Blog Archive
Evaluation by Rockefeller Institute of Government also shows impact on organizations and communities across New York StateAlbany, NY — A new report released today by the Rockefeller Institute of Government found that Creatives Rebuild New York’s Artist Employment Program (AEP) improved artists’ ability…
On February 12, 2025, CRNY held an event at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York titled Investing in the Creative Workforce for a Strong Economy. David Erickson,…
Prepared Testimony of Sarah Calderón, Executive Director—Creatives Rebuild New YorkBefore the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate:Joint Legislative…
New York, NY – Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) today released findings from its groundbreaking Guaranteed Income for Artists Impact Study, which analyzed the…
Since Artist-Organizer Kevin Gotkin joined CRNY in 2022, they have been working on a range of projects that help us understand and support the lives and livelihoods of Deaf and disabled artists.
To raise awareness about the current state of artists’ lives and livelihoods and advocate for concrete policy change, CRNY unveiled the Art Takes Work video in Times Square.
In December 2024, CRNY released The Artist and Cultural Workers Bill of Rights to address systemic inequities and labor concerns facing artists and cultural workers.
Artists are at the heart of our communities' cultural vibrancy. Their ability to tackle the biggest challenges facing our nation and world today is top of mind for me as I write this message. Together we face a new year, with its myriad accompanying challenges and opportunities.
Friends of Ganondagan's experience with CRNY has been a deeply enriching and transformative one for the Haudenosaunee artists and culture bearers we have worked with.
How the creativity and out-of-the box thinking inherent to artists provided innovative and inspiring solutions to create meaningful change in a variety of sectors, from housing to environmental justice to civil rights.
Over the past year, Michaela Pilar Brown and Andrew Simonet worked with 300 CRNY artists. Here are three lessons and one wish Andrew is taking away.
CRNY staff asked ourselves: how do we approach the end of payment distribution with as much care and intention as possible? This was our strategy.
Amrita Ramanan shares the profound impact Artist Employment Program artists Ryan Haddad, Ife Olujobi, and Julian Goldhagan had on The Public Theater.
Artist Employment Program Artists Sphynxx and Nadeem Ahmed reflect on their queer, multicultural identities while inspiring pride in New York communities.
Artists Víctor María Chamán and Mary Courtney, shaped by their experience coming to the US, celebrate diversity and illuminate the challenges facing immigrants.
In Rochester, the Willow Domestic Violence Center collaborated with artist Sarah C. Rutherford to harness artistic interventions as a strategy for collective community healing, focusing on survivors of domestic violence.
Urban Institute releases a new report detailing the impacts of CRNY’s groundbreaking Artist Employment Program.
This past July, the 22nd annual Basic Income Guaranteed conference brought together over 300 program administrators, researchers, policy makers, public officials, organizers, artists, and pilot participants at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco, California, to continue to advance…
A quarterly note from Executive Director Sarah Calderón.
CRNY releases policy playbook outlining steps New York State and local governments can take to implement policies geared toward supporting artists and creative workers.
On September 20, 2024, to conclude Basic Income Week of Action, Creatives Rebuild New York joined leaders from the Family Prosperity Pilot in New Mexico, The Nest, Guaranteed Income Pilot of Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services, and the Center for Employment Opportunities Gate Money Campaign for a…
Preliminary findings show that CRNY's Guaranteed Income program helped artists achieve more secure financial standing, develop their artistic careers, and prioritize their mental health.
CRNY — in partnership with Win, Children's Defense Fund-New York, and other advocates —announces the formation of the New York State Cash Alliance, a diverse coalition organizing for a guaranteed income and aligned policies in New York State.
CRNY announces grants of $15,000 to 11 organizations to incorporate data from the “Portrait of New York State Artists” Survey into an advocacy initiative or strategic communications campaign.
As CRNY celebrates its final months as an organization, and as we look to our growing community of artists organizers, movement leaders, and guaranteed income champions to carry on and build upon this collective work, we’re ecstatic to share the Artist Power Building School, a home to support artists,…
CRNY was honored to participate in the Guaranteed Income Now conference in Detroit which brought together over 300 elected officials, advocates, and journalists to discuss successful guaranteed income policies and strategize the movement’s future.
A quarterly note from Executive Director Sarah Calderón.
In our conversations with artists and organizations in our Artist Employment Program, we painted a rich and nuanced picture of their successes and struggles. This post documents that picture through a collection of takeaways based on our many conversations.
