How The City Plans To Help Its Artists By Anna Lucente Sterling New York City PUBLISHED 7:00 PM ET Jan. 19, 2021 PUBLISHED 7:00 PM EST Jan. 19, 2021
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NEW YORK Before the pandemic hit, the cultural sector was one of the biggest economic engines in New York City. Theater, dance, fashion, art galleries and more employed nearly 400,000 workers and generated $110 billion in total economic activity.
But on March 16, it all came tumbling down.
When the city shut down, venues closed. People couldn’t congregate. Workers lost their jobs and with that went many artists’ commissions.
“We lost probably 75% of our regular income,” said Karesia Batan, dancer and director of the Queensboro Dance Festival. “That usually comes from sponsorships, online fundraising. People just didn t have the money to give us that they usu