Artists are workers and have a work product that’s crucial to the health of their communities.

Rachel Chanoff

Artists move us through the darkness in such obvious ways, but many people think art is a luxury.

How history inspired Artists At Work and other creative employment programs

American artist Allen Saalburg directs WPA artists at work in a temporary studio at the American Museum of Natural History on murals commissioned for the Arsenal Building in Central Park, New York in 1935. Photo: New York Times Co./Getty Images

In black and white, artists sketch a mural. Some artists stand on small scaffolding and another sits on a stool while drawing with charcoal. The mural is flowery and there is a long block of text in the center.

The New York production of "Macbeth" during the 1930's. Photo: Library of Congress

Many actors fill the stage during a scene from Macbeth. Leaves cover the backdrop and hang from above. A tall bridge sits at the back of the stage and an actor wearing a long dress walks across. This photo is black and white and the costumes indicate it was taken in the early 1900s.

Artist Ilya Bolotowsky and assistant John Joslyn working on a mural for the Hall of Medical Sciences at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Photo: Archive of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Two artists paint an abstract mural in the early 1900s. One artist stands on scaffolding and the other on a table. Paint brushes, palettes, and other art tools are scattered around.

Art classes at the Harlem Community Art Center in New York in 1939. Photo: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library

In black and white, three Black boys wearing early 1900s attire are in a workshop. Behind them, tools and wooden cabinets are visible. One boy uses a mallet to shape a bowl and the other examines the work in his hands. The third boy faces away from the camera.

Michigan artist Alfred Castagne sketching WPA construction workers, May 19, 1939. Photo: Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

Michigan artist Alfred Castagne sketching construction workers

Progress of Griffith Park Observatory in 1934

Griffith Park Observatory in 1934

Adult art class at the Brooklyn Museum in 1935. Photo: Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Adult art class, 1935

Artist Marion Greenwood painting a mural for the WPA Federal Art Project, 1940. Photo: Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Artist Marion Greenwood painting a mural

Artists at Work

Sculptors at work in New York under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. Photo: Archive of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Artists work in pairs around small paint-stained benches in a messy studio. In black and white, their hair and clothes indicate that this photo was taken in the early 1900s. Artists work on various stages of sculptures. One artist paints a statue of a camel.

A New Deal for Artists in the 21st Century

Artists as Catalysts

Artists as Catalysts Navigation Image

Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Borderlands Cultures

In portrait orientation, an aerial view of a major highway running parallel to a large border wall set on a hilly landscape

Civic Engagement

A man in a brown jacket stands in front of blue bulletin board that is covered with papers and advertisements  

Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

An interior room filled with audio and video equipment 

Monuments and Memory

A multicolored painted totem pole set in front of a foggy forest landscape

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

Related