CRNY releases its Portrait of New York State Artists survey data to provide a more accurate representation of the number of artists in New York and shine a light on the economic challenges they face, their overall well-being, and the impact of the pandemic on artists’ livelihoods.
In honor of International Workers’ Day, CRNY is excited to premiere a new short video series that spotlights five artists who work, live, and create across New York State — from a drummer in the Bronx to a visual storyteller in Buffalo. These five program participants each have unique practices, life…
Althea Erickson is the Founder of Working Matters, an independent research, policy and advocacy firm focused on building systems of support and protection that enable people to thrive as whole humans. Althea is an expert on labor and social protections for the self-employed and a seasoned advocacy professional…
2024, our final year as an organization, is already under way. In many ways it feels like just yesterday that we were on the precipice of initiating our Artist Employment (AEP) and Guaranteed Income (GI) programs. As I reflect on the two-year anniversary of our program launch on February 14, I can hardly…
(An English-language version of this Q&A appears after the Spanish-language version at the bottom of this blog post. ) Irene Gotera, fundadora de Linguistic Justice® e increíble colaboradora de CRNY, conversa con Christopher Mulè, co-director de AEP, para contarnos sobre su trabajo con Linguistic…
Two years ago on Valentine’s Day, CRNY launched applications for our Guaranteed Income for Artists and Artist Employment Programs. Today, we’re thrilled to share a suite of resources that highlight what we learned from administering those programs alongside recommended actions for the broader field.…
Last week, CRNY Executive Director Sarah Calderon and I participated in a first-of-its-kind national convening hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The event, “Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities,” brought…
This week, on January 30, 2024, CRNY participated in a national convening hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council and the National Endowment for the Arts: “Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities. ” The Summit “explored how the arts can contribute to health…
January 16, 2024 — A new course, launched today by Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY), CreativeStudy, Art. coop, and Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund (GRO), will spread awareness about the guaranteed income movement. The course “Everyone is Essential!,” which includes a mini-documentary and a…
New York, NY – Creatives Rebuild New York’s Executive Director Sarah Calderon issued the following statement in response to Governor Hochul’s State of the State Address. Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) supports the economic stability of artists across the state through its Guaranteed Income for Artists…
Everyone deserves basic human dignity – which includes access to health insurance and affordable health care. Artists, many of whom are part-time and gig workers, are often not afforded the same legal protections as W-2 employees. For too long, artists have been left out of the systems that protect…
This fall CRNY convened hundreds of Guaranteed Income (GI) and Artist Employment Program (AEP) artists and organizational leaders across New York State as part of sixteen regional gatherings—for program participants to meet, learn, share their experiences, foster new connections, and celebrate resilience…
Indigenous communities are not a monolith. Different communities hold unique values, and their cultural heritage, lived experiences, and relationship to environment shape a community’s distinct character. Funding strategies that seek to engage these varied and diverse communities should therefore reflect…
Creatives Rebuild New York is using plain language to make information about our organization and programs more accessible. We are working with Reid Caplan, an expert in this field, and we have invited them to offer an introduction to this framework. Plain language is a way of writing. Plain language…
On November 9, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) ended its strike following an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) New York, NY – Creatives Rebuild New York’s Executive Director Sarah Calderon issued…
This page has materials from an event series called “Access Access. ” This series was organized by an artist and activist named Kevin Gotkin. The events took place on Zoom in the summer of 2023. Kevin recorded the events and created some resources about each one. “Time-shifting” is when someone takes…
In addition to providing financial support directly to artists, the CRNY team is committed to ongoing reflection about our programs, the impact they are having on participants, and the broader socio-economic conditions in which our work exists. CRNY executive director Sarah Calderon recently introduced…
It’s been two years since Creatives Rebuild New York’s inaugural Think Tank session, and I’m humbled to reflect on our work, on the artists and organizations we champion, and on the lessons we’ve learned along the way. In 2021, still in the throes of pandemic-era uncertainty, our Think Tank—a dedicated…
On September 27th, the Writers Guild of America ended the writers’ strike following an agreement with the American Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. New York, NY – Regarding the end of negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the American Alliance of Motion Picture…
Imagine a society in which artists can meet their basic needs, with no one left behind. Imagine an economy based on dignity, where we are trusted and empowered to decide what’s best for ourselves and for our families. What you’re envisioning isn’t a dream. It’s a choice—one we can make together to…
