Be An Arts Hero campaign spotlights the Creative Economy Revitalization Act
Senator Gillibrand recently invited Be An Arts Hero to the press conference last week endorsing CERA
Be An Arts Hero is an intersectional grassroots campaign comprised of Arts & Culture workers, Unions, and institutions in the United States pushing the Senate to allocate proportionate relief to the Arts & Culture sector of the American economy. Last week, Be An Arts Hero supported the Creative Economy Revitalization Act through Senator Gillibrand’s press conference sponsoring the program, cosponsored by Ben Ray Luján, Senator Martin Heinrich and Senator Alex Padilla, joining Teresa Leger Fernandez and Congressman Jay Obernolte in the House.
Congressional Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) introduced CERA Friday, August 13th, 2021 in the House of Representatives. It is a WPA-like jobs initiative that would put artists to work through commissions and grants, investing in local communities, towns and cities from coast to coast.
Creative workers have been some of the most severely impacted by the COVID pandemic. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, 63% of creative workers experienced unemployment, translating to over 2 million Americans. Since the start of the pandemic, the U.S. has lost an estimated 15.2 billion dollars in the arts and cultural sector alone. Just as important as these livelihoods is the culture and well-being of communities they contribute to.
“I grew up with musicos and poetas coming in and out of our family home. Through art, I gained pride in my identity and an understanding and appreciation for other cultures,” said Leger Fernández. “I’m inspired by the cultural legacy we inherited from the WPA. Similarly, this pandemic has devastated our creative workers and we must engage them to create art that unites and brings joy to our communities. In a time when our nation is so divided, we desperately need to be reminded of what makes our communities beautiful and diverse. This bill will provide grants to help fund projects that bring communities back together and remind us of what binds us together as Americans. We will build back beautifully.”
“The arts have long been a staple of our culture in the High Desert, Eastern Sierra and Inland Empire,” said Rep. Obernolte. “As we come together to build back our economies, we must pay special attention to our artists and the industries that were hurt most by the pandemic. Our small and local artists tell the stories of our communities. Their role in bringing us together is more important now than ever.”
“New Mexico’s vibrant creative economy is a critical economic driver for our state. As artists continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s essential that Congress provides support for this important industry,” said Luján. “This legislation will help put thousands of artists back to work and fuel the creative economy in New Mexico and across the country. I’m proud to partner with Congresswoman Leger Fernandez to introduce this legislation, and I look forward to working with leaders across New Mexico to support the arts economy.”
The Creative Economy Revitalization Act would:
Get creative workers back into jobs by creating a competitive workforce grants program within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Administer grants to eligible government, non-profit, for-profit organizations, and state and local workforce boards through the Department of Labor in coordination with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Require that grantees create art that is public and accessible to the public such as free concert series, large-scale murals, photography exhibits, published stories or dance performances.
This bill is inspired by the WPA, where artists created masterpieces of murals, collected songs and stories, and captured America in searing pictures as we came out of the Great Depression.
To learn more and get involved, click here.