A Message from Our Programs Team
There are many opportunities this year and we want to help you keep everything straight!
We have 3 opportunities within our cornerstone Community Arts Grants program that award $2,000 - $5,000 per grantee. The deadline is September 17th.
We have 4 brand-new opportunities this year within the Creative Equations Fund, awarding $2,500 - $10,000 per grantee. The deadline is September 17th.
Also, Cycle 3 of City Arts Corps Grants, which will give $5,000 to more than 3,000 NYC artists, is now open and will close August 10th.
Before submitting your application:
Read the Guidelines for each grant to see if you qualify. Links to access full information on each grant are below.
Attend an Info Session, available either in English or Spanish (coming soon! Keep checking our On-Demand Page). Links to all available informations sessions are below.
Between now and the September 17th deadline, we will also have a limited number of Narrative Review slots and live Q&As via Zoom so that you can ask any questions that you may still have about the applications. And here’s a Pro-Tip: start working on these applications now. No need to churn these out right before the deadline…your future self will thank you!
Check our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on all announcements.
APPLY NOW:
2022 Creative Equations Fund
Eva von Schweinitz, 2020 Brooklyn Arts Fund recipient. Photo by Maria Baranova, 2019.
Applications for our 2022 Creative Equations Fund are NOW OPEN! There are four categories:
Justice, Equity, & Sustainability + Performing Arts
Cultural Heritage & Diversity + Dance
Social Innovation + Cultural Entrepreneurs
Advocacy + Immigrant Voices
Applications are due by September 17, 2021.
Click the link below to learn more and apply.
Creative Equations Fund
The Creative Equations Fund is made possible through the support of our lead funder, The Howard Gilman Foundation as well as Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Hopestreet, and New American Economy Research Fund (NAE).
APPLY NOW:
2022 Community Arts Grants
Megumi Saruhashi, 2020 Brooklyn Arts Fund recipient. Photo by Luai.
Applications for our 2022 Community Arts Grants, including Brooklyn Arts Fund, Local Arts Support, and The Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund are NOW OPEN!
Applications are due by September 17, 2021.
Click the links below to learn more and apply.
The Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund
Brooklyn Arts Fund is made possible by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Local Arts Support is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts Statewide Community Regrants (SCR). The Charlene Victor and Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund is made possible by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
APPLY NOW:
2021 City Artist Corps Grants
Brooklyn Arts Council is also proud to be partner on the City Artist Corps Grants initiative. More than 3,000 artists who engage the public with arts activities across New York City's five boroughs will receive a one-time payment of $5,000.
Applications for Cycle 3 open July 27, 2021 and close on August 10, 2021.
Click the links below to learn more, apply, and access translation assistance. Scroll down to watch the recording of our City Artist Corps Grants Information Session.
City Artist Corps Grants Application
Application Translation Assistance / Asistencia de Traducción de Aplicaciones
City Artist Corps Grants is made possible by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), with support from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) as well as Queens Theatre.
City Artist Corp Venue Partner Network
As an organizing partner for the City Artist Corp Grants Program, Queens Theatre is developing a directory of Venue Partner Network – organizations willing to provide opportunities for City Artist Corp Grantees to meet the grant requirement of presenting a creative engagement activity to the public, within the five boroughs of New York City, between July and October 31st. Venues that agree to be a part of the Venue Partner Network Directory will give consideration to presenting the work of City Artist Corp Grantees, within the guidelines of the artists’ grant requirements.
Our Events
Thrive Talks: Webinars & Seminars on Financial Literacy & Empowerment
Brooklyn Arts Council joins friends at the NYC Business Solutions Center For Brooklyn, TD Bank, the Brooklyn Coop Federal Credit Union, and POWRPLNT to present THRIVE TALKS, a financial literacy and empowerment initiative to build capacity and sustainability in the cultural sector through webinar presentations and small group seminars led by our partners. Post presentation seminars, featuring Brooklyn artists and cultural entrepreneurs, ground these conversations and center artists experiences and questions on topics that range from Business Financing, Building a Website and Developing a Business Plan, to Customizing Systems for Personal and Business Bookkeeping, Income Tax, Self-Employment Tax and Business Expenses for Freelancers, and Choosing a Bank or Credit Union.
