In an op-ed for Philanthropy News Digest, Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts, and Kerry McCarthy, vice president for philanthropic initiatives at The New York Community Trust, shared insights revealed through the Doris Duke Foundation Performing Artist Recovery Fund at the New York Community Trust into the pandemic-exacerbated struggles of performing artists and detailed steps we can all take to support and strengthen the infrastructure artists need to thrive.
"Many of us enjoy the benefits of art without considering the sweat that goes into it or acknowledging that the artists who create and deliver it are facing the same pressures and challenges that we’re experiencing during these difficult times," Knighton and McCarthy wrote. "In fact, making a living as a performing artist during the pandemic has been impossible for most — and especially for artists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color and for those who are immigrants or older adults, identify as women or LGBTQ+, or have disabilities."
Knighton and McCarthy added that "even before the pandemic, artists struggled financially. During the best of economic times, many artists must work multiple jobs to make ends meet, do not qualify for employer-sponsored benefits like health insurance, and carry staggering amounts of debt."