Support Brooklyn Arts & Culture
At Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC), our work is powered by a vision of the world we want to live in: where resources are distributed equitably, all voices are heard and respected, and creative expression is valued and celebrated.
The arts are essential to making this vision a reality. When we empower artists, we invest in the change-makers, the community organizers, the harbingers of joy and vibrancy. BAC supports an arts community that harnesses education, connection, and creativity as drivers of social change. This dedication both enriches our borough's cultural landscape and generates engaging experiences that expand horizons.
As we approach the end of 2021, please consider including BAC in your year-end philanthropic giving to ensure that we can continue to be of service to Brookyln's arts and culture landscape. You can donate now by clicking the button below.
We are grateful for your support and appreciate your generosity.
You’re Invited!
The 2022 SU-CASA program is funded by the New York City Council. It is a collaboration among the City Council, the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), the Department for the Aging (DFTA) and Brooklyn Arts Council.
SU-CASA Creative Aging Program Info Session
Wednesday, December 15
3:30 PM - 5 PM
Online via Zoom: Register HERE
Brooklyn Arts Council’s Arts in Education Team invites you to join our online SU-CASA Creative Aging Program info session. SU-CASA is a community arts engagement program that places artists in residence at senior centers across Brooklyn. SU-CASA artists engage older adults in an art project or series of cultural programs over the course of the residency. Each residency also includes a public program component – exhibits, readings, performances, open houses or other cultural events open to the surrounding community.
SU-CASA supports artists who are sensitive to the needs of older adults and who are interested in engaging their communities. Brooklyn Arts Council will only accept applications from Brooklyn-based individual artists seeking residencies at participating senior centers in Brooklyn.
Individual artists-in-residence receive a program stipend and materials/supplies stipend: $5,000 for the program stipend and $1,500 for the materials stipend. In the past, SU-CASA artists have also had access to materials and supplies from Materials for the Arts, though this has yet to be confirmed for 2022.
Individual artists can apply directly to participate in the program without a fiscal sponsor. Artists may apply for up to two SU-CASA residencies. Attendance at the information session is not required to apply for SU-CASA. The SU-CASA application for 2022 will be available on December 13th.
Click the buttons below to RSVP and access the application.
Our Grantees' Events
Upcoming in-person & virtual events hosted by our board members, grantees, fiscal sponsees, and partner organizations. Keep scrolling for a full, comprehensive list of what's top-of-mind this December.
Leonie Bell with LOCAL GRANDMA:
The brick presents: "Sonntags Wird Gelogen Or We Only Lie On Sundays"
December 9 - 11 at 8 PM
December 12 at 3 PM
The Brick Theater
579 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
A dark humor Tanztheater piece featuring pseudo-historical characters, choral song and pedestrian movement with text in German and English. Created by Leonie Bell with LOCAL GRANDMA.
“qt shorts”
December 10
6 PM - 8 PM
Brooklyn Community Pride Center
1360 Fulton Street, Ground Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11216
*Entrance on New York Avenue, between Fulton + Herkimer Streets
“QT SHORTS” is a free pop-up short film screening series highlighting variety and innovation in queer and trans storytelling. The winter pop-up features five short films and an in-person Q&A with selected filmmakers. “QT SHORTS” is co-curated by filmmaker Brit Fryer and arts organizer Arno Mokros.
Hillary Miller’s “Preparedness”
Multiple dates ending December 11
HERE
145 Sixth Ave.
New York, NY 10013
In partnership with HERE, Bushwick Starr presents the world premiere of “Preparedness,” written by Hillary Miller and directed by Kristjan Thor. This new comic thriller follows the faculty of a moribund arts department forced to undergo self-defense training. As the afternoon unravels into chaos, these educators discover the costs of a divided community. Award-winning theater scholar Miller teams up with director Thor, who brings his immersive horror expertise to Preparedness, examining the effects of fear on our professional lives.
Soup & Sound Around Brooklyn presents:
Ras Moshe Burnett
Ras Moshe Burnett in Montpelier, Vermont. Photo by Andrew Drury
Andrew Drury and Soup & Sound are 2020 and 2021 Brooklyn Arts Fund grantees. Stay connected via website.
December 11
7:30 PM
292 Lefferts Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Ras Moshe Burnett is a saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist, historian, radical cultural critic, and the third generation in a family of musicians that began with his grandfather who immigrated from Jamaica and to East New York to play with the likes of Chick Webb, Lucky Millinder, and Thelonious Monk. Burnett will perform live with pianist Alexis Marcelo (James Brandon Lewis, Malcolm Mooney, Yusef Lateef) and drummer Andrew Drury. We will also share a video in progress, shot in Vermont by Drury, in which Burnett reflects on his Jamaican/Brooklyn heritage and the meaning of his music in the context of post-colonial world culture.
This event includes homemade soup.
Video will be viewable on Vimeo after December 11.
Proof of vaccination & masking required.