August 24, 2021 | 4 - 5:30pm
Thrive Talks Webinar: Business Solutions Center Overview
RSVP
Kicking off our Thrive Talks series, The NYC Business Solutions Center for Brooklyn will be holding an information session on how the Center works with entrepreneurs and small business owners. Learn about the series of business education workshops, receive an assessment of your business needs, find out about how to securing financing and effective ways of navigating government rules and regulations.
Keep an eye out for more information on webinars and seminars coming this September - October!
Events, Artist Opportunities & Resources from Our Grantees & Many Other Organizations!
Our Grantees' Events
Upcoming in-person & virtual events hosted by our grantees, fiscal sponsees, and partner organizations. Keep scrolling for a full, comprehensive list of what's top-of-mind this August.
THE SIX FOOT PLATFORM
June 19, 2021 – September 4, 2021
Every Saturday from 12 PM - 9 PM
Washington Street & Water Street
The DUMBO Improvement District in partnership with Brooklyn Arts Council presents the inaugural Six Foot Platform Experimental Residency Program. Twelve Brooklyn-based artists were chosen by a panel following an open call for works in spring 2021 to participate in full-day residencies on a 6’ by 6’ platform on Washington Street, one of New York City’s most iconic blocks.
Indigo Dye Workshop with Iviva Olenick
Iviva Olenick is a 2021 Brooklyn Arts Fund grantee. Stay connected via Instagram and website.
Follow Old Stone House on their Instagram.
August 10, 2021
6 PM - 6:45 PM & 6:45 PM - 7:30 PM
August 12, 2021
9 - 9:45 AM & 10 - 10:45 AM
Old Stone House & Washington Park
336 Third Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
Outside, in front of the House
Sign up for a free 45-minute fresh leaf indigo dyeing session outdoors. Local artist, Iviva Olenick will demo the process, after which she will provide all the materials you need to dye silk with indigo harvested from Washington Park, grown in collaboration with Director of Gardens, Sam Lewis.
Aarti Hindu Lamp Ceremony 2021
August 7, 2021
4 PM - 7:30 PM
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pebble Beach
65 Plymouth St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Dance artist and educator Aeilushi Mistry will bring peace and harmony to the community as she performs the traditional Hindu Aarti ceremony. The Aarti ceremony is traditionally performed each morning and evening along India’s rivers, in order to convey gratitude to mother river, reflect on community, and remember loved ones. This year’s ceremony is especially important as we honor the loss many have experienced in the past year of COVID-19. Please join us as we decorate palm leaf lamps and release them along the East River to make prayers and pay our respects to loved ones. Guest artists will also present their work at this event.
Youth Justice Network: Brooklyn Mural Project Unveiling
August 10, 2021
2 PM - 4 PM
New Lots Community Church
653 Schenck Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11207
This summer, Youth Justice Network participants designed and painted an original mural in East New York, Brooklyn. The mural features black American activist, Fred Hampton, and reflects on social justice themes from 1960s Chicago to present day New York City. Participants have developed painting and design knowledge coupled with leadership and team building skills. Youth Justice Network and the young people who participated are thrilled to offer a positive and progressive piece of history for the Borough of Brooklyn.
If you'd like to attend, please RSVP by sending an email to mabrahams@youthjustice.org.
Tea Arts & Culture Summer Tea 2021
August 14, 2021
10 AM - 5 PM
Picnic House North, Prospect Park
Brooklyn, NY 11215
It’s hard to imagine how we could’ve sustained the past year without nature. Be it the light seeping through clouds, the orchestra of the singing birds, the fresh air through the open windows, the plants in the gardens, or the wonders we experience through tea. Let those moments grow.
