The overall initiative supported Chicago's creative workforce at both the individual and sector levels and informed our understanding of the issues. For example, 3Arts provided emergency grants to help creative workers navigate economic instability. Arts Alliance Illinois built momentum in advocating for safe and fair working conditions for creative workers. And ACRE collected and analyzed survey data from more than 1,200 creative workers through its Chicago Arts Census and will host a series of town halls on the findings.
The arts spur economic growth, offer innovative avenues for civic engagement, teach students vital skills, and strengthen neighborhood vitality. For our city to experience these benefits, a wide range of interests—corporate, philanthropic, and government—must invest in creative workers. We all have a role to play in supporting the arts and culture that make Chicago special. Through special initiative described above, MacArthur's CEA program sought to strengthen and sustain Chicago's creative workforce at a critical time.
We all have a role to play in supporting the arts and culture that make Chicago special.
And we are not done. As part of our ongoing commitment to Chicago's creative workforce, we will continue to offer multi-year, general operating support to nonprofits that focus on creative workers. Flexible funding, we know, is key to stability, sustainability, and innovation. It enables organizations to invest further in the creative workers that power them.
The CEA program will also continue to host timely convenings. When creative workers and arts organizations connect and work together, they can leverage their collective assets (such as financial resources, creativity, and problem-solving skills) to achieve shared goals. This collaboration can spur public and private partners to invest more in creative workers and raise visibility of their importance.
Learn more about the creative workforce by following 3Arts, Arts Alliance Illinois, ACRE, and SMU DataArts or find resources on creative worker rights at the “Art is Labor†Campaign by the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
