Vanessa Cooksey

The Regional Arts Commission will distribute $10.6 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to St. Louis artists and organizations.

A St. Louis Board of Aldermen committee is moving forward with a bill that would bring federal coronavirus relief funds to arts organizations. The bill would allow the Regional Arts Commission to use $10.6 million in federal funds for arts organizations and programs that shut their doors during the coronavirus pandemic.

A national nonprofit is returning to St. Louis to study how the arts contribute to the region’s economy. Arts leaders say it's important to gauge the strength of arts organizations after the coronavirus pandemic decimated their revenues.

The grants are the first for individual artists and specific programs since 2020. The Regional Arts Commission has continued to provide general funding to larger organizations during the pandemic, though at dramatically reduced levels.

Vanessa Cooksey has taken the reins of the Regional Arts Commission at a tumultuous time. She faces the arts funder's dramatic drop in tax revenue and an increased demand for racial equity in the arts.