Join us to steep and sip tea together in the park with arts and music, sharing what we all appreciate through nature and connection.
Coney Island Reggae: Reggae on the boardwalk
August 15
2 PM - 7PM
370 Scott Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
A Reggae DJ soundsystem party featuring vinyl DJs playing on a large, Jamaican soundsystem. Coney Island Reggae On The Boardwalk is an all vinyl soundsystem series held at Coney Island, Brooklyn, four times each summer since 2010.
Art World Conference
The Future Of Higher Education
August 10, 2021
6 PM - 7:30 PM
Recognizing an opening in the current environment to act in ways not previously prioritized, Obalil and several leaders at AICAD institutions initiated the BIPOC Academic Leadership Institute. 94 participants joined in the inaugural year for education, community, and transparency around the system they are working to change from within. Could a change in academic gatekeepers translate to greater diversity in the art world as a whole?
The Future Of Care with Chloë Bass & Hannah Zeavin
August 31, 2021
6 PM - 7 PM
While a greater recognition of the need for care emerged over the last year, modes of care have become increasingly technological and at screen’s length from our embodied lives; when we are in-person, we too are distant. Join artist Chloë Bass and scholar and critic Hannah Zeavin for a conversation about the many meanings of care, care’s potential violence, and the renewed importance of translating between digital and material form.
The first 150 registered attendees who provide a mailing address by August 24 will receive a package created by artist Chloë Bass to be used during the program.
Arts Gowanus Open Studios registration
October 16 - 17, 2021
12 PM - 6 PM
Gowanus Open Studios, aka GOS, is a free annual weekend event that takes place in October. Artists in the Gowanus neighborhood (and slightly beyond) open their studio doors and welcome the public to view art, meet the artists, learn about the process of art-making, and get a glimpse of the life of artists.
Events & Programs
Additional happenings hosted by outside organizations, collectives, and institutions.
NYC Homecoming week
August 14- 22, 2021
NYC Homecoming Week will be a citywide celebration featuring live concerts, free movie screenings, cultural activities, iconic events including NYC Restaurant Week, public art, and more. This five-borough week of events will drive support for the mom-and-pop businesses that define our neighborhoods and that kept the heart of our city beating throughout the COVID pandemic. The celebration of New York City’s resilience will culminate in a historic concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park on Saturday, August 21, featuring such talents as Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, and Bruce Springsteen, among others.
NYC & Company: Being Latino in the Tourism Industry
August 5, 2021
2 PM - 3 PM
Our Embracing Diversity webinar series creates space for honest conversation that uplifts diverse voices, shares the lived experience of New Yorkers of all ethnicities, promotes allyship and accountability within NYC & Company and our membership, and builds meaningful alliances across our industry.
Regina Opera: Free Summer Stroll Concert
Photo by Steven Pisano.
August 13, 2021
6 PM - 7:30 PM
Brooklyn Harvest Market
8102 3rd Avenue
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
A FREE 90-minute outdoor concert of favorites from Aida, Carmen, La Traviata, and other great operas, in front of Brooklyn Harvest Market, 8102 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn. Featuring Cate Webber - soprano, Carami Hilaire - soprano, Vita Koreneva - mezzo-soprano, Heejae Kim - tenor, Jonathan Green - baritone, Richard Paratley - flutist, and Jiin Jung - pianist. Bring a chair and enjoy!
Open Boulevards performance series
July 10 - October 10
Open Boulevard locations throughout the five boroughs
A new event series is on its way to the city's Open Boulevards, including Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, according to organizers. OpenCultureWORKS will run the events at its new Open Boulevards, the "supercharged" version of its initiative to close down streets for New Yorkers to dine and get outdoors during the coronavirus crisis from July through October.
D&AD Shift with Google
October 2021 - February 2022
Deadline: September 13, 2021
D&AD Shift with Google, in partnership with Adidas, is our free night school, for self-made creatives without a college degree. This year Shift is being delivered part in-person and part online, with industry experts from New York’s top brands and agencies delivering 2-night school sessions a week from October to February.
