Supporting artists through the smoke

In the summer of 2025, wildfires swept through northern Saskatchewan, forcing entire communities to evacuate with little notice. With thousands on the move at once, some families spent up to 12 hours on the highway to reach safety. And the impact did not end there; the unexpected costs of gas, food and hotel stays quickly added up, creating financial strain during an already stressful and uncertain time.

The crisis hit close to home at CARFAC SASK, as one of its board members lives in La Ronge. As a province-wide organization with the mission of representing visual artists in Saskatchewan, the many artists displaced from their homes were on all the staff’s minds. “We decided to look into an emergency fund, but we knew we had to respond quickly,” says Wendy Nelson, executive director, CARFAC SASK. The organization had an Artist Distress Fund (ADF) that had been in operation since the 1990s. However, it was too small to adequately respond to the situation.

So, Nelson and the board pivoted. “We had money in a surplus programming fund, so we reallocated it,” she says. They also simplified the application process to make it easier for people who were out of their homes to apply. “All they had to do was email us and give their CV or social media information [to show they were an artist in the north] and a little about their situation,” Nelson explains.

In addition to the ADF, The Artists’ Emergency Relief Fund (AERF) went live on June 5, 2025, offering $500 payments for evacuated artists to use on anything they needed. From early June to mid-August, there were 65 requests through the AERF and four through the ADF, paying out a total of $32,500. Funds were used for everything from gas to art supplies. “Sometimes, we were the first aid money that they saw,” says Nelson.

As with the ADF, CARFAC SASK did not ask for repayment of the AERF funds, and applicants were not required to be members of the organization.

According to the Canadian Red Cross, more than 16,100 people from over 6,300 households were displaced. Among them was Kokum Bannock, also known as Janice Grayson, a northern artist who ended up at an evacuation centre in Montreal Lake. In her rush to escape, she had left behind her art supplies.

In an interview in a late 2025 issue of the CARFAC SASK newsletter, she recounted her experience:

“I felt like I was nothing without my art supplies. I sat on my cot off and on thinking about it. Like what if everything I worked for burned to ash and charred memories?

“I was given a kid’s painting kit a couple of days into the evacuation. I was relieved to have that and to be able to paint again. Besides forgetting my art supplies, I also forgot to bring backing for beadwork. I was given some beading supplies — faux leather backing and beading felt. That was good, and I was able to make some keychains.

“I applied for the Artists’ Emergency Relief Fund with CARFAC SASK a few days later. I got the funds a day after, and that helped with the cost of art supplies. Now I was a little more motivated, and I would paint at night with a flashlight pointed in my direction.”

Quick thinking and meaningful action on the part of the CARFAC SASK staff and board ensured artists were supported physically and artistically during a time of extreme need. “We were really happy we had the opportunity and means to be of aid,” Nelson says.

CARFAC SASK receives Annual Global Funding from the Sask Lotteries Trust Fund.