ARTISTS AT WORK
“Artists At Work is visionary in its artist-centered, ecosystem-integrated approach, and we’re thrilled to support its growth. Sustained artist employment and partnership models, such as those utilized by Artists At Work, are essential to driving systemic change and addressing deep inequities in the field.”
ARTISTS AT WORK (AAW) is a national workforce resilience program in the spirit of the WPA that is designed to support artists and their communities through artistic civic engagement.
To date, ARTISTS AT WORK has provided 70 artists and culture workers across 11 states with a salary and health benefits, leveraging their power and creativity in partnership with over 80 cultural and community organizations throughout the nation. We are proud to invest in artists and their communities. As we continue to expand with new cohorts launching in 2024, we are focusing on amplifying and sustaining the impact of these investments by modeling new public/private partnerships and funding streams to support artists.
The ARTISTS AT WORK program provides an equitable framework – structured as a dynamic network of partnerships between artists, cultural organizations, and community partners – that sets artists up with strong local and national contacts, professional development, and systems of support. AAW Artists are employed for a period of one year to deepen their art practice and work collaboratively in response to local community needs across a range of issues including mental health, antiracism, migrant justice, climate resiliency, substance abuse recovery, cultural preservation, and youth welfare, among others.
We are steadfast in our commitment to providing support to and meeting the needs of today’s artists who are both navigating a difficult gig economy and being called upon to address civic and community needs.
Click here to download our AAW Program Overview
Click here to download our AAW Supplemental Impact Report 2021-2023
Click here to download our AAW Sample Toolkit for Artists
For more information about the program, our currently active regions, artists and opportunities, visit artists-at-work.org.
OUR AIMS + OBJECTIVES
VALUE ARTISTS AS WORKERS
AAW puts artists working across all disciplines on payroll at a living wage salary with health benefits for a period of one year to allow them to continue their artistic practice and launch new creative projects that serve their communities.
SUPPORT THE CULTURE SECTOR
Cultural organizations that host AAW Artists and help bring their work to the public receive funding and other resources for participating in the program.
HELP COMMUNITIES FLOURISH
Participating AAW Artists are embedded in local social impact initiatives, bringing capacity and creative problem solving to crucial programs that serve a broad spectrum of community members, and integrating artists in impactful ways within their communities.