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For Immediate Release: December 20, 2024

Contact: publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov

 

IN 2024, DCLA CONTINUES TO “GET ART DONE” AND EXPAND CULTURAL ACCESS FOR ALL NEW YORKERS

With largest-ever city investment in DCLA as part of the FY25 budget, the agency continued to grow public art initiatives and invest in cultural programming that uplifts residents in every corner of the city

New York, NY – To close out the calendar year, today Commissioner Laurie Cumbo highlighted the ways that the Department of Cultural Affairs built on years of investment and progress to continue fostering a more open, accessible, affordable cultural landscape that brings the extraordinary benefits of the arts – social, personal, and economic – to New York’s diverse communities. From major new cultural capital investments, to grant funding for arts programming in all five boroughs, to expanding opportunities for artists and communities to collaborate on public artworks, DCLA built on the historic investments by Mayor Adams in the city’s cultural sector to reach every corner of New York City.

“From day one, our administration has focused on creating a safer, more affordable New York City. In 2024, we continued to deliver on that vision and ‘Get Stuff Done’ for working-class New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Thanks to our extraordinary public servants, America’s safest big city got even safer this year, with overall crime down and thousands of illegal guns, mopeds, and ghost cars taken off city streets. We passed historic legislation to turn New York into a ‘City of Yes,’ shattered affordable housing records once again, and put billions of dollars back into New Yorkers’ pockets. We broke records for the most jobs and small businesses in city history and moved millions of trash bags off our sidewalks and into containers. But we know that there is even more we can do to continue to uplift working-class families. As we look to the future, our administration remains committed to keeping New Yorkers safe and making our city more affordable for the millions of New Yorkers who call our city home.”

"Art and culture are a part of who we are as New Yorkers. Culture strengthens our communities and makes them safer, drives local economies, enhances our public education, and gives our city an energy like nowhere else in the world,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “The Adams administration understands the indispensable role of culture in our communities, and that’s why we’ve worked with our partners this year to make a record - setting investment in our sector, while pushing forward initiatives to foster a more affordable, accessible, and vibrant cultural landscape that benefits all New Yorkers.”

Record Funding for Culture in the City Budget

With a record-high investment of $254 million for DCLA, the city’s FY25 Adopted Budget ensured cultural institutions will have what they need to engage New Yorkers and attract tourists and other visitors, as a critical part of the city’s economic and social wellbeing. This was thanks to $53 million added to DCLA’s budget at adoption, which will go to support public programming at more than 1,000 cultural nonprofits citywide through DCLA’s Cultural Development Fund and Cultural Institutions Group. These funding streams invest in cultural groups across all disciplines, in all shapes and sizes, working in every corner of the five boroughs. The wide range of free summer cultural programs highlighted by DCLA earlier this year is just one example of the vast array of cultural programming that receives city support.

Investing in World-Class Cultural Infrastructure

In 2024, DCLA continued to partner with non-profit cultural organizations and city agencies on renovations, expansions, and other capital projects that help to ensure that arts organizations can continue to welcome audiences into sustainable, accessible facilities. Projects initiated this year include:

  • A $15 million project to rebuild the Brooklyn Children’s Museum retaining walls and to renovate and modernize the organization’s courtyard and terraces.
  • A $1 million City-funded renovation project for the Nuyorican Poets Cafe on Manhattan’s Lower East Side that will transform and expand the iconic institution’s home.
  • A $21 million project to build a new, energy efficient multi-purpose arts center for legendary DIY group ABC No Rio
  • A $13 million renovation project at The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center
  • A $4 million project which added a new performing arts studio, upgraded kitchen, and other features to the Downtown Art Community Center.
  • A $33 million renovation of The Bronx Museum, the largest contemporary art museum in New York City with 100% free admission, which will reorient the main entrance toward the intersection of Grand Concourse and 165th Street and unify the Museum campus to create a continuous gallery loop
  • A $3.9 million restoration project for the historic Hunterfly Road Houses in the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn

DCLA also cut the ribbon on a revamped, 9,500-square-foot education space at Brooklyn Museum, which will allow the Museum to better serve the more than 50,000 visitors who participate in its education programs each year. The $9 million project received $6 million in city funding.

Never content to rest on laurels, DCLA also announced more than $213 million in new capital investments at 80 cultural organizations as part of the FY25 city budget. Projects supported by this new funding around the city will help to foster more accessible, sustainable, and vibrant cultural infrastructure across the city. Examples include a major renovation to the Art Student’s League historic landmark home; a new children’s museum space within the Queens Museum; Joyce Theater’s 58,000 square-foot New York Center for Creativity & Dance in the East Village; Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater’s new home in the Bronx; the renovation of the Sesame Flyers’ home in Brooklyn; and the ongoing renovation and expansion of the Staten Island Museum.

