Department of Arts and Culture announces second wave of artist relief

• The Department of Arts and Culture has announced a second wave of Covid-19 reliefs, after the first round was met with luke-warm reaction.
• R77 million has been set aside, estimated by the department to cover 11 666 athletes and artists over a three month period.
• The department will disburse an amount of R2200 to qualifying individuals between the months of September and November.

After initial attempts at mitigating the effects of the lockdown on artists were met with warranted criticism, the Department of Arts and Culture has announced the second wave of artist reliefs. R77 million has been set aside for artists and athletes, estimated to cover 11 666 artists and athletes for a period of three months.

A relief amount of R2200 will be dispensed to qualifying arts practitioners between the months of September and November, 2020.

According to a statement released by the department, it conducted a number of consultations "with those who were involved in the process of administering relief, including amongst others, sector organisations, panelists and our national entities". This second wave relief attempts to address the shortcomings of the first rollout.

To qualify for this this relief, individuals will have to fall under the following three categories:

Applicants will be required to prove that they rely solely on the Arts, Culture and Heritage sector for income. They are also required to show documents that that verify that they have earned an income from arts, culture and heritage activities in the 12 month period that ended in February, 2020.

Applicants who benefited from the rollout of the first relief are not eligible to apply.