Emerging Artists Readiness Program in Puerto Rico The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) is excited to announce that we recently concluded our first Emerging Artists Readiness Program in Puerto Rico, thanks to funding from the Windgate Foundation. CERF+ partnered with Centro de Economía Creativa to conduct the Emerging Artists Readiness Program in Puerto Rico, which […]

  New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CEFF+), and National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response (NCAPER) join forces to help you protect yourself and your assets before an emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with other emergencies including severe storms, drought, wildfire, and theft, required all of us to […]

Touchtone Center for Crafts began over 50 years ago as Pioneer Crafts Council and blossomed into a craft school where people come together to learn in a fully immersive  hands-on environment. Occupying over 150 acres in the Laurel Highlands, a scenic rural area near Ohiopyle State Park in southwestern Pennsylvania, Touchstone has enchanted artists and […]

In 1991, Bobby Scroggins, Professor of ceramic art at the University of Kentucky School of Art and Visual Studies, attended the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference. There, he recognized that artists of color were significantly disadvantaged from accessing opportunities and recognition for their work. He felt similarities reverberating between NCECA […]

Last year, the majority of the craft artists who sought CERF+’s emergency relief assistance did so after suffering impacts from climate or weather-related emergencies, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires. As the threat of climate change intensifies across the globe, we want to honor several creative initiatives that address climate change and sustainability issues in […]

The Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths (SIBs) formed with the vision to build equity and foster diversity in the field of blacksmithing. Recently, CERF+ staff met with blacksmiths Joy Fire and Elizabeth Belz from the Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths. Joy is SIBs’s Digital Media Manager and General Communications Manager. Elizabeth is the Scholarship and Grant Coordinator […]

Michael Billie is an award-winning Navajo mixed media artist who lives in Farmington, New Mexico. He studied art at the University of New Mexico and later took classes in encaustics, but it was only later in life that he became a full time artist. He dove into his art practice full time just before the […]

It is never too early to start thinking about legacy planning, but you may be wondering what legacy planning even is. Legacy planning is deciding how you want your assets (everything you own, including your wealth, artwork, tools, etc.) to be distributed after you die. For artists, a great way to start is to think […]

Disasters can strike anyone anywhere. As climate and weather related disasters are forecast to become more frequent and severe, it is important to have a plan if the unthinkable happens. Unfortunately, property losses from fire/smoke damage or water/flood damage often have impacts beyond financial loss as they involve our most prized and meaningful possessions. Treasured […]

CERF+’s friends and colleagues on the ground in Puerto Rico are reporting that Hurricane Fiona has caused significant damage, destroying infrastructure and homes and displacing many residents. While the full scope of the damage will be uncertain for some time, we do know that some areas, such as the southern part of the island, received […]