Fortescue
Team member
Judith Walgren
Team member
Ki Smith
Team member

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