NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

Last week, we were honored to join Weeksville Heritage Center, NYC Department of Design and Construction, and local leaders to break ground on an much-needed restoration project to preserve the center's historic Hunterfly Road Houses. These structures were once at the heart of a thriving, free Black community that was established here before the Civil War. New York City history IS Black history, and institutions like Weeksville are essential to the preservation and amplification of this important part of our story. That's why the city was proud to invest $3.9 million in this exciting project. Learn more in this story by PIX11: https://lnkd.in/eg8HxRmR

“Manhattan was always considered the ‘living room’ and the other boroughs were considered the ‘bedroom’ to Manhattan. We’re changing that. We’re creating a city where you can go to a world-class, state-of-the-art museum, libraries, zoos and gardens right in your own backyard.” Check out this new profile of NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, who came out on top of City & State's list of the 2024 Arts & Culture Power 100. Her journey from establishing Brooklyn’s MoCADA - Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art to her current role as commissioner working with cultural organizations across the five boroughs had many unexpected detours - but “the universe sent me on a longer journey that was far more beautiful.” “She’s intimately familiar with all of the challenges that come with running an arts and culture organization,” said KP Trueblood, president and COO of Brooklyn Museum. “I think that comes from a place of deep understanding of the industry, the challenges that leaders face, and really wanting to partner with us.” At the Department of Cultural Affairs, it’s our honor to partner with cultural nonprofits, civic leaders, and community members whose commitment fuels our cultural sector in all five boroughs. Read the full profile:

You can read all about: 🏛 $213 million in new funding for 80 cultural capital projects across NYC... ⭐ Triumph of the Human Spirit Day, an upcoming event honoring the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan.... 💰 Funding opportunities for artists with upcoming deadlines... ✏ Materials for the Arts' annual Back to School Shopping Spree.... ...and more! All in our latest e-newseltter: https://lnkd.in/eADbTYVd Pictured here: cultural leaders joined Commissioner Laurie Cumbo last month at the The Art Students League of New York to celebrate the new capital funding. Photo by Rudy Bravo for the Art Students League. 

We’re joining 911 Memorial & Museum in honoring all those who lost their lives 23 years ago during the 9/11 terror attacks. In remembrance, we’re sharing a photo of the sky above our offices to help a new generation to #RememberTheSky and honor our collective promise to #NeverForget911. On September 11, 2001, the sky across the U.S. was clear. Remember the Sky encourages us to actively recall and reflect on the significance of that day and how we responded—with unity, resilience, and hope. Artist Spencer Finch created an artwork titled “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning” for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which includes 2,983 individual watercolor squares, each representing a victim of the terror attacks. Our own perception of the color blue might not be the same as that of another. However, our memories share a common point of reference. Through this collective digital commemoration, we aim to spark meaningful dialogue and bridge the past with the present, helping to uphold the promise to remember and honor. Today, we reflect on the thousands of lives lost in NYC and commemorate the extraordinary courage of the brave Americans and first responders who selflessly risked everything. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eB3Ugy5B. #September11 #NeverForget

Hold on to your paintbrushes 🖌🎨—NYC’s cultural sector just got a windfall of capital funding—$213.8 million to be exact!! Yesterday, Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo joined community and cultural leaders at The Art Students League of New York to announce this new capital investment for 80 cultural organizations across the five boroughs as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget. This year, the League received $4.3 million in city funding to support its 150th Anniversary Capital Renovation Project, the single largest award the project has received to date. 💪 “Culture is a pillar of our city’s economy and a critical part of healthy, safe, thriving communities. No other city in America supports its cultural institutions like we do through DCLA’s capital program, partnering with institutions on construction, renovation, and equipment projects to deliver remarkable cultural facilities that are open and accessible to all. Under the Adams administration, we’ve made record-setting investments in our cultural sector, and this year is no different.” – Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo Read more about the new funding and the League's exciting project in the Observer: https://lnkd.in/e77Eas_d