Artist Opportunities
Reliable workshops and funding opportunities from outside collectives and institutions.
Professional Development Courses
THE TEACHING ARTIST PROJECT
2 Sessions: Fall (Oct-Dec) & Spring (Feb-March)
Teaching Artist Project is a collective of diversely experienced arts educators training emerging and working teaching artists who are looking for a supportive community to engage in a self-reflective, justice-oriented learning practice in service of their teaching. The program entails a rigorous, 8-month curriculum, rich in social justice-based pedagogy that also provides supervised on-the-job experience.
The focus of each session is “what is teaching artistry now?”. This includes, but is not limited to: workshops on virtual learning, power & privilege, facilitation, career development, and internships focused on applicable classroom skills, building a portfolio of work, administrative skills and experience.
Grants & Funding
NYSCA FY2022 Funding Opportunities
Organizational and Individual Artist Recovery
Deadline: September 1, 2021
Support will broaden individual artist support and deliver extremely flexible funding for organizations through a streamlined application experience. Grants offered in this round will greatly expand eligibility and encourage new applicants across a wide spectrum of artistic and cultural practices.
Capital Funding for the Arts
Guidelines Posted: September 2021
Support in this round will assist organizations facing health and safety issues in their spaces and venues, among other needs. Facilities program and capital support will be available in this round.
Brooklyn EXCELerate fund
Micro-loans up to $15,000
Larger loans up to $100,000
Brooklyn Alliance Capital, has partnered with the Joe & Clara Tsai Foundation’s Social Justice Fund, and TruFund, to launch a new lending program for BIPOC-owned (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) businesses impacted by the pandemic. The Brooklyn Alliance Capital will be managing the outreach and loan inquiries, and underwriting no-interest micro-loans up to $15,000. TruFund will underwrite larger loans up to $100,000. These loans require no collateral, guarantors or minimum credit scores. The Brooklyn EXCELerate Loan Fund supported by the Social Justice Fund of the Joe & Clara Tsai Foundation.
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
$10,000 - $100,000
Deadline: August 31, 2021
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund is a New York City-based private foundation whose grantmaking seeks to increase access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and to build healthy communities. In response to the increasing need for mental health resources brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently inviting proposals from NYC-based arts and cultural organizations addressing mental health for people in historically marginalized and vulnerable communities. Projects must explore the role of arts as an approach to raise awareness of mental health challenges, promote healing, and foster creativity for people in these communities.
Sustaining Futures Support Grant
Deadline: August 12, 2021
The Sustaining Futures Support Grant provides 2021 Convening attendees with unrestricted funding to offset costs associated with lost income, childcare, technology, and other barriers to virtual attendance in addition to free Convening registration. Our Support Grant program is meant to support those who would not be able to attend the Convening without financial assistance, and who plan to be able to participate in at least 2 days of the Convening.
Manhattan Arts Grants
Up to $10,000
Deadline: September 14
Since 1983, LMCC’s Manhattan Arts Grants have supported Manhattan-based artists, arts groups and community-focused organizations in sharing rich arts activities with the public. The 2022 Manhattan Arts Grants are designed to support Manhattan artists and organizations in accessing public funds for presentations that respond to the current needs of our local communities and amplify the cultural breadth and identity of our city.
Grants include Creative Engagement, Creative Learning, and UMEZ Arts Engagement.
LMCC Creative Engagement & Creative Learning Information Session Webinar
August 10, 2021
6:00 PM
Register to attend an information session hosted by LMCC in partnership with the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable for upcoming Creative Engagement and Creative Learning grants.
