Relief fund president jumps into new job

Jenifer Simon is the new program director for the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, an organization providing emergency relief, resources and help with grants and loans to artists of all disciplines. She succeeds Craig Nutt, who wants to devote more time to his studio furniture work.

Simon has been busy since her hiring in March.

“We’ve been working on a Federal Emergency Management Agency bill that includes tool and equipment replacement,” Simon says, “and a new curriculum on business career protection, aimed at younger artists working in the craft discipline at the undergraduate and graduate level.”

The curriculum is called “Cover your A’s: Art, Assets and Archives.”

“We want to help get that instituted as part of a course requirement for artists that are learning to build a professional practice for their career,” she says.

CERF is also updating its Studio Protector, an online resource for dealing and preparing for disasters.

For information, visit www.craftemergency.org.

This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue.