The Creative Economy Revitalization Act
Be An #ArtsHero stands in full solidarity with the Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA). CERA H.R. 5019 (IH) was introduced Friday, August 13th, 2021 in the House of Representatives by Representative Leger Fernandez (D-NM) and Representative Jay Obernolte, and is soon to be introduced in the Senate by Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM).
“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. The creative economy is essential to the U.S. economy. Our country exports art, music, and film to the entire globe. In the state of New Mexico, one in ten paychecks is tied to the arts. 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 well-being of communities they serve. The pandemic has not only affected individuals and families, but eroded social fabric as people were unable to gather, to mourn and celebrate together, to support each other and their communities in person.”
You can read the bill summary here.
Our Responsibility
“As our Nation recovers from the pandemic, we have a responsibility to lift up those who were hit the hardest. This includes our country’s creative workers and the communities they serve. We have the opportunity to put Americans to work creating art that unites our communities. In a time when our nation is so divided, we desperately need to be reminded of our cultures and shared experiences and what binds us together as Americans.”
How It Works
“The Creative Economy Revitalization Act will get creative workers back into jobs by creating a workforce grants program within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The Department of Labor, in coordination with the National Endowment for the Arts, will administer the grants eligible to government, non-profit, and for-profit organizations. Grants will prioritize creative workers who became unemployed due to the COVID pandemic. Similar to the WPA Federal Project One which hired creatives across the country as the U.S. recovered from the Great Depression, the Creative Economy Revitalization Act will require that grantees create art that is public and accessible to the entire community such as free concert series, large-scale murals, photography exhibits, published stories or dance performances.”