As loss of work affects Richmond’s local creative communities during coronavirus, artist Nico Cathcart and RVA Magazine come together to raise money for local artists and benefit FeedMore.
There are no words to adequately express the anxiety and uncertainty we are all feeling at the moment. Richmond is a city that thrives on its independence, creativity, and collective enterprise — and the local arts community, the creative heartbeat of our city, is taking a hard hit from this loss of work. Our artists are an essential part of what makes Richmond such a special place to live, and after years of them bringing life and culture into our home, it’s our turn to give back.
That’s why RVA Magazine has joined hands with muralist Nico Cathcart and K2 Custom Tees to start RVA Together: a fundraising drive for local artists to sell their designs on t-shirts, benefiting each artist and donating to FeedMore to help our city fight food insecurity in the wake of Covid-19.
SHOP NOW OPEN! Click here to buy merch to support our local artists. Supporters can choose their favorite print or artist to donate to, and every t-shirt sale benefits the artist, FeedMore, and the staff of K2 Custom Tees, who have generously offered to host the initiative.
As we move forward, RVA Together will feature 5 artists during every two-week period, sending out purchased shirts and introducing a new set of artists as each new time frame begins. We’re kicking off the initiative with designs by Nico Cathcart (Instagram @nicocathcart), Nils Westergard (@nilsrva), Matt Lively (@mattlively), Hamilton Glass (@hamglass), Austin Miles (@auz_can), and an RVA Magazine (@rvamag) “RVA” logo shirt that supports our writers as they work tirelessly to spread community help despite cutbacks.
Every shirt will give $10 to the artist, $10 to K2 Custom Tees to supply the shirts and support their staff during printing, and a $5 donation to FeedMore.
With the spread of Covid-19, it feels like our community has been thrown into disarray, and with it, our sense of stability and purpose. This is uncharted territory for each of us, and it is only appropriate to wonder what our city, state, country, and even the world will look like at the end of this… because if one thing is certain, it’s that it will not look the same. Knowing this, it’s more important now than ever for us to come together as a city and support our artists, creative culture, and small businesses.
Let’s preserve everything that makes Richmond “Richmond.”
Please check out the RVA Together Initiative, and do what you can to help. RVA Magazine will continue to operate during Covid-19, as a community sounding board, as a distraction, and as a way to communicate pertinent information as it becomes available. However, like most small businesses, we are also struggling to keep our doors open during these complex times — and any little bit helps.
Along with all of our favorite local artists, an RVA Magazine shirt will remain available to support our staff during this time. RVA Magazine works through partnerships with the small businesses we all know and love, and as the future is uncertain for so many of our local friends, it becomes so for us as well. We will continue to uplift our local artists, musicians, and small businesses through initiatives like Eat Local! and RVA Together, and donations to us through RVA Together “RVA” shirt purchases, as well as our Patreon/PayPal, help keep us afloat.
We are always available to speak with you, and we encourage you to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or announcements you think are relevant. We wish all of you the very best during the upcoming weeks.
And finally, practice social distancing! The sooner you do, the sooner we can all continue with our lives and re-join the culture of our beautiful River City.
