Covid-19 Infusion Grant

INFUSION GRANT: COVID-19 Emergency Relief

The Ana & Adeline Foundation acknowledges the universal struggle for stability during the pandemic and is invested in the individual YAYA alumni and the multigenerational artistic community of YAYA as a whole. The INFUSION GRANT is COVID-19 emergency relief for YAYA Alumni to help stabilize their lives and - by extension - their artistic practice.

Message from Jana Napoli, Founder of YA/YA

Dear YAYA Family,

I hope you and your loved ones are doing as well as possible in these trying times. In response to the overwhelming impact of COVID-19, the Ana & Adeline Foundation has made a $15,000 emergency grant to YAYA to help sustain their staff and is dedicating $120,000 to the INFUSION GRANT, an emergency relief fund for YAYA alumni to help stabilize their lives and - by extension - their artistic practice.

COVID-19 has created enormous global chaos. During a crisis, artists help us make sense of the world. They create visions interpreting rights and wrongs. They paint portals of empathy and hope. Artists design a better way forward for society. The Ana & Adeline Foundation is dedicated to supporting the YAYA family and their sustainability as creative citizens of the world.

Onward together,

Jana Napoli

Founder, YAYA and Ana & Adeline Foundation

During the pandemic, the Foundation has distributed emergency relief grants, totaling $120,000 to 52 YAYA alumni artists. 90% of the artists who received the Infusion Grant reported that their artistic practice is key to their spiritual and mental wellbeing. This is how recipients reported spending the unrestricted funds:

Cost of living (rent, mortgage, groceries, utilities,
internet, car repairs, bills, etc.)

Art practice (materials, supplies, equipment, etc.)

Review Panel

Ana & Adeline Foundation invited a team of artists and arts leaders as panelists to review applications. The panel provided invaluable guidance in adapting the emergency grant program. Their input made the lens through which we normally assess artist grants to be more equitable in supporting our diverse community and those who were first-time grant applicants. Read their bios below.

Ana Hernandez New Orleans

Ana is a painter and sculptor currently living and working in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is afounding member of Level Artist Collective and has been nominated for and awarded ArtistResidencies by Joan Mitchell Foundation and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Her work has been exhibited extensively in New Orleans, with venues including The New OrleansMuseum of Modern Art, The Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans, The Ogden Museum ofSouthern Art, A Studio in the Woods, Newcomb Art Museum, Xavier University, and Stella JonesGallery. She has also shown nationally in Philadelphia, PA; Durham, NC; Wichita, KS; Richmond,VA; New York City, NY; and Chicago, IL.

José Ortiz New York City

José is a painter, educator and multi-media artist committed to connecting art with our everyday world. His paintings layer symbols and myths to create possibilities for connection between all peoples and cultures; to achieve this effect, he uses a mixture of photography, printmaking, collage and paint to reveal our common existence. He was selected to participate in the MTA: Arts for Transit Project. His work "Many Trails" was commissioned for the 183rdStreet and Jerome Avenue subway stop on the #4 line in the Bronx. His work has also been exhibited in galleries throughout the NYC region. In addition, Jose has curated visual art shows, designed sets for choreographer Sita Frederick and was a key collaborator on several large-scale multi-media installation projects at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and at The Point, CDC.As an Educator and Arts Administrator, José has worked for The Children’s Art Carnival ofHarlem, Henry Street Settlement, Romare Bearden Foundation, The Anyone Can FlyFoundation and other national and international arts organizations. He also worked with theJoan Mitchell Foundation, first as an art educator in their Free Saturday Art Programs and subsequently selected as the Artist Programs Manager focused on Young Artist Initiatives, running a mentorship, portfolio development and career exploration program for participants age 12 to 26. He holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, NYC.

Asante Salaam New Orleans

Born and raised in New Orleans by conscious change agent parents, Asante Salaam’s artistry grows from reverence for the exquisite ordinariness of living life. Her artworks offer reflection and celebration of the juicy beauty of women, nature, spirit, love, life and creative processes. As a creative strategy leader, Asante managed programming and served as Interim Director for the City of New Orleans’ Office of Cultural Economy form 2011 through 2018. In that capacity, she facilitated opportunities to increase income and quality of life for artists and culture producers in New Orleans.