Delivered in-person to the New York State Assembly, on February 26, 2025
Prepared by Candace Thompson-Zachery, Co-Executive Director of Dance/NYC

---

Dear Legislators,

Thank you for your time today. My name is Candace Thompson-Zachery, she/her and Co-Executive Director of Dance/NYC, a service organization dedicated to the dance industry in the NYC metro area.

I am here to make the case for:

• A Statewide Creative Economy Plan to strategically build a stronger safety net for our workers AND create new revenue streams for arts and culture 
• A $200M budget allocation for NYSCA to support organizations, individuals, and localities.
• Support for arts and dance education by passing the S285/A1502 bills, ensuring the next generation has access to dance, music, and the arts.
• Support for bill A2607 to increase resources for culturally diverse arts and culture organizations

2025 has only intensified challenges for the arts and dance industries while we are still grappling with the pandemic’s impact on our economic model, and on how our schools and communities engage with and support the arts. These new challenges include a disastrous federal climate—rhetoric-turned-policy that attacks DEI, LGBTQIA+ rights, and equity-centered practices. And through it all, the arts continue to be infantilized—seen as something “extra” rather than essential. In times of instability we need our local governments to be leaders, to step up, to fill gaps, and create solutions that safeguard us now and against future threats.

The arts, dance and its workers deserve their due. What we bring to society has real value—value that must be backed by dollar signs. 64% of NYC dance workers fund their own work, earning 24% below NYC’s living wage. 40% of dance organizations report weak or very weak financial health, while reliance on contributed income is rising. And 37% of dance workers lack medical coverage, with 82% not unionized and 41% of artists statewide reporting they are one medical emergency away from crisis. With our workforce being mostly freelance we are particularly vulnerable. New York must meet them where they are at, through strong funding, creative economy planning and arts education policy.

There are real solutions to be had for funding options if we look to other jurisdictions. Minnesota passed a constitutional amendment creating a ⅜-cent sales tax permanently funding its Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. A local government in northern California is rethinking how to use publicly-owned vacant buildings to generate new revenue for its arts and culture programs. New York is not short of options— but failing to act means neglecting a very powerful revenue generating industry, and its impactful community leaders that are fighting social isolation, fostering social and emotional learning, and elevating diverse cultures.

I urge you to take action towards:

• A Statewide Creative Economy Plan 
• A $200M budget allocation for NYSCA 
• Support for arts and dance education 
• Support for A2607

Thank you for your continued leadership.

---

Sources:

State of NYC Dance 2023: Findings from the Dance Industry Census. https://hub.dance.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/State-of-NYC-Dance-2023-Report-FINAL-23_12_11_ACC.pdf

Hand, Jamie, and Calderon, Sarah. Portrait of New York State Artists Survey, 2022. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-05-21. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39025.v1