The NYFA Job Board is Failing Us

Unpaid internships, poverty wages, and nanny gigs reveal the art world’s broken system

I may need to change the direction of Counter Service because I haven’t felt inspired to write about exhibitions or even go to exhibitions. Recently, my attention has been pinned on the bullshit that gets posted on NYFA. I am mad at NYFA for what they permit to be posted on their job listing, but these “opportunities” do illustrate the deeply concerning structural problems of the art world. I’ve been repulsed by the idea of going into exhibitions that were made possible through the unpaid or underpaid labor of naive young people—sometimes not even that young.

I’ll focus on three kinds of posts that NYFA should begin to block, and then delve into potential alternatives.

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Full-time jobs that pay 40k in NYC

[Posted on October 21, 2024.]

We have to stop succumbing to the field’s expectation for its workers to lean on parental income or spousal income. That a job pays all essential bills and living expenses should not be considered generous. In fact, jobs that pay less are often a consequence of the employer’s greed. An acquaintance found a curatorial job through NYFA but had to quit and move out of NYC shortly thereafter because the billionaire employer wasn’t paying much more than 40K and also refused to buy a small heater for the office in the dead of winter. Wages are largely determined by supply and demand for labor. This means collective effort is required to rule out jobs that still only pay 40K in NYC. We have to stop making our labor available for dirt cheap, and NYFA has to stop publishing demand for underpaid labor. To get an empirical view of what 40K means in NYC in 2024, take a look at this chart:

As a one-person household, if you make under $86,960, you are considered low-income. A $40,000 income places you at VERY LOW-INCOME, just a hair away from EXTREMELY LOW-INCOME. At the same time, the employer and the collecting class associated with the employer have income that is literally off the chart. It’s imperative that we stop allowing our talents to be undervalued and hold organizations like NYFA accountable for perpetuating these harmful norms.

Unpaid Internships
All my points from above apply to this category of “jobs” that NYFA continues to post, and even makes available as a filter option under “position type.”

I went to an exhibition where I learned that the front desk person was a 30-year-old unpaid intern. Young, but very old to be an unpaid intern.
As someone who did numerous unpaid internships at both major museums and galleries, I am 100% confident that unpaid internships are total crap. It is extremely rare that they turn into a paid position, even if you do a good job and are well-liked. After every unpaid internship, I was asked to stay longer, but nobody was actually invested in my growth. They just wanted to avoid training a new person to do extremely menial tasks. It was painful to watch my peers develop Stockholm syndrome after being successfully gaslit into thinking it was a good experience and exposure. My big wake-up call was when I was asked to come in more than the usual three unpaid days a week. I had to say no because I had interviews for full-time jobs lined up, and I got yelled at for lacking commitment. Then I got yelled at again because I got a job offer and had to leave the unpaid internship. Organizations that offer unpaid internships already have no interest in your growth and learning, and they throw a tantrum when you try to grow, learn, or get paid.

Take a look at this unpaid internship that hilariously dares to elaborate on their “compensation package.”

[Posted October 25, 2024.]

When you accept these unpaid internships, guess whose pocket you are lining. “Over the years, Shin has grown his gallery from a small one-room space to an airy three-room gallery with an additional basement area.” The art world runs on unpaid labor, and NYFA is playing an active role in enabling this. We cannot continue to accept unpaid internships as a rite of passage; instead, we must advocate for meaningful opportunities that genuinely foster our growth and well-being.

Nanny

Seeing this was actually the breaking point that made me have to write this piece. Now, I know that many artists, often women, do nanny work to support themselves. That’s totally fine, and I admire them for doing what they can to sustain their art and lives. But NYFA posting nanny jobs on a platform meant for arts professionals is more than just an oversight—it’s a reflection of the harsh realities of class relations in the arts. Here’s an organization supposedly designed to support artists, curators, and cultural workers, yet it’s pushing jobs that reinforce the very economic precarity many creatives face. When art institutions and funding bodies fail to provide livable wages or sustainable career paths, what’s left for artists? Gig work, babysitting, side hustles—anything to scrape by in a system that expects you to work for exposure or passion, but certainly not for pay.

It’s no coincidence that nanny jobs land on NYFA, as if caring for the children of wealthier, often more privileged professionals is the logical fallback for those who can’t afford to make their art a full-time career. This reflects the deeper inequities within the arts sector, where only those with financial security or family support can pursue their craft without resorting to survival jobs. The gig economy creeping into spaces like NYFA reveals how deeply embedded economic stratification is in the creative industries. It’s a stark reminder that while some get to enjoy the art world, others are stuck serving it in ways that have little to do with their talents or aspirations. It’s offensive, and I’m baffled that NYFA hasn’t recognized this.

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This isn’t just about criticizing NYFA—it’s about demanding better from an institution that so many of us depend on. NYFA plays a crucial role in connecting people to opportunities in the arts, and that role comes with the responsibility to stand against the exploitation it has, perhaps inadvertently, helped to perpetuate. By continuing to allow these degrading job postings, NYFA is complicit in normalizing a broken system that values art but devalues the labor that sustains it. We can’t accept the status quo anymore. NYFA and similar institutions must be part of the solution, not just another cog in a machine that chews up talent and spits out exhaustion. It’s time for change—real, structural change—so that those of us who love art can actually build sustainable careers in it, without sacrificing our dignity or our livelihoods.