Since the start of the Adams administration, the city has invested over $650 million in cultural capital projects citywide. Supporting everything from equipment purchases to new constructions of theaters, museums, and more, these investments help to ensure that the city’s cultural community continues to thrive and drive the city’s economy forward.

Record Support for Cultural Programs

In February, DCLA announced more than $52 million in grants for 1,031 cultural organizations across New York City, distributed through its annual Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grant making program.  Building on an ongoing effort to foster greater equity and fairness in the CDF process, this marked the first year that more than half of recipients – 646 organizations – received a renewal grant as part of a multi-year commitment. Previously, only larger organizations were eligible for multi-year grants, which guarantees a base level of support for groups in a renewal cycle and offers them greater stability. In all, the vast majority (76%) of eligible applicant groups received a CDF award, maintaining DCLA’s commitment to supporting as many organizations across the five boroughs as possible.

In partnership with local arts council in each of the five boroughs, DCLA also continued to provide grant support to individual artists, collectives, and small nonprofits across the five boroughs. Through this longstanding partnership, nearly $3 million was distributed to support the creative practice of artists and to offer residents opportunities to access public cultural programming.

Expanding Opportunities for Public Art

DCLA operates a number of programs that integrate extraordinary artworks into the city’s public realm, giving artists a platform to engage with broad audiences while imbuing the city’s public spaces with a sense of energy and dynamism, and making the city more livable for all.

  • Through DCLA’s Percent for Art program, 31 new permanent, public artworks were installed in schools, libraries, community centers, and other civic spaces across the city. In March, the city celebrated the 40th anniversary of this extraordinary program, and launched a new, interactive map and a partnership with Bloomberg Connects to make the collection more accessible.
  • In January, DCLA and the Department of Buildings launched the new, permanent City Canvas program to expand opportunities for artists and building owners to install public artwork on temporary construction sheds, fences, and scaffolding. City Canvas – initially launched as a pilot in 2018 – transforms these necessary-but-unsightly safety structures into platforms for creative expression and community engagement. In July, DCLA released the inaugural gallery of pre-approved City Canvas designs, making it even easier for site owners to install artwork on their buildings.

Making Arts Education and Programs Affordable for All

Materials for the Arts (MFTA), a program of the Department of Cultural Affairs, continues to serve a crucial role in supporting other city agencies, NYC DOE educators, nonprofit organizations, and artists provide affordable, accessible cultural programming and services across the city. In 2024 alone, MFTA diverted 5,940,039 pounds of materials —valued at $22,202,363.17— from landfill, all made available to its 4,400+ active member organizations.

For the second year in a row, MFTA has partnered with the Department of Education’s Arts Office to expand its reach across the city by hosting offsite shopping events in each borough, ensuring that educators have access to MFTA’s warehouse of free supplies and professional development opportunities.  Additionally, the city program has continued to offer extended shopping hours, known as “MFTA After Hours,” on the first Thursday of every month, giving DOE teachers the opportunity to benefit from our services after the school day has ended. Overall, MFTA has expanded its weekly Tuesday and Thursday shopping schedule by adding an extra appointment to each day, allowing broader, much-needed access for its members.

MFTA’s 2024 accomplishments include:

  • MFTA's field trip program hosted 6,238 students in 256 classes (148 of these were FREE!).
  • MFTA worked in 20 NYC public schools offering in-school arts residencies to over 10,000 students.
  • The Education Center taught 11 teacher training courses reaching 394 teachers, 90 of which participated free of charge.
  • 2,216 teachers and community-based educators received instruction by MFTA in-school teaching artists.
  • 991 members of the general public attended our FREE in-person, Third Thursday events and over 5,000 members of the general public attended our outreach events in public places.
  • Thanks to funding from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, MFTA expanded its staff to include two new employees dedicated to managing the organization’s relationships to tv and film productions and their subsequent donations.
  • MFTA launched its Young Designer’s program dedicated to serving designers ages 18-25 by providing participants access to MFTA supplies and mentorship opportunities to create unique designs.

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About NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is dedicated to supporting and strengthening New York City’s vibrant cultural life. DCLA works to promote and advocate for quality arts programming and to articulate the contribution made by the cultural community to the City’s vitality. The Department represents and serves nonprofit cultural organizations involved in the visual, literary, and performing arts; public-oriented science and humanities institutions including zoos, botanical gardens, and historic and preservation societies; and creative artists at all skill levels who live and work within the City’s five boroughs. DCLA also provides donated materials for arts programs offered by the public schools and cultural and social service groups, and commissions permanent works of public art at City-funded construction projects throughout the five boroughs. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/culture.