A new program spearheaded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will provide guaranteed income and jobs for up to 2,700 artists living throughout New York State reports Hyperallergic. “The $125 million initiative, Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY), will issue monthly, no-strings-attached payments to up to 2,400 artists with financial need over the next three years.”
“New York’s arts sector was one of the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a report by the state comptroller last February. Two-thirds of arts, entertainment, and recreation jobs in the city were suddenly lost in 2020, and across the state, about half were lost.
In another artist-focused report from Center for an Urban Future, for immigrant communities a deep crisis has manifested with significant diminished livelihood sources with little to no aid from local authorities. “Simply put, we must move beyond valuing the artistic product and begin to value the humanity of the artist,” CRNY’s website says. “Artists need and deserve to be paid predictable and regular incomes.”