The cultural sector in New York City brings communities together and makes them more resilient, promotes public health and safety, improves educational outcomes, creates a platform for civic participation, employs hundreds of thousands of workers, attracts tens of millions of tourists, and generates billions of dollars in economic activity each year.

A thriving and sustainable cultural sector fundamentally underpins the economic and social fabric of New York City.

According to the Center for an Urban Future’s 2015 report Creative New York, New York City is home to 8.6% of all creative sector jobs in the nation. And the city’s cultural sector is growing faster than traditional employment sectors in New York City like law and finance. The diverse employment opportunities in culture—union and non-union; high- and low-skilled; and hourly, contract, and full-time—are accessible to New Yorkers from all education and skill levels. Efforts to support and grow this workforce can benefit the New York City economy as a whole.

Culture is also integral to the social fabric of New York City, bringing communities together in every neighborhood throughout the five boroughs. As the Americans for the Arts report, Trend or Tipping Point: Arts and Social Change Grantmaking, pointed out, arts and culture engage individuals and communities that traditionally have been excluded from the civic decision-making process and create a platform for those communities to participate. Furthermore, a recent report put out by the recent Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP) report indicates that cultural activity in New York is linked with significant social and health benefits such as violence prevention, reduction in obesity, and improved literacy.

“A key feature of community… [is] the extent to which residents have the where-with-all to relate and control their own narrative—their own story.”

MARIA ROSARIO JACKSON
THE ROLE OF ARTISTS AND THE ARTS IN CREATIVE PLACEMAKING

ECONOMIC IMPACT

As the Research and Discovery chapter laid out earlier in this report, the body of evidence supporting culture’s tremendous impact on the economy is vast. The nonprofit sector alone generates over $8 billion in economic impact. The members of the Cultural Institutions Group employ 13,700 people in full and part time positions, including 4,500 union jobs. Neighborhoods and commercial corridors in every corner of the city are anchored by cultural organizations and creative enterprises. And according to the New York Works report, culture employs over 400,000 workers across New York City all told.

Where annual salary data is available, an analysis conducted for CreateNYC found that employees in most cultural subsectors earn wages that are higher than the annual median salary for all workers in New York City. Investing in culture means investing in good jobs.

“Arts impact the local economy—they should be treated as part of the economic ecosystem.”

LEVI
ARTIST, BROOKLYN

It should be noted, however, that the compensation structure for cultural workers varies widely. Many individuals employed in the arts and cultural sector do not earn annual salaries but rather hourly wages and/or project-based fees. Throughout conversations with artists in CreateNYC engagement events such as the Labor Union Focus Group and the DanceNYC Town Hall for fiscally sponsored artists, artists brought up issues related to working in a sector characterized by unsteady income and non-traditional compensation structure. Stakeholders indicated that many artists cobble together multiple income sources to earn enough money to live. This suggests that supports around good wages and more opportunities for artists to earn good wages could support and strengthen the cultural sector.

From 2004 to 2014, the number of cultural firms grew by approximately 20% and the number of cultural workers grew by approximately 25%, driven in part by growth in the number of independent artists, writers, and performers, and by the motion picture and video production and graphic design services industries. As the number of independent and freelance cultural workers grows, pooled administrative and marketing services are frequently cited as a potentially valuable resource to support these workers.

“My big idea for arts and culture in
New York City is…promoting the economic, educational, and quality of life impact of arts & culture in the city to encourage participation.”

JULIA
CREATENYC TOOLKIT RESPONSE, QUEENS

Cultural organizations and firms are heavily concentrated in Manhattan. This geographic concentration was identified as an issue throughout the CreateNYC engagement process. Indeed, the community expressed equitable distribution of cultural activity and investment as a core value. Geographic distribution of cultural activity, however, has improved between 2004 and 2014. In particular, Brooklyn has experienced significant growth in the number of cultural firms and employees. Libraries are also key place-based centers that allow New Yorkers to access and engage with culture within their communities.

