NYC Deserves a Culture Commissioner Who Cares

"Throughout the last decade, the field has assumed a more active civic role. Artists, cultural workers, and partners in government and philanthropy have organized through cultural plans like CreateNYC and the People's Cultural Plan; weekly Culture@3 and New Yorkers for Culture and Arts Advocacy; coalitions like the Cultural Equity Coalition, Latinx Arts Consortium of New York, Safety Net Coalition, and Voices for Creative New York; as well as shared advocacy - building infrastructure for coordination and accountability."

"Culture in Crisis rally at City Hall, March 2024. Organized by NY4CA and the New York City Council to push back against Mayor Adams's proposed budget cuts to the culture and arts sector. Council Member Carlina Rivera, Chair of the NYC Council Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries, addresses the press in support of sector funding. (photo courtesy New York City Council)"

New York City faces a deep affordability crisis that reshapes who can live and work in the city and which institutions can survive. The cultural sector has organized more actively through plans, weekly convenings, and coalitions, building infrastructure for coordination and accountability. COVID-19 reinforced attention to equity, labor conditions, and mutual support, producing durable habits of collaboration: sharing information, coordinating policy asks, aligning narratives, and supporting one another as public and private systems strain. The Department of Cultural Affairs commissioner must practice partnership as a governing method: translating field knowledge into policy and budgets, convening with earned legitimacy, and making City government a reliable collaborator through transparency and predictable processes.

Read at Hyperallergic