BronxArtSpace and the Fight for Affordable Creativity in NYC
“We have a small but powerful ecosystem here: exhibition spaces, artist studios, and people who are willing to work with each other,” said Sabine Schumacher, director of BronxArtSpace in Hunts Point, which offers artist residencies and ensures that at least 45 percent of its exhibiting artists are Bronx-based.
Organizations like BronxArtSpace are vital to the fabric of New York City—but they’re under existential threat from the affordability crisis gripping the five boroughs, as well as federal cuts to arts funding.
According to Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director at the Center for an Urban Future, the risks facing artists today are unlike those of past decades. “I think the pandemic broke something in the art sector in New York that hasn’t been fixed,” he said.
What's ahead this week in housing: The NYC Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet Thursday regarding bills that would expand the city’s definition of tenant harassment to include unlawful evictions, and another related to notifications for tenants who get senior citizen and disability rent increase exemptions.
