The Bowery Mural Wall continues to feature a rotating selection of art.
Strong art: ‘Sector report’ is bullish
BY GABE HERMAN
Manhattan has for years been getting harder
for many artists to live in because of rising
prices, as this paper has often covered. But a
new report says that the overall arts and cultural sector
— both in the city and in Manhattan — is doing
well, with good employment numbers and wages.
After a request from Manhattan Borough President
Gale Brewer, the city’s Independent Budget Offi
ce released a study this summer showing that from
2014 to 2017, the city’s arts and cultural sector saw
employment increases of 2.7 percent, a bit above the
overall city average of 2.3 percent. The study included
independent artists, but also others, like theaters,
theater and dance companies, performing arts and
museums.
The study found that annual wage growth was also
better within arts and cultural groups, at 5.9 percent,
versus the city as a whole, at 4.4 percent.
The Big Apple had about 3,900 arts and cultural
organizations in 2017 and more than 44,000 employees.
With total wages of $3.3 billion in the city’s arts
and culture sector, the average artist / employee was
thus paid $75,183, according to the report, indicating
that more than just starving artists were included in
the survey.
The highest portion of jobs within the sector were
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
in the “Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters”
category, which had 26.5 percent of the city’s arts
and culture jobs. That was followed by museum jobs,
with 22.2 percent of the sector’s employees, and arts
promoters with facilities, at 14.8 percent of the jobs.
Independent artists, writers and performers were the
next biggest group, making up 8 percent of the sector’s
jobs.
Manhattan is the center of the city’s arts and cultural
scene, at least based on the jobs data. The borough
had 80.7 percent of the jobs, and 87.7 percent
of the sector’s wages.
After the report was released, Brewer said of the
fi ndings, “Manhattan continues to prove to be a hub
of artistic and cultural life, and I am happy to share
this good news about the sector’s growing employment
and wage levels.
“The fact that the arts and cultural sector is growing
faster than the citywide average,” Brewer added,
“highlights the importance of arts and cultural organizations
in our city, not only as a means of entertainment
and enrichment, but also as a vital element of
our ever-changing economy.
“I have always fought for the arts’ place in our city,”
she said, “and I hope this data serves to raise more
awareness for the role that the arts and cultural sector
plays in both our economy and society at large.”
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
The sculpture “Brick House,” by artist Simone
Leigh, on the High Line’s newly opened
Spur.
18 August 15, 2019 TVG Schneps Media