The BRICK + Exponential Festival Present:
“Departure Study of Mother/land Fabric”
January 7 at 8 PM
January 8 at 3 PM and 8 PM
579 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Was forgetting a calculated effort? How can you hold onto what you cannot recall? Heath’s solo performance seams pieces of movement, text, and video; exposing her deepest fantasies of an unknown mother. Suspended bojagi pieces create a fantasied womb space where fragments of partial truths and unverified facts circulate, slowly imprinting a possibility of embodied “folklore” memory.
Created and Performed by Annie Heath In collaboration with Shannon Brooks (Filmmaker), Leonie Castelino (Visual Designer), and Anna Wotring (Producer).
Events & Programs
Additional happenings hosted by outside organizations, collectives, and institutions.
Image by Kate Enman.
Raja Feather Kelly: “THE FEATH3R THEORY: WEDNESDAY”
December 8 - 10
8 PM
New York Live Arts
219 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
“WEDNESDAY” by Raja Feather Kelly is a staged documentary inspired by Liz Eden, the real-life trans woman on whom Leon in the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon was based. A queer fantasia where psychological realism meets pop soap opera, “WEDNESDAY” asks: Who gets to tell whose story?
“your flowers are so lovely they have made me well again”
by ART YARD BKLYN
“Your Flowers Are So Lovely They Have Made Me Well Again,” by ART YARD BKLYN at 339Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY, a STAR Storefront Arts Recovery Project. Photo: Alexa Hoyer.
On view through March 31, 2022
339 Adams St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
With the theme of heal and restore, “Your flowers are so lovely they have made me well again” unites 19 artists who teach in ART YARD BKLYN’s programs for kids, teens, and adults. Each artist identifies a plant with healing properties and brings it to the fore in an inspired painting. Together the installation communicates resiliency and interdependence, qualities that are essential for a healthy community. The installation brightens up the busy downtown Brooklyn sidewalks and reminds us that we are part of nature.
This project is part of STAR – Storefront Arts Recovery Initiative that connects artists with property owners to enliven New York City sidewalks with art.
Artist Opportunities
Reliable workshops and funding opportunities from outside collectives and institutions.
Professional Development
Opening Stage Doors
December 7 - 9
12 PM to 6 PM
The Opening Stage Doors virtual theatre workforce convening is curated by a team of arts leaders from around the country. This first-of-its kind event will spotlight current programs training young people and adults for careers in arts administration and technical trades. Keynotes and sessions will surface tools to make short term and long term shifts, and work to collectively envision a more equitable industry. Participants gain practical skills and discuss a deeper change to the way we work as a field.
To Protect, Serve, and Understand
Every Tuesday evening beginning January 18
Public performances in March
To Protect, Serve and Understand (TPSU) is a 10-week theatre workshop and performance presented by the Irondale Ensemble Project in Fort Greene. Our artist facilitators invite you to join a transformational and fun program for bridging differences, confronting complex issues and rediscovering our shared humanity. TPSU brings together community members and police officers for improvisational training — learning and applying the tools of the actor in order to be heard, bear active witness to others’ perspectives and spotlight needed change.
Residencies
Atelier Mondial Residency for nyc artists
$1,200 per month
Deadline: December 19
Residency Unlimited (RU) is proud to announce its eighth open call for New York City based artists for a six-month residency starting June 1 until November 30, 2022 at Atelier Mondial in Basel, Switzerland. In addition to the residency, the selected artist will have the opportunity to present works within Atelier Mondial's gallery space Salon Mondial, at a partner institution and/or in an Open Studio.
Open Calls
Mattress Factory Open Call
Deadline: December 10 at 4:59 PM
Continuing our commitment to centering artist voices and decentering institutional voice, the review of submissions and selection of artists will be done by artists who have previously exhibited at the Mattress Factory. During their residency, artists are free to explore wherever their process leads them. The Mattress Factory will support each artist’s process from development through production and installation to exhibition. Solo exhibitions resulting from residencies will be scheduled from Spring 2023 onwards.
Center for black literature: “National Black Writers Conference” Call For Papers
Deadline: January 7
Virtual Conference: March 30 – April 2
The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY (CBL), will present the 16th National Black Writers Conference from March 30 to April 2, 2022. Writers, scholars, literary professionals, students, and the public will gather virtually to participate in and listen to roundtables and panels on the conference theme, “The Beautiful Struggle, Black Writers Lighting the Way.”
Grants & Funding
Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants
Image Detail: Robert Rauschenberg, "Untitled [Cunningham dancers]," 1961, ©Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.
Up to $5,000
Cycle 1 Deadline: January 7
Cycle 2 Opens: March 1
Cycle 2 Deadline: April 1
Cycle 3 Opens: Before June 2022
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) has partnered with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to administer a new grant program called Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants. The program will initially provide one-time grants of up to $5,000 to professional dancers who have experienced dire financial emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, medicine/healthcare, utilities, and food. It will award a total of $300,000 over the course of three award cycles that will run through Spring 2022.
The David Prize
$200,000
Deadline: December 21
The David Prize is a celebration of individuals and ideas to create a better, brighter New York City. Open to any individual working in the five boroughs, the Prize welcomes those with the grit and vision to change our communities, our culture and our future for good. As long as you have a clear idea of how your work improves our city, and what you need to get it done, we’ll consider it.
NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship
Deadline: December 31
NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship is a fundraising and administrative tool that allows your project or emerging organization to use NYFA’s 501c3 nonprofit status to fundraise for your own project. With this partnership with NYFA, you gain: Access to government, foundation, and corporate grants traditionally restricted to 501c3 organizations; Incentive of a tax deduction to attract individual donors; Consultation services with NYFA staff; Fiduciary oversight and financial record-keeping; and a personalized profile page on nyfa.org.
nysca Capital Funding for the Arts
Deadline: January 14 at 4 PM
The NYSCA FY2022 Capital Projects Application Portal is now open and accepting submissions! Funding 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.
NYSCA-A.R.T./New York grants
Creative Opportunity Fund
$2,000 - $5,000
Deadline: December 14 at 5 PM
The NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (A Statewide Theatre Regrant Program) provides grants to small professional theatres with budgets under $500,000 working in New York State. A.R.T./New York regrants NYSCA funds, and all applicants and grantees will interact with A.R.T./New York as their grant maker. $2,000-$5,000 awards will be provided for general operating support to small professional theatres with budgets under $500,000 working throughout New York State.
Strengthening NYC Theatres Grants
$1,000 - $2,000
Deadline: December 14 at 5 PM
Building on the 20+ year history of the Nancy Quinn Fund and its general operating grants for the smallest New York City-based theatres, A.R.T./New York is excited to announce the Strengthening NYC Theatres Grant program. Aimed at providing New York City theatres with an opportunity for flexible, general operating support to strengthen and sustain their companies, this grant program provides an accessible and streamlined application process scored and distributed by a peer panel of theatre-makers.
Circle for justice Innovations 2021 SOS Fund
Up to $5,000
Deadline: December 17
The Strategic Opportunities Support Fund (SOS Fund) is a rapid response funding mechanism that issues micro-grants to organizations addressing crises with strategic organizing and advocacy to meet emergency needs in their communities. The CJI SOS Fund also enables organizations to take advantage of unanticipated opportunities for organizing and advocacy that may be otherwise prohibitive due to a small funding gap.
National Endowment for the Arts: Big Read Program
Up to $20,000
Deadline: January 26
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read supports organizations across the country in developing community-wide reading programs which encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences. These programs include activities such as author readings, book discussions, art exhibits, lectures, film series, music or dance events, theatrical performances, panel discussions, and other events and activities related to the community’s chosen book. Activities focus on one book from the NEA Big Read library.
Fellowships
Smack Mellon Artist Studio Program Open Call
Deadline: December 29
Smack Mellon’s Artist Studio Program supports emerging or early career artists. The Artist Studio Program was launched in 2000 in response to the crisis of available affordable space for artists living and working in New York City. The program provides six eligible artists working in all visual arts media a free private studio space accessible 24/7 and a fellowship (dependent on funding).
NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship
$7,000
January 26 at 5 PM
The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is a $7,000 unrestricted cash grant available to artists living in New York State and/or one of the Indian Nations located therein. This grant is awarded in fifteen different disciplines over a three-year period (five categories a year) and the application is free to complete. The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is not a project grant, but is intended to fund an artist’s vision or voice, at all levels of their artistic development.
Resources
CULTURE + COMMUNITY IN A TIME OF TRANSFORMATION
Culture + Community in a Time of Transformation: A Special Edition of Culture Track is a national research and strategy initiative to support the cultural sector and help strengthen communities around the U.S. during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Organizations of all sizes and disciplines across the country sent survey invitations to their audiences, resulting in over 75,000 survey responses from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Canada.
A collaboration between LaPlaca Cohen and Slover Linett, this study is aimed at bridging the cultural sector with the experiences and needs of its communities and audiences during the pandemic and beyond.
Abolitionist Arts Education Curriculum Guide
The Abolitionist Arts Education Curriculum Guide offers teaching artists and administrators lesson plans designed to help dismantle institutional racism, starting in the classroom. The guide is interdisciplinary and comprised of lesson plans and videos for classes in music, visual arts, theater, and dance.
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 Bahr. “Brooklyn Museum to Receive $50 Million Gift From City of New York.” New York Times, November 2021.
Read
Anna Bradley Smith. “Youth Justice Network Is Using Art for Rehab for Teens Coming From Rikers Island.” BK Reader, October 2021.
Read
Colleen Dilenschneider. “Visitor Satisfaction Scores May Be Lower This Season Than In The Past. Here’s Why (DATA).” Know Your Own Bone, November 2021.
Read
Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura. “A School Mural Was Supposed to Celebrate Black Lives. Instead, It Was Destroyed." New York Times, October 2021.
Read
Empowering Artists. Empowering Communities.
The arts are a lifeline to sustain wonder, inspiration, healing, and a sense of community in our lives. Please join Brooklyn Arts Council in our mission to empower Brooklyn artists and arts organizations that bring life and joy into our home borough.