• March 25, 2022 — Deadline to submit applications

ATTN NYS ARTISTS | CREATIVES REBUILD NY | APPLICATION OPEN (creativesrebuildny.org/apply) — Guaranteed Income (GI) for Artists will provide no-strings, monthly cash payments to 2,400 artists across New York State, and the Artist Employment Program (AEP) will support 300 New York State artists who will be employed by New York State community-based organizations (benefits included!). Please help spread the word about these incredible opportunities—and visit #CRNY’s website to learn more — www.creativesrebuildny.org

Artists inspire us and illuminate our shared human experience. They are storytellers and preserve our histories. Artists in communities imagine new approaches to our greatest challenges and bring their creativity to everything from building collective power and facilitating collaboration, to cultivating individual agency and advancing well-being.

Artists are also critical to the health of our economy. Arts and culture contribute $120 billion to New York State’s economy and are a main driver of the state’s $177 billion tourism industry. The sector also accounts for nearly half a million jobs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, New York State lost 50 percent of its performing arts jobs over the course of 2020. In New York City, the figure is 72 percent—more than any other industry. To fully recover the health of our economy and our communities, we must place artists at the center of large-scale investment and relief efforts. Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) was conceived to do just that.

CRNY is a three-year, $125 million investment in the financial stability of New York State artists and the organizations that employ them. CRNY will provide guaranteed income and employment opportunities for 2,700 artists whose primary residence is in New York State. These two programs will work to alleviate unemployment of artists, continue the creative work of artists in partnership with organizations and their communities, and enable artists to continue working and living in New York State under less financial strain.

CRNY aims to catalyze systemic change in the arts and cultural economy, recognize the value of artists’ contributions, and reshape society’s understanding of artists as workers who are vital to the health of our communities. Simply put, we must move beyond valuing the artistic product and begin to value the humanity of the artist. Artists need and deserve to be paid predictable and regular incomes.