Artists: Apply for an Anne Feeney Hellraiser Grant
Anyone who makes art that “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable" can apply for a grant of up to $1,000 in the name of the legendary labor folksinger, carrying on her commitment to mentoring and supporting movement artists.
Applications are open once again for the Anne Feeney Hellraiser Memorial Fund, this year offering five grants of up to $1,000 for emerging artists of any discipline who create art in support of social movements for justice.
Applications open today and are due by August 24. Winners will be announced on Labor Day, September 7. Past applicants are encouraged to reapply.
Friends and family of the legendary folk musician and “hellraiser” Anne Feeney, who wrote "Have You Been to Jail for Justice?" and sang on countless picket lines, came together to create the fund as a way of carrying on her life’s work.
The fund is offering five grants this year, up from three last year, because “fascism is rising in the United States, and movements for justice and liberation are in the fight of our lives,” the organizers say. “The need for music and art that bolsters activism and organizing has never been more urgent.”
The grants can support recording projects, tours, and the creation of original music, theater, murals, and other art that “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable,” they say. “Winners will also receive the right to put ‘hellraiser’ on their business card, just as Anne Feeney did throughout her career.”
Last year, 70 people applied. The winners were Crys Matthews, to produce vinyl copies of her 2025 release “Reclamation”; Taina Asili, to support the Fever Pitch Pilgrimage, a 150-mile walk from Albany to New York City bringing climate justice performance to communities along the way; and Carter Hogan, to finish “GODSEYE,” an album weaving together 14th-century peasant uprisings, 20th-century labor movements, and today’s fight against fascism.
Other past grant recipients include Neffy, who subsequently won NPR’s Tiny Desk contest, and labor rapper Mickey O’Brien.
The fund honors Feeney's lifelong commitment to mentoring and supporting fellow artists. She was known for lifting up working-class, queer and trans, and BIPOC voices.
“I was a 19-year-old punk kid with no following when Anne took me under her wing, took me on tour with her, and jump-started what has now become a lifelong career for me as both a musician and activist,” said Anne's longtime friend and touring partner, Evan Greer. “She taught me everything I know not just about touring and making a living as a working musician, but about the true meaning of solidarity.”
The fund is managed by Greer, Anne's daughter Amy Sue Berlin, and the Labor Heritage Foundation. They’re also seeking donations to support the fund and make sure it has the resources to meet the moment.
When Greer recently opened for Billy Bragg she played "Hellraiser," a song she wrote for Feeney.
"I know if Anne were here today, she wouldn't just be singing her own songs,” Greer said. “She'd be building an army of young passionate artists honing their craft and using their work to support movements for justice and liberation. That's the spirit we hope to carry forward with these small grants in Anne's honor."
