A Message from Our Programs Team
On April 22nd, Brooklyn Arts Council hosted the 2021 Community Arts Grants Celebration. We wish our community of artists the very best and are looking forward to their future accomplishments and creative contributions to reinvigorating the vibrancy of our borough. Click the buttons below to view the E-program and videos of the evening’s speakers.
We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our grant-making activities with the Creative Equations Fund. In partnership with the Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and Hope Street Capital Partners, this new era of grant-making will focus on amplifying artists’ work in the realm of social justice, innovation, research, and community building.
Brooklyn Innovation Institute will also be returning with new capacity-building initiatives. This year, 10 artists and 5 arts organizations will receive stipends to participate in one-on-one financial counseling service sessions led by our partners, the Brooklyn Coop Credit Union and long-time funder, TD Bank.
Look out for more information regarding these two initiatives in the coming weeks.
Work With Us
Now Hiring: Programs Coordinator
The Programs Coordinator supports BAC’s cornerstone programs, Community Arts Grants and Brooklyn Innovation Institute, with a mission to enrich the cultural life of the borough by allocating public funds and resources to Brooklyn’s artists and arts organizations. The Programs Coordinator is a driven creative administrator with superior attention to detail and strong communication skills. This is a public-facing position that requires project management skills, being responsive to the needs of multiple stakeholders, an interest in cultural policy, and a passion for supporting artists and organizations. Candidates should be interested in the dynamic opportunities and responsibilities that come with distributing public funds.
We strongly encourage all races and ethnicities to apply.
Learn More
Events, Artist Opportunities & Resources from Our Grantees & Many Other Organizations!
We are excited to share upcoming events, reliable funding, artist opportunities, and other resources from our grantees, fiscal sponsees as well as external organizations. Below is a full, comprehensive list of what's top-of-mind this May.
Our Grantees' Events
Upcoming in-person & virtual events hosted by our grantees & fiscal sponsees.
the Carlo Daleo Show at Summertime Studios
May 1 - May 23, 2021
Friday - Sunday, 12 PM - 6 PM
Summertime Gallery
145 Ainslie St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
A 10 foot mural, assorted works on paper and a one hour radio segment that will be playing on loop, all by the one and only, Carlo Daleo. The Carlo Daleo Show highlights my life as an artist and my decades as a music fan and animator.
Theater in Asylum presents
The Debates 2021: Civics Happy Hour
May 22, 2021
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Virtual
Join Theater in Asylum for a discussion about some of the leading candidates for NYC mayor. We’ll survey the field, explore the candidates' backgrounds, read some of their public statements, and discuss their policy positions. While we’re no experts at any of this, we are theater makers and politics enthusiasts who believe in learning about these things together and empowering each other in the process.
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Foster Care Film & Community Engagement Project
National Foster Care Month: Virtual film Tour
May 1, 2021 - May 31, 2021
Various times
Virtual
The Foster Care Film and Community Engagement Project (FCFCEP) is hosting a 10 stop virtual tour this May during National Foster Care Month. Join us for free screenings of FCFCEP's award-winning films which highlight the stories of youth in the foster care system which will be followed by a discussion panel.
Our goal is to provide role models for youth currently in the foster care system, giving them work experience as well as hope and inspiration for a better future. Through film and media we intend to dispel negative stereotypes about foster care by showing how school, extended family and the kindness of strangers can help a child find their path in life. By educating general audiences about foster care we can inspire prospective foster parents, mentors or advocates to take action within their communities.
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Lara Saget: The Roots of Tuckahoe Marble
On View: May 17, 2021 - May 17, 2022
Clumber Corner on Prospect St. & Adams St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
'The Roots of Tuckahoe Marble' is an 8 foot-tall, public Tuckahoe marble, bronze, and glass sculpture. 'The Roots of Tuckahoe Marble' is coupled with 'The Sound of Pando' In Collaboration with Jerry J. Adams and the SoundMapApp 'The Sound of Pando', an electrical differential between the leaves and the roots of Pando translated into sound. Pando has been growing for at least 80,000 years and is the world's largest organism by mass. It has created a forest of thousands of genetically identical quaking aspen trees, which all stem from a single root system.
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arts gowanus public art exhibition
May 15, 2021 - June 25, 2021
J.J. Byrne Playground & Virtual
3 St & 4 St (between 4 Ave & 5 Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11215
A public outdoor portraiture exhibition featuring portraits created by and depicting local Brooklyn residents. After over a year of struggles during COVID, this exhibition is meant to celebrate the resilience, strength, and diversity of our amazing Brooklyn community. This project is in collaboration with The Old Stone House and is part of the Arts Gowanus Gallery Dispersed initiative. This exhibition will also take place online, the original version of each work will be available for sale on the Arts Gowanus online Artsy gallery.
