New York artists will be paid money for a year and a half just like that
'18.11.2022'
Nadezhda Verbitskaya
A lucky group of art workers in New York will receive a guaranteed income through an ambitious pilot program. artnet.
Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) announced that it will spend $43,2 million to distribute monthly payments of $1000 to $2400 to artists and other creatives living across the state. These cash payments, calculated for 18 months, will be provided without any conditions.
About 20% of recipients work specifically in the field of fine arts. And 62% of the entire cohort said they didn't have a financial safety net before.
This model is meant to provide an alternative to the scholarship and grant system that artists typically rely on. It tends to be competitive and unevenly distributed.
“We are very pleased that this program helps artists meet their basic needs. We hope that the guaranteed income for artists will serve as a model for larger solutions in the future,” said Emile Kahn, Chairman of the CRNY Governing Board and Program Director of the Mellon Foundation for Arts and Culture.
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CRNY is a three-year, $125 million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation program. It aims to support artists with a guaranteed income and employment opportunities.
Recipients were selected from over 22 applicants following a weighted process that ensured that funding was distributed evenly across the state and accounted for systemic barriers.
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They are a key force behind the state's $177 billion tourism industry. But the pandemic has exposed their financial instability caused by the sudden loss of jobs. New York State, for example, lost 50% of its performing arts jobs in 2020.
“Some months are profitable, others are not,” explained dancer and choreographer Kristen Brooks Sandler. She is a recipient of funding. “It’s the end of the month, there’s a fight over rent because the check for the concert hasn’t arrived in the mail yet. I didn't realize how difficult it was until I received this funding. The relief is not only financial, but also emotional, physical, mental.”
Historical models for these kinds of programs include the 1960s graduate employment experiment in New Jersey. As well as Majors for a Guaranteed Income, which hopes to fight income equality in all sectors across the country.
