At City Hall
Last week I got to do some art advocacy at New York City Hall by testifying before the City Council’s Committee on Cultural Affairs on the importance of artist residencies. I spoke about how meaningful my residency at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning has been to me as a Black woman artist and how vital residencies are to career development.
With the mayor’s budget cuts looming over the fate of so many cultural programs, I hope there will be sustained funding for arts programs to support underrepresented artists like me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to advocate. Here’s my written testimony that was submitted for the public record:
Good morning. My name is Jaimee Todd and I am a multidisciplinary artist based in Sunnyside, Queens. Like many aspiring artists, I moved to New York City 20 years ago with the dream of a thriving art career. Through persistence and hard work, I managed to show my art in various non profits and cultural institutions throughout the city. In spite of these opportunities, I still felt like I needed the support that would advance my art career. I felt especially challenged as a Black woman artist because I felt like I was often competing in spaces where I didn’t feel represented or even welcomed. I knew I needed to find community among other artists who looked like me.
In 2023, I was chosen alongside four other minority artists to be a part of the ARTworks residency program through the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, or JCAL. The goal of the residency was to empower BIPOC artists with the resources and skills to navigate the complexities of the art world. For 10 months, we attended curated seminars with art professionals who shared their expertise in areas that included marketing, intellectual property, legacy planning, and contract negotiation. I was so grateful for the wealth of knowledge that our mentors shared with us because I recognized how access to the right information can really make the difference in one’s art career. This is especially important for underrepresented artists. In fact, one of my residency mentors recognized my potential and invited me to participate in the Harlem Fine Arts Show. Even though it was the first time I ever exhibited at a fine arts fair, I sold over $2000 worth of art and made valuable networking contacts.
Because JCAL recognizes that artists are the economic and cultural backbone of New York City, they consistently pay them for showcasing their artwork.The grant funding from my residency allowed me to cover numerous art expenses, which included my very first art studio. Having my own studio has been an absolute game changer in my creative development; now I can sell more work through open studio visits and expand the scale of my artwork.
Our residency recently had our opening reception for our group show entitled, Evolution. Our theme centered around our personal and creative growth as artists which we were excited to share with the surrounding communities of Jamaica. The visitors not only praised the presentation of the work, but they were so excited to see artists who looked like them showcasing their talents. (And just to plug—our show will be on view until May 3 with an artist talk taking place on April 13).
Programs like ARTWorks are now endangered by the deep and harmful budget cuts ordered by Mayor Adams to DCLA this year. They are especially harmful to communities of color who will disproportionately suffer from loss of jobs, which are critical drivers of our economy. I urge Mayor Adams to reverse the $20 million in cuts from this year, and I ask all City Council members to refuse to vote on any budget with $15.5 million in cuts for next year. ARTWorks—and I— need your support. Thank you for your time.
