France Launches $1.1 Million Fund For Displaced Ukrainian, Russian Artists

The French government has made plans for a €1 million (US$1.1 million) relief fund to aid Ukrainian artists displaced by the ongoing Russian invasion. 

In addition, it will open the fund to “dissident” Russian artists that are fleeing the country due to the government’s restriction on free speech. 

According to the BBC, with over three million Ukrainians having fled their homes since the war began, the European Union (EU) has instated a new regulation that allows any refugee to stay and work in any of its countries for up to three years. 

“The emergency reception program will finance Ukrainian artists and cultural professionals and their families for a period of three months, via the Pause program, [consisting of] residencies within the network of public establishments of the ministry and through the Cité Internationale des Arts [an artist-in-residence building in Paris],” said a ministry statement, as per ARTnews. 

€750,000 (US$826,000) of the sum will be designated to an emergency telephone service operating in both Ukraine and Russia. It will be run in partnership with the Agency of Artists in Exile, and will provide artists with connections to opportunities and studio spaces in the region. 

The other €300,000 (US$330,000) will go towards allowing Ukrainian art students to continue their studies at French colleges and cultural organizations. 

Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, French Minister of Culture, said that Ukrainian artists need to be supported “so they can continue their creative work in France.” 

“This additional support will be in the form of research grants and funding for artistic projects, but also for organizing exhibitions,” she added.

[via ARTnews and Art Forum, cover image via Liskonogaleksey | Dreamstime.com]