by Erika Atkins Scott Austin Heleya de Barros
( Open scene ) Me : I want to go into the arts . Parents / Teachers / Friends / Family : What ’ s your back-up ? ( End scene ) All three of us have had this conversation in some form at various ( and repeated ) points in our lives . We did it anyways . We became a freelance actor / teaching artist , a public high school theater teacher , and an arts education nonprofit administrator . We didn ’ t go into these careers for the money . We have all hustled . We even got our masters degrees to further our training . Now , mid-career , we find ourselves in a field with incredibly high turnover rates , exceedingly high performance and output standards , and little opportunity for growth . Is a career in arts education sustainable ? Pay equity for race and gender have been at the forefront of many national conversations which has led many in arts education to question our own pay structures .
18 Incite / Insight Member ’ s Corner
Summer / Early Fall 2018
THE HUSTLE
Economic Sustainability in the Arts Education Field
by Erika Atkins Scott Austin Heleya de Barros
A 2 part version of this article originally appeared on ARTSBLOG in June 2018 .
( Open scene ) Me : I want to go into the arts . Parents / Teachers / Friends / Family : What ’ s your back-up ? ( End scene ) All three of us have had this conversation in some form at various ( and repeated ) points in our lives . We did it anyways . We became a freelance actor / teaching artist , a public high school theater teacher , and an arts education nonprofit administrator . We didn ’ t go into these careers for the money . We have all hustled . We even got our masters degrees to further our training . Now , mid-career , we find ourselves in a field with incredibly high turnover rates , exceedingly high performance and output standards , and little opportunity for growth . Is a career in arts education sustainable ? Pay equity for race and gender have been at the forefront of many national conversations which has led many in arts education to question our own pay structures .
Examining compensation on a national scale can be complex because the cost of living and work opportunities vary vastly across different regions . For this reason , much of our focus here will be on the New York City ( NYC ) metro area where we all live and work . We will look at the state of arts education compensation from the perspectives of 1 ) a teaching artist , 2 ) a public school theater teacher , and 3 ) a nonprofit arts education administrator . What issues do these three areas of the arts education field encounter when it comes to equitable compensation ? How can we learn from , and help advocate for each other ? What does the state of arts education compensation and funding say about the value this country puts on artists and arts education ?