What does Labor Day mean for artists in the United States today? In times past, the holiday symbolized leisure — the bittersweet end of summer, reflections on the year thus far, and a respite before fall. But nowadays, our work is seldom over; in every season, we struggle to make ends meet within a…
As guaranteed income and universal basic income gain momentum in public discourse, so too have films that shed light on the histories and headways of these movements. Three recent documentaries—It’s Basic, Storming Caesars Palace, and Inherent Good—follow the grassroots activists, community members,…
Starting in late June 2023, CRNY Artist-Organizer Kevin Gotkin will host a series of Zoom-based events called “Access Access. ” Some of these gatherings will focus on strategies for organizations looking to begin or deepen a commitment to disability artistry, culture, and access. Other gatherings will…
Creatives Rebuild New York is pleased to release two open-call research solicitations tied to our Artist Employment Program. The deadline to apply to both opportunities is Friday, May 19, 2023 at 5:00 PM Eastern. Request for Proposals: Participatory Action Research Study: Evaluating the Impact of…
Last year, The Workers Lab and the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative launched a project to reflect on what we know about gig work and workers in direct partnership with the workers themselves. CRNY invites artists to join The Workers Lab and Aspen Institute for a 2-hour conversation, held via…
It’s no secret that today’s economy systemically disadvantages the independent creative workers who make up the future economy. Whether artists are operating as gig workers or employed by small businesses and nonprofits, there’s a gulf between the benefits artists can access and the holistic benefits…
For the last two years, curators Jodi Waynberg and Molly Garfinkel have been piecing together the first extensive history of little-known arts employment programs created under the federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), which created jobs for tens of thousands of American cultural…
In the last month, CRNY's friends at Art.coop, Creative Study, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts have released some fantastic new resources for artists, culture bearers, and culture makers interested in deepening their learning about the solidarity economy.
We were inspired and moved by this recent conversation between Sophia Park of Fractured Atlas and Laura Zabel, Executive Director of Springboard for the Arts. This interview, part of a new “Seeding Collaborations” series at Fractured Atlas, addresses “the rumblings of the art world…
Creatives Rebuild New York is excited to announce that it has begun distribution of monthly payments to 2,400 artists, culture bearers, and culture makers across New York State. A total of $43. 2M will be distributed to artist participants in $1,000 monthly, no-strings-attached installments for 18 consecutive…
Creatives Rebuild New York is thrilled to spread the word about A People’s WPA: Reimagining Labor & Building Cultural Power, a three-part training series from the U. S. Department of Arts and Culture for artists, activists, and cultural organizers who are interested in advocating for a public service…
We are thrilled to welcome Kevin Gotkin to the Creatives Rebuild New York team. Earlier this year, Kevin served on the CRNY Outreach Corps to help spread the word about the Guaranteed Income and Artist Employment Programs to Deaf and disabled New York State artists. Through this work, Kevin guided us…
This October, Creatives Rebuild New York’s Think Tank will reconvene virtually over a two-day period during which CRNY staff and Think Tank members will reflect on our Artist Employment and Guaranteed Income for Artist programs, share programmatic updates and mid-process learnings, and create space…
The CRNY team is fortunate to have partnered with graphic designer and artist Joelle Riffle and moving image artist James Thacher to shape CRNY’s program logos, social media & newsletter animations, posters, and visual assets. It’s been a joy working alongside James and Joelle; we’ve…
Today, Creatives Rebuild New York announced a dynamic group of 98 collaborations involving 300 artists employed by community-based organizations, municipalities, and tribal governments across New York State. We’re thrilled by the artistic work, community building, and mutuality that these collaborations…
Good data can shape narratives and strengthen advocacy efforts. Unfortunately, a nuanced understanding of individual artists’ lives does not exist at the state level. This is where our Portrait of New York State Artists survey comes in.
In this post we’ll talk about the Guaranteed Income for Artists selection process, name valid critiques we hear and which resonate with us, and address our partnership with Steady—both to articulate the excitement for what’s to come and to address issues that folks have experienced.
Many applicants are asking good questions about the Guaranteed Income for Artists eligibility requirement around financial need and how we arrived at the model we use today. We are listening, and we want first to acknowledge: all artists have need.
Many applicants have requested support in establishing artist-organization partnerships for Creatives Rebuild New York’s Artist Employment Program. We know that creating these partnerships can be tricky, and we want to share some resources to help you with this process.
Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) is pleased to announce that applications for our two, artist-centered initiatives are now open!
CRNY seeks to hire a part-time Communications and Outreach Coordinator. Download the full position description and apply by November 19, 2021.
Creatives Rebuild New York is thrilled to announce its roster of Think Tank members!