Advocates Call on City Lawmakers to Address Cost of Living Crisis Facing Teaching Artists and Protect Arts Education in Schools

Today, teaching artists, educators, and advocates rallied on the steps of City Hall to call on the Mayor and City Council to address the affordability crisis facing New York City’s arts education workforce and protect access to arts education in public schools. Despite playing a critical role in arts instruction across the city, many teaching artists struggle with low pay, delayed payment from city contracts, and limited access to benefits, making it increasingly difficult to afford to live and work in New York City. 

Recording found here.

There are over 900 cultural organizations working in schools, employing a workforce estimated to be nearly 11,000. According to a study from the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, teaching artists make between $35,000 and $50,000. Additionally, many teaching artists do not have health insurance through work (only 6% received it through an employer). Barriers to providing benefits include limited and inconsistent funding, the part-time and/or seasonal nature of the majority of teaching artist positions, and insurance carrier restrictions that often require a minimum number of weekly work hours for medical coverage. 

“Teaching artists play an irreplaceable role in students’ lives, unlocking creativity, fostering resilience, and revealing the power of expression beyond the classroom walls. But too many of these educators are severely underpaid and waiting months to receive what they’re owed. When we fail our teaching artists, we fail our students. Young people who have access to arts are more engaged in school while also have improved mental health. We are calling on the Mayor and City Council to act now: ensure fair pay, fix broken contracting systems, and invest in arts education for every child in every school — because it starts with the arts,” said Kimberly Olsen, Executive Director of NYC Arts in Education in Roundtable.

“I’m grateful to the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable for bringing attention to the challenges facing teaching artists, who play such a vital role in our schools across Manhattan and the five boroughs. Every day, these educators help our students explore creativity, build confidence, and express themselves, often while navigating low pay, delayed compensation, and limited access to benefits. As we work with our partners in government and the arts community, we must continue improving contracting systems, ensuring timely and fair pay, and strengthening our investments in arts education so every child has the opportunity to learn, create, and thrive,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

“Teaching artists educate, mentor, and inspire our students—yet too many are underpaid and wait months to be paid for their labor,” said Council Member Julie Won. “When we underpay teaching artists, we limit students’ access to creativity. We must restore and baseline $30 million for the Department of Cultural Affairs, increase funding for arts instruction to $6 million, and ensure teaching artists earn fair, timely pay. Supporting arts education starts with respecting the teachers who make it possible.” 

 “Arts Education is essential within our school system and it cannot be seen as an afterthought. It is time for us to educate the whole child and invest in the arts. By doing this we will open doors of opportunities for New York City students,” said Council Member Rita Joseph.

“The artists and educators bringing the arts into our classrooms and communities are essential to New York City’s creative economy. We all want every student to have access to arts education, and that requires us to ensure the people doing that work can afford to live and work here” said Councilwoman Virginia Maloney.

“Teaching artists are a critical part of how our students experience the arts, bringing creativity, skills, and real-world perspective into our classrooms. Too often, they are underpaid and face long delays just to receive the compensation they are owed,” said Council Member Gale A. Brewer. “I have long supported arts in our schools and the people who make it possible, and that means making arts education a real priority in the budget, fixing the city’s contracting process, ensuring reliable funding, and respecting teaching artists as professionals. When we support teaching artists, we are supporting our students.”

The city can help teaching artists and students by:

ADDRESS COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS FOR ARTS EDUCATION WORKFORCE

• Continue reforms to contracting with city agencies. specifically targeting NYCPS’ Multi-Task Award Contract (MTAC) and CASA contracts, to ensure timely contract remittance and payments, accessible processes, and fair per-class rates that reflect the true cost of programming and labor.
• Launch insurance pilots to support teaching artist affordability. Aligned with Creatives Rebuild NY and the Center for an Urban Future, NYC can reduce economic precarity for the arts workforce by piloting a freelancers portable benefits program and a pooled insurance program for smaller orgs.
• Restore and Baseline Funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs ($30M). Baselining this one-time addition supports arts organizations and workers city-wide, offering sector-wide stabilization and preventing further artist displacement.

PRESERVING & IMPROVING ARTS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

• Restore and Enhance “Support for Arts Instruction” initiative funding. Increase allocation from $4M to $6M to meet city-wide demand for increased arts learning opportunities.
• Require NYCPS arts funding be spent on the arts. Boost the per student arts allocation to $100 from $89.76, and require that money be spent on arts education.
• Ensure Every School Has a Certified Arts Teacher: Ensure that all schools have at least one certified arts teacher, in part by reviving the successful supplemental arts certification program ($4M) and funding a PE Works-inspired improvement plan using the already baselined arts education funding.
• Improve arts education data transparency. Require mandatory reporting on school-level arts education access, participation, spending, and MTAC procurement (R1129/R1180) via T&C.
• Update the NYCPS Blueprint for Arts Learning to define sequential pathways for arts learning that integrate culturally-responsive pedagogy and reflect rapid advancements in media and technology (last updated in 2015).