The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) announced it has awarded $52.2m to more than 1,000 cultural organisations across New York City. The payments will be distributed through the department's annual Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grant-making programme, which also underwent a significant overhaul ahead of this latest round of funding pledges.
“New York City is the cultural capital of the world, and the Adams administration’s contribution of more than $50m demonstrates our commitment to making this critical sector thrive,” said Maria Torres-Springer, the city's deputy mayor for economic development, housing, and workforce development, in a statement. “We are thrilled to support more than 1,000 creative nonprofits across all five boroughs, and I want to thank DCLA for all their hard work to bring the arts to all New Yorkers.”
DCLA’s Cultural Development Fund is an annual application-based process for distributing city funds in support of public-facing cultural programming. Panels made up of members of NYC’s broader arts and culture community review the applications to select the recipients of the payouts.
The new crop of 1,031 CDF grantees ran the gamut from Red Hook Art Project, Inc., a non-profit tutoring and instruction initiative that provides art, music, academic and stress management assistance to school-age youth in the titular Brooklyn neighborhood, and the Bronx Art Space, an artist residency and exhibition space in the heart of the city's northernmost borough, to White Columns, New York’s oldest alternative art space, based in the Chelsea neighbourhood.
This year, DCLA's funding scheme awarded grants to 76% of all eligible applicant groups. Additionally, 2024 marks the second consecutive year in which the minimum amount of a CDF grant doubled, this time from $5,000 to $10,000.
The department's ongoing investment in New York’s cultural communities has also manifested in multiple updates to the grant-making process.
In the past, multi-year grants were only available to larger organisations, enabling them an enviable level of long-term stability essential to expansion and development. This year, 646 organisations of varying sizes – more than half of all grant recipients – received a renewal grant as part of a multiyear commitment.
DCLA also implemented additional reforms, including fully digitising the application process, adding a final panelist review process before the final scoring and expanding the number of budget bands to provide a greater range of award sizes.
“Culture is the heart of New York City, and what keeps it beating are the hundreds of city-supported cultural organizations whose programming inspires and engages audiences in all five boroughs," said cultural affairs commissioner Laurie Cumbo. "Despite the challenging fiscal environment, we fought hard to sustain our part of this vital public-private partnership.
Cumbo added: "This major investment in our cultural community shows that we are committed to supporting this indispensable part of what makes our city thrive. Alongside funding for capital projects, free supplies through Materials for the Arts and the many other ways DCLA supports our arts and culture sector, these CDF awards will foster a healthier, more vibrant city where all New Yorkers have opportunities to connect with cultural programming."
