The Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) is a three-year investment in the financial stability of artists in New York State and the organizations that employ them. 

CRNY will provide income and employment opportunities for 2700 artists who reside primarily in NY State. According to the NY Times, the program will involve monthly stipends to 2400 artists in NY State and jobs to another 300. 

The stipend stands at $1,000 a month for 18 months with no strings attached, while job opportunities involve those with a community-based organization or municipality with an income of $65,000 a year.

This initiative is among a series of programs around the U.S. providing artists with guaranteed income. Other efforts include those in San Francisco with their Guaranteed Income Pilot Program and the Artist Relief which offered emergency relief funds in response to the effects of COVID-19 on the arts industry.

“There are guaranteed income programs that have been launching across the country, many of them pilots to understand if this work has been working,” Sarah Calderon, CRNY’s executive director told NY Times. “Creatives Rebuild New York has seen that data and really believes that it does work.”

CRNY is supported with $115 million from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, $5 million from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and $5 million from the Ford Foundation. The funds are overseen by the Tides Foundation, an American public charity. 

As outlined on CRNY’s website, an artist who wishes to apply can be “someone who regularly engages in artistic or cultural practice” to express themselves, pass on traditional knowledge, offer cultural resources to their communities, or work within them for social impacts. 

Applicants may be working within the disciplines of crafts, dance, design, film, literary arts, media arts, music, oral tradition, social practice, theater, performance art, traditional arts, visual arts, and/or interdisciplinary arts.

“Artists inspire us and illuminate our shared human experience [and they are] critical to the health of our economy,” CRNY stated on their website. “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.”

Additionally, the arts industry accounts for nearly half a million jobs. However, due to COVID-19, NY State lost 50% of its performing arts jobs in 2020, while NY City alone lost 72% — more than in any other industry. 

“As we continue to envision and work towards our post-pandemic reality, it’s critical that we not overlook the artist workers whose labor is an essential part of our economy and whose continued work sustains us,” said Mellon Foundation’s president, Elizabeth Alexander in NY Times. 

The closing date for CRNY’s programs is March 26. The application process accommodates non-English speakers, people with disabilities, and those without internet access.

To apply, click here.

For more information, click here.