Events & Programs
Additional happenings hosted by outside organizations, collectives, and institutions.
NYC & Company Foundation
All In NYC: Embracing Diversity – Responding to Anti-Asian Hate
May 6, 2021
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
Virtual
NYC & Company’s All In NYC: 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.
The Spring Makers Show @ City Point
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Sunday, May 9, 2021
11 AM - 7 PM
C445 Albee Square West, Brooklyn, NY 11201
The Spring Makers Show is the pop-up market platform founded by women with a mission to celebrate diversity and small businesses. The Spring Makers Show will feature over 40 makers with a wide range of unique gifts, crafts and clothes to celebrate Mother’s Day and refresh your spring wardrobe.
ONE LAB SUMMER STUDIO
Deadline: May 15, 2021
Session 1: June 21 - July 1
Session 2: July 12 - 22
Session 3: July 26 - August 5
The two-week summer sessions consist of a design studio, lectures, and workshops. You will also get a taste of New York City through virtual excursions to important cultural, historical, and environmental sites. Engage in project-based problem solving and sharpen your critical thinking, join a community of environmental activists & designers, known as Urbaneers, and leave with a student evaluation and portfolio work.
DUMBO Open Studios 2021
May 13 - 23, 2021
Virtual
DUMBO Open Studios is going digital this year! Building upon the success of last year’s event, we will share profiles of DUMBO artists, virtual exhibitions, curated guides, virtual events, prerecorded studio tours, and more!
Breathing Pavilion Meditation Sign-Up
Various Dates
The Plaza at 300 Ashland (at Flatbush + Lafayette), Downtown Brooklyn
At this time of great hardship and loss, Breathing Pavilion by Ekene Ijeoma offers a public space for communal meditation, self-reflection, and interconnectedness. At any time, sit or stand around the pavilion, syncopating your breath with the lights and attuning yourself to a shared rhythm.
Sign Up for a Slot
Creative Capital’s
Make Your Interdisciplinary Practice Work for You
May 11, 2021
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Virtual
Sheetal Prajapati helps artists think strategically about how to position themselves in different environments, sharing resources, and expertise to harness multiple skills to serve arts institutions and build sustainable careers. As definitions for artistic practices become more fluid, and the need to hire artists outside of their studio practice becomes more common, many artists find their interdisciplinary practices are a unique asset for building sustainable careers. However, as artists juggle a number of areas of expertise, it can be difficult for external parties to understand where their skills lie.
Black writers program 2o21
FINDING A HOME FOR YOUR WORK: Submitting to Literary Journals
May 6, 2021
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Virtual
Industry experts Sasha Bonét (Apogee), Chelsea Lemon Fetzer (Head Editor, Little Patuxent Review), Tonya R. Moore (Acquiring Poetry Editor, FIYAH Literary Magazine), and Laura Pegram (Editor-in-Chief, Kweli), will discuss the considerations they make when looking at writing submissions, determining what to accept (or not), and how to get your work into the best shape possible before it finds the right home.
Black writers program 2o21
Up Close and Personal: Getting Your Personal Essay Into the World
May 22, 2021
2:00 PM
Virtual
In this panel, writing wunderkinds Hanif Abdurraquib (A Little Devil In America), Sesali Bowen (Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes From a Trap Feminist), and David Dennis Jr. (The Movement Made Us) share their paths to honing their voices, finding the right outlets, and getting published.
Black writers program 2o21
LIBERTIE: Kaitlyn Greenidge in Conversation with Ibi Zoboi
May 25, 2021
7:00 PM
Virtual
Join NY Writers Coalition for a thought-provoking interview of Kaitlyn Greenidge (Libertie; We Love You, Charlie Freeman) by Ibi Zoboi (Punching the Air, My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich, American Street).
GOVERNORS ISLAND REOPENING
May 1, 2021
Governors Island opens May 1 to welcome New Yorkers back to enjoy its beautiful open spaces and wide range of activities for all. The Island is more accessible than ever this year with two weekend Brooklyn ferry routes from Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook, along with daily Manhattan ferry service, as well as the 2021 season and free public programs.
Artist Opportunities
Reliable funding opportunities from outside collectives and institutions.
Open Calls
THE SIX FOOT PLATFORM
Deadline: May 14, 2021
Washington Street is Brooklyn’s most iconic street, photographed more than 100 times per minute by visitors across the City and globe. Part of Dumbo’s Open Streets program, this is the first time this opportunity is being offered. The “audience” is fluid, and flexible. Dumbonians, New Yorkers and visitors from further afield, some on Washington Street for the first time, some seeking out your work specifically.
This is a space-within-a-space, an experiment, an intervention in public space. The expectation is that the platform be activated throughout the course of the residency. The experience of the space can change over time, but the experience should be continuous, and deliberate.