NYC cultural community - we're still looking for panelists to review applications to the FY 2025 Cultural Development Fund (CDF)! The CDF is one of the primary ways city funding is distributed to arts and cultural nonprofits across the five boroughs. For the upcoming award cycle, panels will collectively review applications from over 650 groups, and work alongside agency staff to make recommendations that will lead to the allocation of Cultural Affairs’ public dollars – and that’s where you come in! The Department of Cultural Affairs is seeking panelists with current expertise in the arts and cultural landscape of NYC to bring a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. We're particularly eager to hear from panelists based in Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island! This is your chance to serve our cultural community and gain the experience of participating actively in public arts funding. Each year, CDF grants support hundreds of organizations representing the full breadth of NYC’s cultural life. Selected panelists will convene virtually in the late summer and of fall 2024 and will receive a $480 stipend for their work evaluating FY25 CDF grant applications. Learn more & submit a panelist application here: on.nyc.gov/CDFpanels.

"Future artists, I want you to continue to shine, and I want you to continue to create. I want you to continue to explore your passion because your passions are what makes New York City great." encouraged Laurie Cumbo, Commissioner of NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, to the featured students at the P.S. Art Times Square Event. We are so proud to partner with NYC Department of Education and The Metropolitan Museum of Art to highlight the artworks made by students all across New York City. Thank you to the Times Square Advertising Coalition - TSAC for displaying the student artworks on billboards in TimesSquare! Learn more about this incredible event and P.S. Art 2024 at studioinaschool.org!

We recently joined Queens Public Library and NYC Department of Design and Construction to cut the ribbon on the *spectactular* new Far Rockaway library!! 📚 Commissioner Laurie Cumbo joined local leaders to open this remarkable, $39 million library - designed by Snøhetta and built by our good friends at DDC - which includes a new #PercentForArtNYC commission by artist Pablo Helguera: "Feynman's Code." Helguera created “Feynman's Code” as a tribute to the Nobel Prize-winner and theoretical physicist Richard Feynman (1918-1988), who grew up in this neighborhood and attended Far Rockaway High School. Feynman is widely regarded as one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century. One of his contributions to physics are the Feynman diagrams, pictorial representations describing the behavior of subatomic particles. For the Far Rockaway Library, Helguera has integrated Feynman’s work into an alphabet, where every letter is replaced by a Feynman diagram. The two phrases incorporated in the two sections of the building include a phrase from a poem by Richard Feynman himself, “I, a universe of atoms, an atom in the universe,” as well as a phrase by Emily Dickinson, “The brain is wider than the sky.” This project, aside from being a tribute to Richard Feynman, celebrates the value of intellectual curiosity. In 2019, Helguera’s design for the project received a Excellence in Design Award from the Public Design Commission. Today, libraries are so much more than places to borrow books (though they are most definitely still that, too). They are job training facilities, cultural hubs, and community centers all rolled into one. The Adams Administration is committed to making our city more livable for all New Yorkers, and that means ensuring New Yorkers have access to top notch civic and public spaces — and libraries are one of the most important forms of civic space we have. We're proud to have worked with the Far Rockaway community to create this public artwork that will engage visitors to this extraordinary new library for generations to come. Photos by DDC and DCLA. #NYCulture #Libraries #Queens #NYC #FarRockaway

Earlier this week, we broke ground on a new home for the legendary Lower East Side arts space, ABC No Rio!!! With $21 million in city support, the new facility will feature an innovative, energy-efficient "passive house" design, and will include a photo darkroom, screen printing facility, small press library, digital resources, and expanded space for art, music, performance, educational and community activities, as well as meeting and office space for ABC No Rio and other organizations. Making our city more livable means investing in and strengthening our public, cultural, and community spaces. The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs is proud to support ABC Rio and cultural groups across our city to create safe, thriving communities. https://lnkd.in/e4AQmbrZ #NYCulture #ABCNoRio #DIY #Arts #ArtsFunding #construction

"Cultural activity and public safety are closely linked: research shows that the presence of cultural assets correlates with better outcomes in public safety, health and education. So while public safety is definitely important for attracting cultural audiences, the reverse is also true. A neighborhood with lively, vibrant cultural programming is a safer, stronger community." Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo recently spoke with City & State about how cultural institutions are reinvigorating post-pandemic life in NYC. Read the full interview: https://lnkd.in/ezyWrjMq #NYCulture #NYC #Arts #Culture #Economy #SocialWellbeing #Tourism