Lincoln Center, home to the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic, two of more than 1,000 arts groups to receive awards from the New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Photo: Iñaki Vinaixa
“As New York City’s arts and culture sector seeks to rebound from the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic, the Department of Cultural Affairs announced on Thursday that it would award $51.4 million in grants to more than 1,000 nonprofit arts organizations,” writes Matt Stevens in Thursday’s (12/9) New York Times. “The grants, for the 2022 fiscal year, represent the largest-ever allocation for what is known as the Cultural Development Fund. Some … grants will broadly increase funding for organizations that need a financial shot in the arm; other grants will offer more targeted support of disability arts, language access, arts education and more…. A chunk of the money … is being sent to more than 650 groups working in underserved communities that were hard hit by the pandemic…. A survey of the effects of the coronavirus commissioned by the Department of Cultural Affairs … found that … smaller organizations in particular were some of the hardest hit…. Some of the grants … have been awarded to small theater companies, choirs and museums….. The Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the 92nd Street Y are among the organizations that will receive some of the largest grants.”