NYSCA Funding: Organizational and Individual Artist Recovery
Applications Open: July 19
Deadline: September 1
Support will broaden individual artist support and deliver extremely flexible funding for organizations through a streamlined application experience. Grants offered in this round will greatly expand eligibility and encourage new applicants across a wide spectrum of artistic and cultural practices. Priority will be given to applicants that serve historically underrepresented communities. Funding opportunities include: Support for Organizations, Support for Artists, Special Opportunities, and the NYSCA Recovery Fund.
Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant PRogram
$5,000 - $50,000
Rolling
The $800 million COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program provides grant funding to small and micro businesses and for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations impacted by the pandemic. The grants will be flexible and can be used for a number of different business operating expenses, including payroll, rent or mortgage payments, taxes, utilities, PPE or other business expenses incurred between March 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021.
Fellowships
The Poetry Project
Curatorial Fellowship Program
$1,500 curator honorarium
$1,500 production budget
$2,100 honoraria budget for event participants
Deadline: August 15, 2021
Curatorial Fellows are responsible for programming three events, one event per month in The Poetry Project’s Spring Season. We are interested in the intergenerational, the subversive, the overlooked. We are excited about events that are formally innovative, and curators who share our commitment to remaining counter-hierarchical, community-centered, and wild.
Emerge-Surface-Be Fellowship Program
$2,500
Deadline: August 15
The Emerge-Surface-Be fellowship program formalizes the relationship-centered pedagogical model while providing a unique opportunity to support and uplift emerging NYC-based poets. Fellows are selected by and paired with their own poet mentors, who then work together to support the Fellow in developing their craft; to explore publication and performance opportunities; and to reflect on the professional and community-based dimensions of a writing life.
Additional Resources
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: COVID-19 Financial Education Resources
Arts practitioners and artists who have been experiencing housing instability, or are having trouble making rent or mortgage payments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic should know that they are not alone. Federal, state, and local governments are offering help with housing expenses and avoiding eviction. Information is available by visiting CFPB’s website for more tools and resources.
Guide to coronavirus housing relief options: If you can’t make your rent or mortgage payments because of the coronavirus, start by understanding your options and reaching out for help.
Beware of scams related to the coronavirus:Recognize and prevent fraud and scams during the coronavirus pandemic.
What you need to know about student loans and the coronavirus pandemic: Federally held student loan payments are postponed and interest has been waived. Learn what that means for your loans.
HueArts NYC
HueArts NYC will be a comprehensive map, online directory, report, and hub for New York City’s arts entities that have been created by and center Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and all People of Color. Covering all five boroughs and featuring nonprofits, fiscally sponsored, and for profits, this map aims to highlight these performing and presenting arts entities’ work, amplify their impact, and increase support for their critical contributions to city life. HueArts NYC will provide a rich and living visual and textual record that helps advance racial and cultural equity. The map, directory, and report will be completed and publicly released in December 2021.
What We're Reading
Have you encountered an inspiring or engaging read related to the COVID-19 era lately? Tell us about it at webmaster@brooklynartscouncil.org.
Sarah Cascone. “A Look at the Artists and Artworks Behind the Extravagant Opening Ceremony of Tokyo’s Olympic Games,” artnet, July 2021.
Read
Dushko Petrovich Cordova. “Independent Together: The State of Art Book Publishing,” Art in America, July 2021.
Read
Colleen Dilenschneider. “How Relaxed Mask Policies Are Impacting Family Plans to Visit Cultural Entities (DATA),” Know Your Own Bone, July 2021.
Read
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei. “Artist Tomashi Jackson Uncovers the Hidden Histories of Indigenous, Black, and Latinx People in the Hamptons,” ARTnews, July 2021.
Read
Gia Kourlas. “Using the Wisdom of Dance to Find Our Way Back to Our Bodies,” New York Times, July 2021.
Read
Help Sustain Brooklyn's Artists
During times of uncertainty, Brooklyn Arts Council depends increasingly upon community members like you to help us continue celebrating and empowering local artists.
Cover Image: Hivewild, PRISM. Photography by Travis Emery Hackett with assistance from Helen Franco, December 2019.