This article is our round-up of updates on public health, relief and recovery information for the creative sector. It includes information and resources shared by other organizations, on our site and through our social media channels. It also includes updates on the Handbook site itself and our Puget Sound community of creative sector partners. The information here will also be shared in a regular newsletter, which you can subscribe to at the bottom of this page. Thanks!
SBA Round 2 COVID Relief – Online Sessions
With the long-awaited relief package passing on December 27, a new round of SBA loans are available next week. The SBA and Washington SBDC (Small Business Development Council) are holding these online sessions to help provide information on the PPP and how to apply. Upcoming dates are as follows. To register, follow the link.
Friday 1/8, 10 AM
Friday 1/15, 10 AM
Friday 1/29, 10 AM
Friday 2/12, 10 AM
(If you’re not available on Fridays at 10 AM, then too bad I guess!)
Hello You! Seattle’s New COVID Testing Kiosks
New #COVID19 testing kiosks have been added at three locations in #Seattle to increase testing capacity in the city. Tests are done with a quick and easy oral swab and results are received electronically in 48 hours. The locations:
- North Seattle: Lower Woodland Park
- Uptown/Seattle Center: 2nd Ave and Republican, near the Seattle Repertory Theatre
- South Seattle: Old UW Laundry site west of Mt. Baker Light Rail Station
Pre-registration is required. For more information visit: http://ow.ly/pd2B50CWisA
Check Vaccine Eligibility? There’s an app for that. 
Free and Low-Cost Classes for Small Business Owners
- Grow with a Pro Accounting (Jan 12)
- Drop-In Biz Coaching (Jan 13, 14, 20, 26)
- Square One: Getting Started Orientation (Jan 15, 21, 26)
- Grow with a Pro Insurance (Jan 19)
- Tax & Bookkeeping Coaching (Jan 20)
- Grow with a Pro Legal (Jan 26)
- Biz Expert Session: COVID Disruption to Inventory, Supply Chain, Distribution and Sales Channels (Jan 28)
Check out all the events on their calendar and register here.
New Statewide Recovery Plan Issued – Includes Event Venues! 
Eariler this week, Governor Inslee announced a new regional phased recovery plan for COVID-19. “Healthy Washington–Roadmap to Recovery” will begin on January 11 with all regions beginning in a new Phase 1 of 2. As before, there are a set of metrics that will be used to evaluate graduation between Phases.
For creative industries in Puget Sound, it appears King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties are combined into one region and that the new guidelines will allow for some expanded events and cultural activities not previously allowed under the Safe Start Guidelines.
More info can be found in our coverage here, or in the Governor’s article on Medium.
What’s the deal with this new variant / mutation?
- Ability to spread more quickly in humans.
- Ability to cause either milder or more severe disease in humans.
- Ability to evade detection by specific diagnostic tests.
- Decreased susceptibility to therapeutic agents such as antibodies.
- Ability to evade vaccine-induced immunity.
For now it appears that the current vaccines will work on the new mutations, and that the majority of the testing in place will also catch the variants. But it bears monitoring!
Small Business Grants for Rural Communities from LISC
On January 26, LISC (Local Initiative Support Corporation) will be opening their Rural Relief Small Business Grants program, which will give away 900 grants totaling $18M. Grants are to support small businesses and enterprises affected by COVID-19 throughout the country. They are especially interested in underserved communities, including entrepreneurs of color, women- and veteran-owned businesses.
Only small businesses located in rural communities (50K population or less) are eligible at this time. This round does not include nonprofit organizations, though it looks like LISC intends to include them in a later round.
No dates have been announced for additional rounds of funding yet. LISC also does grant funding for urban areas as well, but doesn’t have a current round open, nor announced any time soon.
Call for Artists: FLOW 2021 – 2022
Here’s an interesting opportunity similar to the big red walls that used to be up around the Capitol Hill light rail site for all those years.
Seattle ARTS and SPU are looking for artists to spruce up the construction walls and fences around a prominent construction site called the “Ship Canal Water Quality Project” in the Ballard-Fremont-Wallingford area starting in mid-2021.
The walls and fences will be a mixture of 8’-12’ tall wood sound walls and 6’-8’ tall chain link fences, and artists are invited to use a variety of materials including but not limited to paint, photography, murals, sculptural attachments, rope or ribbon woven into fences, plastic puck attachments, or innovative approaches.
Artists will receive a budget of $10,000 all-inclusive to create, install and de-install artworks that will be displayed for a period of six (6) months. Up to 11 artists will be selected to create works during the 2021-2022 exhibition cycle. This call is open to artists residing in Washington State.
Check out the info and application here.
The deadline to apply is 5pm, Tuesday, Feb 2.
Some interesting reads…
Got some time this weekend? Here are some articles we wanted to share…
From NPR: Yurts, Igloos And Pop-Up Domes: How Safe Is ‘Outside’ Restaurant Dining This Winter?
From NYTimes: A ‘Great Cultural Depression’ Looms for Legions of Unemployed Performers
From Artsy: What We Can Learn from the Brief Period When the Government Employed Artists
Photo by Ovidiu Creanga on Unsplash
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