A cultural foundation affiliated with the Seoul city government said Wednesday it plans to provide some 12 billion won ($10.8 million) in relief funds to artists to help them continue their work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC) will receive applications for the relief funds from next Monday until Dec. 11.

Funds will be provided to artists participating in either creative art or performances scheduled for next year in Seoul.

The creative art category covers seven forms, including theater, dance, music, literature and visual arts, while the performance category consists of theater, dance, music and traditional art.

SFAC said the project was devised as a result of a number of online and offline conferences with artists last year and research on how to provide practical support to them.

The foundation will hold an online presentation on the program on its official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/sfacmovie) at 4 p.m. next Monday.

Applications for a second round of handouts are also planned, though a specific schedule has yet to be fixed. (Yonhap)