A local agency is distributing federal relief funding to the King County cultural sector to help protect cultural capital and development in the region amid the pandemic.

4Culture, King County’s funding and public art commissioning agency, is now offering COVID-19 recovery relief for individuals. These are grants between $1,000 and $12,000 to eligible cultural producers who have been financially impacted by the pandemic as they recuperate, adapt and advance their practice.

Cultural and creative sectors are economic and employment drivers, according to 4Culture. The Washington state creative economy contributed $53.2 billion to the economy in 2019, representing 185,741 cultural workers in Washington contributing 5 percent to the Gross State Product each year, according to 4Culture.

“Maintaining the viability of the arts and heritage will not only ignite the local economy, but it will support mental health and a sense of community identity,” according to 4Culture.

Those eligible must be age 18 or older, must live in King County, must be a cultural producer as their primary occupation — paid or unpaid — within 4Culture’s program areas of heritage, historic preservation, art, or public art, and must attest to a loss of adjusted gross income of $1,000 or more between 2019 and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

4Culture will host several hour-long workshops on how to apply for relief. They are currently scheduled for noon Jan. 12; 5 p.m.Jan. 18, and 10 a.m. Jan. 27.

For more information, to register for a workshop, and to apply go to 4Culture.org/recovery. Deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Feb. 2.