Today is November 30th, also known as Giving Tuesday! As the opening day of giving season, Giving Tuesday is a day dedicated to supporting your favourite organizations and the causes closest to your heart.

Our community supports us in countless ways and the past 20 months have cemented our belief in the transformative power of artists coming together when we need them most. We saw it in our Akin Rent Relief Fund, our virtual events, our studios, and amongst our very own members and team.

[Image Description: On a white background is text that reads How have we allocated resources from the Akin Rent Relief Fund?. A pie graph breaks down three sections: the biggest slice in the darkest orange has text that reads $20,389 distributed out to over a 100 artists." The second slice in orange has text that reads, $1,159 Akin's admin, and the final darker orange slice has text that reads $1640 left in funds. In the right upper corner is the Akin logo.]

Our Akin Rent Relief fund is our pride and joy, supporting over a 100 artists and counting. Providing Akin artist members with anonymous one-time emergency grants towards their studio membership costs, the fund provides short term financial aid in unexpected situations or times of financial instability.

For the next 24 hours, we are hoping to reach a goal of $5000, funds that will allow us to support at least 5 artists per month for the next 5 months. These funds will be placed directly in the hands of our artist studio members.

Image Description: Text that reads Help us reach our goal! $5000. This amount can support 5 artists for the next 5 months. Akin’s logo is at the top right.

This Giving Tuesday, we are asking you to give to artists; to support their practices, their work, and to join us in our determination to make space for them in our city.

We’re grateful for you, and for the effort you put into showing us how essential it is to uplift each other during times of need.

Support Artists Today!