Across New York State, artists were given $1,000 a month for a two year period of time, no questions asked. The point of this? To show that direct investment in artists to support their economic security transforms the working and living conditions for artists and creatives to thrive in New York State. We created five short artists profiles, five community impact videos featuring artists and the community orgs they impacted and a suite of social media cutdowns to amplify artists’ stories.

Over the course of a year, Fenton partnered with Creatives Rebuild New York to identify rockstar artists whose stories could tell the impact of guaranteed income. Our team set out on an epic road trip to capture stories across the state of New York. We visited artists in their own communities and their own art spaces so that we could authentically tell the stories of who they are and how they work. This intimate experience allowed us to capture moments that brought their stories to life.

During production an opportunity arose to share a video at a first-of-its-kind national convening hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Our team dove into post production to produce a short documentary-style video featuring artists and the communities they impact. This video premiered in front of an audience of government officials and policymakers, artists and arts advocates, academics, philanthropic and community leaders in January of 2024.