The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC announces the selection of 177 recipients of its Artist Support Grant, an emergency initiative in support of independent Arab artists whose creative practices and income have been adversely impacted by the Coronavirus crisis.

Many more were also deserving of support, however the limited resources as compared to the overwhelming demand from the arts and culture community across the Arab region, dictated the allocation of grants to those most affected, as fairly evaluated by the Artist Support Grant jury committee composed of Khaled Elayan (Palestine), Christine Tohme (Lebanon), Ghita Khaldi (Morocco), Ali Adawy (Egypt), and Belhassen Handous (Tunisia).

AFAC received close to 800 applications from artists residing in and/or originating from 18 Arab countries, with 127 applicants hailing from Egypt; 65 from Morocco; 64 from Lebanon; and 52 from Palestine. The 177 grants recipients work in the fields of music, visual arts, cinema, performing arts, photography, and literature.

The Artist Support Grant is a one-time $3000 grant that was created with the support of Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and Spotify through the Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief program.