PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lucy Sexton, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Culture and Arts, on Cultural Workforce Development
2:39:23
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Lucy Sexton, representing New Yorkers for Culture and Arts, addressed the NYC City Council's cultural affairs committee on the critical issues facing the cultural workforce in New York City. She highlighted the financial struggles of artists and proposed several initiatives to support cultural organizations and workers.
- Advocated for a new council initiative for workforce development to help cultural organizations attract, train, and retain a diverse workforce
- Proposed a city-backed health fund to provide portable benefits for cultural workers and more affordable health plans for cultural organizations
- Emphasized the need to protect immigrant artists and maintain cultural funding in the face of opposition
Lucy Sexton
2:39:23
I'm unmuted.
2:39:24
I don't know if I'm gonna be cued, but, if you can hear me, I'll proceed.
2:39:28
I am Lucy Sexton.
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I'm with New Yorkers for Culture and Arts, a citywide coalition of artists and cultural ag, organizations.
2:39:35
Thank you, chair Rivera, and the council's cultural affairs committee for holding this important hearing addressing the cultural workforce.
2:39:41
I also wanna thank the chair for your new bill supporting the New York State legislature's art space bill.
2:39:47
Access to space at below market rate for long term leases is a critical first step in stemming the tide of the loss of cultural spaces that do so much to anchor our communities.
2:39:57
As far as workforce, we need to look at the current state of those workers.
2:40:01
The 2022 portrait of New York State Artists survey by Creatives Rebuild New York, who I know you're also going to hear from, revealed stark data.
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57% of respondents reported income under 25,000, 86% earned less than 50 1,000.
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60% characterized their financial circumstances as unstable or extremely unstable.
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Cultural organizations need stable funding to hire more and pay more, particularly to young people from disinvested communities.
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A few ideas.
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We propose a new council initiative for workforce development specifically to help cultural organizations attract, train, and retain a diverse workforce.
2:40:42
We're also advocating for a city backed health fund that would allow cultural workers to access portable benefits in moving from job to job and provide cultural organizations access to a more affordable group health plan for their employees.
2:40:57
We know there is support for this in the administration, and we'd love to share more details with you.
2:41:02
Finally, the council, the administration, and our state government need to do all they can to protect immigrant artists struggling to stay in our city.
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We must pass New York for all in Albany.
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We must protect cultural funding, which is already under attack by the right.
2:41:17
And New York City must lead the way in saying no to the shutdown of DEIA initiatives and yes to our wildly diverse and vibrant city culture.
Christopher Leon Johnson
2:41:27
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