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Between 1935 and 1943 the WPA’s Federal Art Project hired more than 10,000 artists on “relief." They produced murals, easel paintings, sculpture, posters, photographs, theater sets and arts and crafts. Though many have been lost, FAP artworks can be still be found in schools, hospitals, libraries and other public buildings, and in museums around the world. Initially, few African-American artists were allowed to join the WPA’s programs. Black artists in New York City formed the Harlem Artists Guild (1935–41) and successfully pressured the WPA to hire an unprecedented number of Black artists.
WPA-funded art centers like the Harlem Community Art Center and “the 306” provided work space for artists and welcomed the public to exhibits and classes, bringing art and artists into the lives of everyday Americans.
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By Gray Brechin
Oral histories conducted by the Archives of American Art (AAA) in 1964-1965 have kept alive the thoughts and memories of New Deal artists, craftspeople and administrators for those of us in their future. READ MORE
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 The Harlem Renaissance Meets the New Deal
By Stephanie Anne Johnson, PhD.
The New Deal employed hundreds of Black visual artists on public art projects and as instructors at WPA-funded community arts centers, providing a model for how both artists and communities can thrive and prosper. READ MORE
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 Sunday, April 24, 2022, 10am-1pm
"Opening Day on the Bay Aboard the “Floating White House"
Association for the Preservation of the Presidential Yacht Potomac
Jack London Square, Oakland, California
The USS Potomac, a National Historic Landmark, was Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential yacht from 1936 until his death in 1945. This annual celebration on the SF Bay includes the Blessings of the Fleet and the Parade of Boats along the San Francisco waterfront. Captain, crew and highly experienced docents provide guests with insights into the history of the Potomac. INFORMATION AND TICKETS
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 March 26–July 24, 2022
"A Living for Us All: Artists and the WPA"
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
This exhibition explores the variety of approaches that New Deal artists embraced to examine their communities and circumstances. Working in painting, photography, printmaking and even weaving, some focused on themes of labor and daily life, while others turned to abstraction or surrealism. Advancing the radical idea that art is a public resource, the WPA offered a new model for the artist’s role in society. LEARN MORE
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 January 21, 2022 - August 7, 2022
"A New Deal: Artists at Work"
Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
The WPA afforded opportunities to a diverse group of artists, including women, African Americans, and immigrants. Their work was intended to capture the national spirit from the coast to coast and encourage creativity in the face of great challenges. The Gibbes houses a historic collection of Federal Art Project prints. LEARN MORE
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 Self-guided tours, Wed-Sat, noon, 1pm, 2pm & 3pm EDT
"WPA Murals: Norwalk’s Hidden Treasure"
Norwalk Historical Society
The City of Norwalk, Connecticut, has one of the largest collections of restored WPA murals in America. While much of the WPA art nationally has been lost or destroyed, the murals and panels created for Norwalk's public schools, libraries and post offices comprise one of the largest and most important collections of restored Depression-era art in the country. Also on exhibit at the Historical Society Museum, “New Deal, New Day: WPA Artists at Work and Play,” curated by Valerie A. Cooper. LEARN MORE
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"THE ART OF THE NEW DEAL”
WEBINARS FROM THE LIVING NEW DEAL
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 Friday, April 22, 5pm PDT
“Art and Intersections: The Harlem Renaissance Meets the New Deal”
The Harlem Renaissance may be best known for its literary and performing arts but visual artists were key contributors, as well. Many participated in the WPA's Federal Art Project (1935–1943), and its key legacy—the art centers that nourished the Civil Rights and the Black Arts Movements. Presenter Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson is on the faculty of the Visual and Public Art Department at Cal State, Monterey Bay. Free. REGISTER
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 Thursday, May 19, 5pm PDT
“New Deal Photography Through the Lens of Arthur Rothstein”
At age 20, New York photographer Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) began documenting the Great Depression. His many images for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) depict struggles that persist today.
Presenter Dr. Annie Rothstein Segan is director of the Arthur Rothstein Legacy Project, New York. Free. REGISTER
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Some links may limit access for nonsubscribers. Please support local journalism, if you can.
 New York Street Named for Pathbreaking Labor Secretary
New Deal Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, the first women ever to serve in a US presidential cabinet and the longest serving Labor Secretary, now has a street named after her. West 46th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in Manhattan has been named Frances Perkins Place. Perkins, an outspoken advocates for labor, was pivotal in establishing Social Security, a 40-hour work week, the minimum wage and safer working conditions.
By Sarah Beling
W42ST.com, March 28, 2022
Can Biden Prove That Democracy Works?
Biden would do well to probe Roosevelt’s example for guidance.
By Luke J. Schmacher
The National Interest, March 19,2022
Why FDR’s New Deal is still the blueprint for domestic success
It would be very hard for Americans today to realize not only how much the Roosevelt administration did, but how swiftly.
An interview with Eric Rauchway, author of Why the New Deal Matters.
By John Stoehr
Alternet, March 11, 2022
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“In vain they seek to hide behind the flag and the Constitution. In their blindness, they forget what the flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike.”
— FDR, Speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, June 27, 1936.
In Case You Missed It
"What Depression-era Works Progress Administration Art
Can Teach Us About a Crisis"
The WPA led to the development of community arts centers in minority communities across the country. FDR also used art programs as a way to communicate the value of democracy in the US across the world.
By Tanya Mosley and Allison Hagen
Here And Now, WBUR.ORG, April 29, 2020
LISTEN: (7 minutes)
YOUR DONATIONS KEEP THE NEW DEAL SPIRIT ALIVE.
The Living New Deal thanks you for your generous support!
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