Calling All Artists, Whoever You Are

The City Wants to Better Serve the Creative Community. First It Has to Find It

The Wall Street Journal

A new cultural think tank—the Institute for Culture in the Service of Community Sustainability—seeks accurate data on the number of artists living and working in the New York City area. Researchers believe the New York City artist population is grossly underreported since economic measures are only counting artists who actually make a living from their art. Starting with a community conversation, funded by a two-year Rockefeller grant, the new artist census will create a more nimble definition of what qualifies as a "working" artist based on hours of work and income so that each artist's tie to the field can be evaluated.