While immigrants now account for nearly one-third of all artists in the city and play an essential role anchoring New York’s position as a global leader in contemporary culture, the pandemic is threatening the livelihoods of countless immigrant artists—and the survival of the cultural organizations that champion their work. New York’s leaders should make new supports for immigrant artists a core feature of the city's recovery strategy, or risk losing one of the city’s greatest sources of strength.

In this op-ed for City Limits, CUF Editorial and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin and Associate Editor Laird Gallagher urge city policymakers and cultural leaders to do more to help immigrant artists and arts organizations survive the current crisis and weave new strength into the cultural fabric of New York City.

You can read the op-ed here.

This op-ed builds on the Center's ongoing research on immigrants, NYC's creative ecosystem, and its recent work on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the report The Changing Face of Creativity in New York and rapid-response pieces Under Threat & Left Out: NYC’S Immigrants and the Coronavirus Crisis and Art In The Time Of Coronavirus: Nyc’s Small Arts Organizations Fighting For Survival.