CERF+ launches new awareness campaign

To underscore the importance of preparedness, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund is launching a new awareness ad campaign featuring before-and-after images provided by artists who have been through disasters.

"We want to help artists take steps beforehand that can help them weather emergencies with their careers intact - to keep them from crossing the fine line between priceless and worthless," says Cornelia Carey, the fund's executive director, in a release.

The first five ads have been released and are available for download from: http://craftemergency.org/publications/ads/. The ads are available in several sizes and versions for print and online use. "We invite publications, organizations, and artists to join us in this effort by running these ads in their publications and web sites when space is available, and by linking to our online resources" says Carey.

"We have drawn upon artists' actual experiences with disaster in defining our approach and in crafting our emergency resources for artists," says Craig Nutt, a sculptor, furniture designer and CERF's director of programs. "We wanted to feature some of those artists in the ads to make it clear that none of us is immune to disaster."

Featured in the first round of ads are Nashville painter and sculptor Rusty Wolfe (flood); Vermont potter Karen Karnes (fire); Texas metalsmith Diane Falkenhagen (hurricane); New Hampshire furniture maker Jon Brooks (fire); and Oregon potter Hiroshi Ogawa (fire).