THE COMMERCIAL POWER OF CULTURE

The cultural sector is also a powerful driver of tourism in New York City. Analysis from NYC & Company indicates that the cultural sector attracted almost 30 million visitors in 2015, up nearly 8% from the prior year, and up 50% since 2010. The same analysis indicates that international tourists spent $1,786 per trip on culture. The global value of New York City’s cultural sector may present additional opportunities to support and celebrate cultural firms, nonprofits, and workers. A 2017 New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment report found that the music industry has established an ecosystem of supporting subsectors that generate over $21 billion in economic output per year. According to The Broadway League, attendance for the 2016-2017 Broadway theater season topped $13 million for the third year in a row and yielded more than $1.4 billion in grosses. Clearly, visitors to New York City are eager to experience our one-of-a-kind cultural offerings.

“Я бы создал больше мероприятий, направленных на улучшение посредством искусства и культуры психического здоровья и общего благополучия. Подобные мероприятия (например, бесплатные уроки музыки, йога, лекции и семинары по психотерапии) были бы доступны для всех жителей Нью-Йорка.”

“I would create more activities focused on improving—using art and culture—mental health and overall wellbeing. Such activities (for example, free music classes, yoga, lectures, and seminars on therapy) would be available for all inhabitants of New York”

INNA
PARENT, GRAVESEND, BROOKLYN

In addition to the nonprofit cultural sector mentioned in detail on page 39, when looking broadly at the entire creative and cultural sectors New York City is home to over 400,000 induced and indirect jobs. The sector is associated with $21.2 billion in economic impact. According to the 2005 Alliance for the Arts study Arts as an Industry, the sector generated more than $900 million in tax revenue.

Throughout the CreateNYC community engagement process, New Yorkers expressed that City policy should continue to support sector job growth, good wages, professional development, organizational capacity building (particularly for small- and mid-sized organizations that often have difficulty competing for existing resources), and naturally occurring cultural clusters.

SOCIAL IMPACT

Thriving cultural activity can serve as a foundation for healthy communities by strengthening community identity, promoting diversity and inclusion, improving literacy and educational outcomes, supporting social justice and neighborhood cohesion, creating opportunities to instill a commitment to civic participation, and increasing safety and public health. In addition, science-based cultural organizations raise our awareness about climate change and lead the charge to reduce our environmental impact.

An active arts and cultural community is a proven component of strong and healthy communities. The Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP) report provides quantitative evidence of the positive social impact of the arts. The study found that for low-income neighborhoods in New York City, high levels of cultural activity correlate with reduced rates of obesity and serious crimes, while increase the number of students who score in the top stratum of English Language Arts and Math exams.

“[The Social Impact of the Arts report] proves what we’ve witnessed anecdotally for decades: the arts improve lives. They draw upon our most fundamentally human qualities such as creativity, discovery, and community. We have seen this time and again in MoCADA’s diverse array of arts programming, in schools, parks, and public housing throughout Central Brooklyn.”

JAMES BARTLETT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN DIASPORAN ARTS (MOCADA), BROOKLYN

As outlined in a 2015 policy brief prepared by Arts & Democracy, Groundswell, and Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY), arts have also played a significant and unique role in promoting healing following city-wide crises. Following Hurricane Sandy, Arts & Democracy worked with hundreds of volunteers to engage displaced residents at the Park Slope Armory and provide volunteer performances and workshops. The wellness center engaged the residents in reclaiming their dignity, shifting them from victims to creators. Dance Theater Etcetera played a key role in organizing in Red Hook, and Sandy Storyline provided sustained opportunities for people to share their stories. These artistic outlets provided a platform for victims of the hurricane to articulate, reflect upon, and unite over the impact the hurricane had on their lives.

Participants in a CreateNYC focus group for arts, culture, and resiliency expressed the unique position that culture often serves in promoting social cohesion. While artists and cultural organizations can themselves represent vulnerable populations, they have proven to be critical to emergency response, recovery, and resiliency efforts, whether it be in times of natural disaster, financial crisis, or political unrest. See page 41 for a more in depth look at the SIAP report.

“Art can be used as a tool to create connections between people, bringing them together, fostering healthy communities.”

MARINA
ARTS AND CULTURAL WORKER, BRONX

CreateNYC’s vision for social and economic impact is one in which the City facilitates more good jobs in arts and culture that pay well, as demonstrated in the following strategies. The City will work to leverage continued and increased private investment in culture as well as leverage communications and promotions in support of culture throughout our neighborhoods to tourists and to our residents alike. And the City will collaborate across agencies so that arts and culture can continue to yield positive social impacts on the lives of more New Yorkers.

STRATEGIES

CASE STUDY