An Assembly of New York Artists
The Hunter College Office of the Arts invites all New York artists and arts workers to speak out at this public event, to share their ideas for creating a more equitable and vibrant arts landscape in New York City and State.
Monday, January 26, 2026, 4-7 pm
Danspace Project, St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery
131 East 10th Street at Second Avenue
We the People:
A Forum on Working Class Artists in America
May 1, 2025, Hunter College
This forum gathered artists, arts leaders, elected officials, students, professors, and more to discuss issues related to working class artists and to propose solutions toward a more economically inclusive culture that reflects the full breadth of the American experience in the twenty-first century.
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“Art is the great democrat, calling forth genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color.”
John F. Kennedy, 1962
“Lincoln used to say that democracy was a system that allowed you to arrive at your level of talent and discipline. A lot of people don’t feel that anymore. This is where class comes in…you wonder how much talent is out there and the system doesn’t let them rise.”
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
A healthy democracy’s culture would reflect the widest possible creative perspectives of its citizens. But for the past fifty years, working class American artists—Black and white, urban and rural, men and women—have found it increasingly difficult to propel their voices into the national conversation. There are many reasons for this, and it is of course only a part of the larger national economic and social problem facing the working class. But diminishing these creative voices has exacerbated our well-documented cultural disconnections, distorted our sense of a national identity, limited opportunities for community building through empathy, and held us back from that ever elusive goal, a more perfect union.
On May 1, 2025, We the People: A Forum on Working Class Artists in America brought together artists and arts administrators, policymakers, economists, scholars, elected officials, students, and journalists at Hunter College for a series of panel discussions to explore the financial and social barriers that artists from working class backgrounds face, the commonplace inaccessibility of arts events to working class audiences, the financial and social price of the arts not representing the culture at its fullest, and what solutions we might begin to find.
Next, on January 26, 2026, We the People: An Assembly of New York Artists will gather artists and arts workers at a public event where they can share their individual perspectives and ideas for creating a more equitable and vibrant arts landscape in New York City and State.
Assembly Format
We will gather January 26, between 4 and 7 pm, so people with either day or evening jobs can attend. Come for 30 minutes or all three hours, as you like.
Participants will be seated on three sides of Danspace Project’s open space. A moderator will recognize speakers, alternating among sections to make sure everyone can be seen and heard. You’ll have 60 seconds to share your idea. It could be about how the city or state could help, or how New York artists and arts workers could collaborate on important issues, or whatever you like.
Everyone who comes will already know that art is good, so be specific. For instance, here are just a few of the subjects that have emerged from our previous events and conversations:
Affordable housing options such as Westbeth
Childcare challenges and possible solutions
Portable benefits models like those explored by the Freelancers Union
The need for safe, welcoming, and affordable spaces for rehearsal, presentation, and community connections throughout the boroughs and state, not just Manhattan
Criteria for public and philanthropic funding, e.g. executive vs. artist pay, or bricks and mortar vs. creative support, etc.
Support and advice on fundraising, legal, and tax questions
These just scratch the surface. Bring your own! Depending on how many people attend, you may have a chance for a follow-up minute.
A summary and detailed record of the Assembly will be shared with the Mayor’s and Governor’s offices and the wider New York cultural community.
We look forward to hearing from you January 26!
Note: We will have ASL interpreters for the speakers.