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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 31, 2018

Contact: publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov; 212-513-9323

DCLA ANNOUNCES INCREASED FUNDING FOR STATEN ISLAND ARTS TO REGRANT TO LOCAL ARTISTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

The City will provide $238,000 to the local arts council in Staten Island, $80K higher than last year and more than 3x the amount allocated two years ago

Staten Island – The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl and Staten Island Arts Executive Director Elizabeth Bennett today announced that the City has allocated $238,000 for Staten Island Arts’ regrant program, which supports dozens of local artists and small arts organizations on Staten Island every year. The increase, which more than triples the regrant fund total from previous years, aligns with CreateNYC cultural plan priorities related to increasing support for artists who live and work in New York City.

“Individual artists and small arts groups are the heart and soul of New York’s cultural life, and Staten Island Arts does a tremendous job of connecting city support to the vibrant creative communities across the borough,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl. “We appreciate the partnership of City Council in enabling us to dramatically increase the stream of funding over the last two years, a goal from the CreateNYC cultural plan that aims to support artists who live and work in New York. Staten Island Arts is a champion of the many artistic voices of this diverse borough, and we applaud their commitment to supporting local talent.”

Staten Island Borough President James Oddo said, “The regrant program has been extremely successful in facilitating much-needed funds to local individual artists and organizations on Staten Island. This increase shows that the Mayor and Commissioner Finkelpearl believe in this program and the impact the arts are having on the borough. I am pleased that even more artists and non-profit organizations will benefit from this program.”

“We are thrilled and honored that Commissioner Finkelpearl, the members of the City Council, and the Department of Cultural Affairs have chosen to make such a significant investment in Staten Island's cultural community. Staten Island Arts’ regrants program is a tangible and direct means of making public funding available to artists working at all levels and in all areas of the island. The increased funding will make Staten Island Arts' regrant program more accessible than ever before. We look forward to working deeper in our existing community and to expanding our engagement with people who might have thought city funding was not available to them until now,” said Staten Island Arts Executive Director Elizabeth Bennett.

“This is great news for artists and creative people on Staten Island. This is a significant increase over last year and artists on the south shore are going to be excited about it. I’m looking forward to seeing the great work of local artists and the development of new ones continue through the grants that will be made available with this funding,” said Council Member Joseph Borelli.

Each year, Staten Island Arts’ City-funded grant programs support individual artists, arts collectives, and cultural organizations for projects that take place across the borough. Last year’s 2018 regrant pool, with a total of $158,000 from DCLA, provided grants to 38 projects borough-wide. The projects range from "Project Alice," photographer Christine Cruz's photo/video series inspired by "Alice in Wonderland" involving collaboration with 40 artists in total, to a Staten Island-based kids camp offered by HONK NYC made possible by an award to Sarah Valentine. With a 50% increase over FY18, and three times the amount of funding from FY17, DCLA and Staten Island Arts will be able to provide even greater support to artists, collectives, and other creative activities across Staten Island.

Applications for 2019 projects will be available online starting Tuesday September 4, 2018 at statenislandarts.org.

The CreateNYC cultural plan, released by Mayor de Blasio in 2017, outlines a number of strategies for supporting artists and cultural organizations amidst increasing affordability challenges across the city. Working with the City Council, DCLA increased funding for the local arts councils in both FY18 and the current FY19 fiscal years.

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. Visit www.nyc.gov/culture for more information.

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