How to help LA artists affected by the fires
Join me in supporting the grassroots org Grief and Hope
Hi, everyone—I had planned to resume my normal every-other-Monday newsletter this morning, but the fires here in Los Angeles have made this New Year anything but normal. We are fine; we’ve been very lucky to be able to stay hunkered down at home in Eagle Rock, though the Eaton Fire evacuation zone got uncomfortably close for a while there (and the renewed high winds expected through Wednesday are keeping us in a state of anxious vigilance). Meanwhile, thousands of our fellow Angelenos have lost everything.
For those looking to help, it can be hard to know where to start. I wanted to call special attention to a grassroots group raising money for LA artists, scores of whom have lost their homes, their studios, and, in some cases, decades’ worth of artwork. Grief and Hope (formerly Art World Fire Relief LA) has launched a two-pronged effort: gathering information about needed relief, and raising funds to meets those needs. Donate here, or, if you’ve been affected by the fires, take the relief survey.
** UPDATE: With your support, I donated $1,045 total to Grief and Hope in January. Thank you all for making this possible. **
For those looking for other ways to help—or seeking help themselves—please see Hyperallergic’s running list of resources for artists impacted by LA fires, which includes additional donation campaigns, mutual-aid resources, and relief grants, fellowships, and residencies. Mutual Aid LA Network is also maintaining an extensive spreadsheet of available resources—for everyone affected, not just artists—and they are accepting donations here.
In addition, there are countless GoFundMe campaigns underway to support individuals and families who have lost their homes or businesses. Here is an official list of verified fundraisers; here is a general relief fund; here is a list of fundraisers for Black families who lost their homes in the historically Black neighborhood of Altadena; and here is a regularly updated list of fundraisers that have met less than 30 percent of their goal.
Finally, huge thanks to everyone who has written to check in on the Subtle Maneuvers family and send well wishes, we truly appreciate it 🫶
RIP, GARY INDIANA’S LIBRARY 💔
In the London Review of Books, Colm Tóibín very accurately captures what it was like to be in Northeast Los Angeles on the day the fires broke out—and he reports on the fate of the late writer Gary Indiana’s personal library, which had been packed up and shipped from his East Village apartment to Altadena, where it was to form the core library in a residence for artists. Unfortunately, the boxes arrived just hours before the Eaton Fire broke out. Tóibín writes:
On Tuesday when Gary Indiana’s library came to Los Angeles, it rested for a while in the appointed house in Altadena. But it was the wrong day. If they—the signed editions, the rare art books, the weird books, the books Gary treasured—had come a day later, there would have been no address to deliver them to, so they would have been saved. But on that Tuesday, unfortunately, there still was an address.
WORM ZOOM
I’ll be back with a normal issue, let’s hope, in two weeks. In the meantime, I’m continuing my morning Worm Zoom sessions, which meet every weekday from 6–8am Pacific / 9–11am Eastern time. If you’re looking for some extra accountability and camaraderie in your creative practice in 2025, these sessions can be a great addition. (They’re for paying subscribers only, but, as mentioned, I will donate all subscription income I receive in January to Grief and Hope.)
Thanks for sharing the link to donate. It's a heart-breaking situation.
Tóibín's closing paragraph here is haunting.
"On Tuesday when Gary Indiana’s library came to Los Angeles, it rested for a while in the appointed house in Altadena. But it was the wrong day. If they – the signed editions, the rare art books, the weird books, the books Gary treasured – had come a day later, there would have been no address to deliver them to, so they would have been saved. But on that Tuesday, unfortunately, there still was an address."