Hadi Eldebek: Why must artists be poor?

Why must artists be poor?

The arts bring meaning to our lives and spirit to our culture -- so why do we expect artists to struggle to make a living?  Hadi Eldebek is working to create a society where artists are valued through an online platform that matches artists with grants and funding opportunities -- so they can focus on their craft instead of their side hustle.

Only 10 percent of art school graduates work as full-time artists, while most are forced into unrelated careers. Despite generating over $166 billion in economic activity each year, the arts receive far less support than military bands in the United States. Other countries, like those in the European Union, invest billions to sustain their creative communities. The gap between the value art brings and the support artists receive reveals deep flaws in how society invests in culture.