Folk music has created a multitude of artful melodies for the communities that practice as well as enjoy art. Besides being their source of exploration into the spectrum of music, it has provided them with an income to rely upon for their daily needs. 

Through Anahad’s exploration across various states of the country, it has been observed that most of the folk music performances are conducted in the live format and a lot of the times enjoyed by tourists and visitors, sometimes at cultural festivals that are celebrated traditionally within the states. Such social gatherings have the potential to come to a halt during the upheaval of a healthy ecosystem due to unforeseen predicaments such as the COVID-19 virus outbreak. Sensitive to such situations due to a lack of involvement in understanding the process of distribution of their art through digital mediums, the incomes of folk artist communities are jeopardized as they are resting mostly on earning wages per every performance.     

Since most of the artists within the community lack ample financial stability or security pertaining to the absence of substantial savings, they are directly affected by such changes in the socio-economic environment in the society due to any crisis situation that may appear. The objective of Anahad Artist Relief Fund is to provide the artists with the required support in order for them to secure their financial stability.

According to a survey conducted on 29th March 2020, to evaluate the direct as well as indirect impact of the outbreak of the Coronavirus on the artist communities, it was observed that 90% of the artists and their families lack an income source to attain a state of financial stability during crisis situations that may persist for longer than a few weeks.

Anahad Artist Relief Fund is a research-based program that focuses on the preservation as well as propagation of the art forms that fulfill the needs of the communities. The objective is to incubate the initial week of the survival process of the struggling artists while they face such unfavourable circumstances. 

Anahad Artist Relief Fund in its essence is an implementation reliant support system that DOES NOT distribute its donations for free until exceptionally adverse circumstances are observed. In order to ensure an even-handed as well as equitable distribution of the donations, Anahad has created this innovative method to generate an employment scenario for the artists. To effectuate this procedure, the system requires the artists to earn their relief grants by showcasing their skills on Anahad’s digital platforms. The grants are divided into two categories based on the urgency of the requirement:

Conditional:

• The artist is required to register and submit an online form for the relief program.
• Every registered artist must then prepare and showcase a 30-minute performance for the audiences who may watch these performances any of our online platforms.
• A fixed relief stipend shall then be provided to the artist after the performance is broadcasted.
• Relief shall be provided to the artists on a first-come-first-serve basis while the priority will be placed according to the economic conditions of the artist.

Unconditional:

• The artists who have an immediate requirement of support from the relief fund shall clearly mention the details of their circumstances in the ‘special circumstances’ column of the online form.
• The situation shall then be analysed based on the state of emergency for the artists which shall further establish the terms for the provision of support from Anahad.