The Bayou City Art Festival announces a new fundraising effort to support artists in need with the Festival Artist Relief fund (FAR). Over the past 40 years, the Bayou City Art Festivals, both Downtown and in Memorial Park, have raised over $2.6 million for local nonprofit organizations.

FAR was developed this past year as The Bayou City Art Festival recognized the financial needs of their invited artists. FAR will allow Bayou City Art Festivals to provide grants to the festival’s invited artists who demonstrate the need for financial support. This year, FAR grants will be dependent on “Sunday in the Art” net profit and made available based on requests assessed by the Festival Steering Committee and the Artist Support Committee.

“Sunday in the Art”, a Victorian soirée inspired by Seurat’s painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” will take place on March 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The brunch will include cocktails, entertainment, valet parking and admission to the festival. Ticketholders will also have the opportunity to walk away with an original art piece by one of the 2011 Bayou City Art Festival artists. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit FAR as well as the festival’s nonprofit partners. For more information on “Sunday in the Art,” visit www.bayoucityartfestival.com/sundayintheart.