Illustrate Against Hate competition
Photo: Saraí Zuno/Pexels
1st place: $1,000
2nd place: $500
3rd place: $250
Deadline: May 14, 2021
Creative middle and high schoolers grades 7-12 have the chance to win cash prizes of up to $1,000 in a new art contest that takes a stand against hate crimes. Artworks must be express that hate crimes are intolerable and immoral, and can be created with photography, watercolor, acrylic, oil, wood, clay, metal, plaster, pastel, charcoal, collage, pencil, computer graphic art and silk screen. This initiative was started by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in partnership with the New York City Police Foundation.
WQXR: PROJECT AIRLIFT
Deadline: Rolling through June 2021
Now through June 2021, WQXR is selecting several organizations each month to receive four weeks of on-air promotion (up to 21 spots per week for each). Applications are open for additional New York–area nonprofit organizations — especially those that are BIPOC-led and / or with small and mid-size budgets.
Open Streets on Vanderbilt Avenue
Saturdays, 1 :00 PM - 6:00 PM for 1 -hour duration
Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn
The Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council operates the Open Streets program on Vanderbilt Avenue. The program launched as an economic relief effort in August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with 22 restaurants participating. Prospect Heights residents quickly embraced traffic-free weekends on Vanderbilt Avenue as a way to safely enjoy a sense of community while supporting local businesses.
The Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council seeks to include family-appropriate cultural programming among the experiences that make the Vanderbilt Avenue open street a special one for community members and visitors of all ages.
Vaccines and US: Poster Entry
Deadline: Rolling
A national collaboration of cultural organizations, led by the Smithsonian, invites artists and designers to submit artwork to support vaccine education. All artists are welcome—from crayon to creative professional. The initiative, “Vaccines and US: Cultural Organizations for Community Health,” will select works for use on posters, social media, and promotional materials. Artwork will be displayed on the “Vaccines and US” website and made available for free download by the public and all participating cultural organizations.
NYC Open Culture Program
Deadline: Rolling; 15 days prior to event
Starting this spring, arts and cultural institutions and entertainment venues will have access to new permitting opportunities to host cultural programming and performances on New York City streets. Arts and cultural institutions, as well as entertainment venues, will have the opportunity to secure a permit for single day, socially distanced performances at over 100 street locations throughout all five boroughs.
COVID-19 Research Project: Call for Participants
Compensation: $50
Dance & Theater Artists
This project, funded by The Endeavor Foundation and The Pritchard Family Foundation, brings together 40 artists and arts nonprofit leaders for a series of ethnographic interviews culminating in a collaborative impact strategy lab, in which we hope you will participate. Participants will receive compensation for their time for the interviews and the impact strategy lab. For your participation you will receive $50 from one of our two favorite black-owned businesses, Franklin Cellars Wine Shop or Grounded.
Learn More
June 2020 Report
Grants & Funding
Empire State Creates: Teaching Artist-Led Activities for Everyone
$1,500
Deadline: May 21, 2021
Teaching Artists are vital partners in our schools and communities. The NYC Arts in Education Roundtable believes it is imperative that we prioritize and invest in Teaching Artists who are facing disproportionate financial impact due to the pandemic. Empire State Creates: Teaching Artist-Led Activities for Everyone, a new pilot grant program seeking to support teaching artists and offer continued arts learning opportunities for New Yorkers of all ages.
NYFA: The Barbara and Carl Zydney Grant for Artists with Disabilities
$1,000
Deadline: June 15, 2021
The Barbara and Carl Zydney Grant for Artists with Disabilities will distribute $1,000 grants to artists who experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is open to visual, media, music, performing, and literary artists who live in New York City’s five boroughs.
Actos de Confianza: Relief Grants
$5,000
Deadline: May 12, 2021
In collaboration with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Intercultural Leadership Institute partners, the 2021 Actos de Confianza relief effort will expand to support Latinx artists and arts organizations who have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. NALAC will distribute $2,500 grants to Latinx artists and cultural workers and $5,000 grants to Latinx arts organizations facing critical financial emergencies. Open calls organized by geographic region will take place between January and May 2021.
2021 MUSEUM WORKERS RELIEF FUND
$500
Deadline: Rolling
The Museum Workers Relief Fund operates by the principles of mutual aid: organized by and for museum workers, founded on equity, trust, solidarity, and empowerment of our members, without conditions. We will gather the voices of museum workers offering and asking for aid and, together, we will advocate for a transformation of museum culture that will center dignity, justice, and humanity.
Bed-Stuy Create & Connect Fund
$1,000
Deadline: May 16, 2021
The Bed-Stuy Create and Connect Fund seeds the creative ideas and civic actions of artists, cultural practitioners, community builders, organizers, and makers in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. We will provide $1,000 grants towards each funded project, for a total of 10 to 11 projects. We are looking for creative initiatives and projects that are rooted in community, foster connections, and ignite conversations and/or collaborations. In other words, we support community building amongst neighbors.
THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION ARTS WRITERS GRANT
$15,000 - $50,000
Deadline: May 19, 2021
The Arts Writers Grant supports both emerging and established writers who are writing about contemporary visual art. Ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 in three categories—articles, books, and short-form writing—these grants support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. We also support art writing that engages criticism through interdisciplinary methods or experiments with literary styles.
Residencies & Fellowships
$7,000
Deadline: May 13, 2021
The JGS Fellowship for Photography is a $7,000 cash grant open to New York State photography artists living and working outside of New York City. The Fellowship will be awarded to five artists working in traditional and experimental photography or any form in which photographic techniques are pivotal. The support for this funding is provided by The Joy of Giving Something (JGS).
Additional Resources
The Actors Fund COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments
The Actors Fund can now help schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments at ATC's Broadway Vaccination Site (ATC Vaccination Times Square, located at 47th Street & 7th Avenue), for members of the performing arts & entertainment community who are working, living or attending school in New York City. Speak with someone who can help you schedule an appointment:
Call: 917-281-5937
Email: vaccines@actorsfund.org with your name and phone number
Learn more on the Actors Fund website.
NYC COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments
All New Yorkers 16 years of age and older are now eligible to be vaccinated. People who work or study in New York are also eligible. Use the City's Vaccine Finder to search for a location near you (not accessible with Internet Explorer).
Most City-run sites are offering walk-up vaccinations for New Yorkers. You do not need an appointment at these sites. You can also schedule an appointment for certain vaccination sites by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).
Free transportation to vaccination appointments in NYC is available for city residents 65 and older and those with disabilities who have no other way to get to a vaccination site. To arrange for transportation, call 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).
For NYC residents who cannot leave their home, you can sign up for an in-home vaccination online or by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).
NATIONAL COALITION FOR ARTS' PREPAREDNESS & EMERGENCY RESPONSE (NCAPER)
NCAPER’s blog listing best practices, advice, tools, and reports.
Rebuild, Reconcile, Reimagine:
A List of Demands for Centering Black Women’s Leadership in Arts Education
CALL TO ACTION: Complete the form below to add your name to show your support for "Rebuild. Reconcile. Reimagine. Centering Black Women: List of Demands".
The NYC Arts in Education Roundtable wishes to extend a special thanks to the following people for their extensive work and authorship of this list of demands: Brittany Applewhite, Asari Beale, Sandrine Dupiton, Judith Insell, David King, Jorjina Amefia-Koffi, Toya Lillard, Heather McCartney, Gary Padmore, Mafor Mambo Tse, Josephine Winfrey, PHR, SHRM-CP, and Kendra S. Williams.
Cosmic Possibilities: An Intergalactic Youth Guide to Abolition
A creative and reflective dreamspace made by and for young people to imagine liberatory new worlds. What does it look like when our abolitionist visions for the world are realized? What did it take to get us there? This publication was created over a series of several weeks after the summer 2020 Abolitionist Youth Organizing Institute (AYO, NYC!).
HOLLABACK! FREE BYSTANDER INTERVENTION TO STOP ANTI-ASIAN & XENOPHOBIC HARASSMENT
In response to the rise in Anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment, we at Hollaback! partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC to provide free bystander intervention training as well as offering a de-escalation training to meet this moment. Unfortunately, anti-Asian and Asian American racism and xenophobia is not a new phenomenon. It has been part of American history for a long time, and we have seen it manifested against different Asian/American and Pacific Islander communities in many ways over the years. As the coronavirus pandemic escalates, we have seen more harassment, discrimination, and even violence directed at these communities.
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.
Kevin Duggan. “The stacks are back: Brooklyn Public Library reopens 13 branches for browsing, computer use next month,” Brooklyn Paper, April 2021.
Alex Greenberger. "How New York’s Legendary Just Above Midtown Gallery Spurred Generations of Black Artists to Success," ARTnews, April 2021.
Rachel Holiday Smith. “What to Know About the 2021 New York City Council Races,” The City, April 2021.
Nadja Sayej. “Kaws: Behind the Pop Culture Artist's Brooklyn Retrospective,” The Guardian, March 2021.
Shayne Weaver. "This Futuristic New Brooklyn Art Installation is Meant to Calm You Down," Timeout, March 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: 'Honest Process' performance at National Sawdust. Conceived, Composed, and Directed by Thea Little. Performers and Collaborators: Thea Little, Katie Norton-Bliss, and Lea Torelli. Photo by Jill Steinberg, 2019. Thea Little is a 2021 Brooklyn Arts Fund recipient. Follow Thea Little on her Instagram and website.