Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CERF Joins National MayDay Readiness Campaign

 Montpelier, VT, April 2, 2010: CERF (Craft Emergency Relief Fund), a national non-profit, will join in MayDay 2010, a national disaster readiness campaign for the cultural community. MayDay was conceived in 2006 by the Society of American Archivists and expanded the following year by that organization and Heritage Emergency National Task Force, a consortium of 40 government agencies and organizations. May Day (May 1) was chosen for the national day of preparedness partly because it precedes the beginning of hurricane season by one month.  The MayDay initiative seeks to motivate artists, arts organizations, and other cultural organizations to undertake one significant preparedness task on May 1 each year. These actions can bolster the protection of art, artifacts, records and historic sites throughout the U.S.

 In joining MayDay 2010, CERF will concentrate its efforts on individual artists by encouraging them to take one step toward covering their A’s (art, assets, archives). CERF, the “go-to” organization for emergency preparedness for studio artists, will use its newly released Studio Protector: The Artist’s Guide to Emergencies as the focus of several MayDay outreach activities. The Studio Protector is the first-ever disaster preparedness toolkit to be created specifically for artists. It includes both a wall-mounted guide and a companion website. CERF’s MayDay participation will include: 

• An outreach campaign encouraging studio artists to take one action step in their studio to be more prepared for emergencies;

• A formal launch of the Studio Protector website: www.studioprotector.org, which offers a wide variety of preparedness actions artists can take on May 1;

• An "Arts Ready" quiz on the home page of www.studioprotector.org. Artists can win copies of the Studio Protector for themselves or as gifts to other artists by being among the first to answer a few questions correctly, and by sharing at least one emergency preparedness task they have completed. Answers may be submitted throughout May.

 Large businesses and organizations tend to have emergency plans in place to protect their employees and the future of their businesses. However, like many small businesses, most artists have not taken adequate actions to protect their careers from the effects of emergencies. CERF feels that it is important for artists to safeguard their careers to help protect the vitality of our cultural heritage.

 For more information on CERF and its 25-year history of providing grants, loans and brokered assistance to craft artists whose careers have been threatened by emergencies go to www.craftemergency.org

 Contact: Cornelia Carey, Executive Director

CERF

PO Box 838

Montpelier, VT 05601-0838

Phone: 802.229.2306

cornelia@craftemergency.org

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The one gift this holiday season no artist should be without

This holiday season there’s no reason to scour art supply stores for the perfect present for the discriminating artist in your life.

For $16, you can give the gift that is designed to protect his or her life’s work.

The Studio Protector: The Artist's Guide to Emergencies is a fun-to-use, indispensable wall guide created for artists who want to cover their “A’s” (their art, assets and archives, that is) in the event of an emergency.

Nationally known “paper engineer” Carol Barton and a team of artists designed the pop-up style disaster readiness kit for creative types of all stripes – craft and studio artists, photographers and media artists.

It features two spinning wheel charts that explain how artists can plan ahead for emergencies and reduce the impact of a fire, flood, hurricane or tornado. In addition, five “pocket protectors” or pullout guides provide detailed information about what to do in the minutes before a disaster strikes, how to clean up after a calamitous event and how to salvage fire- and water-damaged items.

The calendar size survival kit was developed by Craft Emergency Relief Fund, a national nonprofit organization that provides specialized emergency services for craft and studio artists.

CERF staff worked with experts in art conservation, arts business management, and emergency relief services to develop easy-to-follow instructions and guidelines about how to prevent losses due to fires, floods, tornadoes and other disasters.

“When my whole town was evacuated because of fires I wasn't thinking clearly. I would have loved the instant comfort about what to do, what to take, how to protect my studio and thus how to be calmer. The Studio Protector would have helped me prepare ahead of time and act decisively,” says Lana Wilson, a potter from Del Mar, Calif.

The Studio Protector is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase & Co., the Joan Mitchell Foundation, Americans for the Arts, Craft in America, American Craft Council, ARTISIN LLC, New York International Gift Fair and Robert A. Katz Memorial Foundation.

The Studio Protector is available for $16, plus $4 shipping and handling from

CERF launches the Studio Protector

Twelve thousand copies of the long-anticipated emergency readiness tool, the Studio Protector: The Artist's Guide to Emergencies, arrived at the CERF offices this month.

The fun-to-use, indispensable wall guide and companion web site, www.studioprotector.org, is for artists who want to cover their "A's" (their art, assets and archives, that is) in the event of an emergency.

Nationally known paper engineer Carol Barton and a team of artists designed the pop-up style disaster readiness kit for creative types of all stripes craft and studio artists, photographers and media artists.

It features two spinning wheel charts that explain how artists can plan ahead for emergencies and reduce the impact of a fire, flood, hurricane or tornado. In addition, five pocket protectors or pullout guides provide detailed information about what to do in the minutes before a disaster strikes, how to clean up after a calamitous event and how to salvagefire- and water-damaged items.

CERF staff worked with experts in art conservation, arts business management, and emergency relief services to develop easy-to-follow instructions and guidelines about how to prevent losses due to fires, floods, tornadoes and other disasters.

"When my whole town was evacuated because of fires I wasn't thinking clearly. I would have loved the instant comfort about what to do, what to take, how to protect my studio and thus how to be calmer. The Studio Protector would have helped me prepare ahead of time and act decisively," says Lana Wilson, a potter from Del Mar,Calif.

The Studio Protector is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase & Co., the Joan Mitchell Foundation, Americans for the Arts, Craft in America, American Craft Council, ARTISIN LLC, New York International Gift Fair and Robert A. Katz Memorial Foundation.

The Studio Protector is available for $16, plus $4 shipping and handling from www.studioprotector.org. Proceeds from the sale of the Studio Protector support the production and distribution of artists emergency resources.