Announcing NYSCA NEA CARES Grantees!

NYSCA Awards $490,000 in Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds to 49 Arts Organizations Across New York State

NYSCA NEA CARES grants of $10,000 Provided to Organizations with Operating Budgets Below $1.5 Million, Prioritizing Underserved Communities

In its ongoing support of New York State arts organizations and artists facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, NYSCA is pleased to announce $490,000 in federal NEA CARES COVID-19 relief funds to 49 organizations in nine New York regions.

NYSCA NEA CARES Grants of $10,000 each are being given to arts organizations with budgets of less than $1.5 million and which have a proven track record of essential contributions to their communities. Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, these grants will cover salaries and supplemental benefits, fees for artists and other contracted personnel, and operational facilities costs, including rent and utilities payments.

“We are very grateful to the NEA for this timely support. The arts and culture are critical to the health of our communities, our state, and our country, and are vital to our recovery,” said Mara Manus, Executive Director, NYSCA. “This was a very competitive opportunity. NYSCA is so proud of all of our grantees and grateful for their immense contributions to our State. Throughout the unprecedented challenges of the past months, our State’s cultural sector has shown incredible ingenuity and resilience. As we navigate our transition to reopening, NYSCA is committed to supporting our arts community in every way we can.” 

NYSCA’s awards will support a broad constituency across New York, including a wide range of organizations that reach primarily underserved areas, including communities with ethnically diverse and immigrant populations, those that are geographically remote, and those with limited economic resources.

Congratulations to all of our NEA CARES grantees! Representing 23 state counties and a wide variety of disciplines, grantees include:

• Youth FX, Albany, which provides digital film and media training to youth from underserved communities
• Prattsville Arts Center, Prattsville: a community arts and social services center with a pivotal role in its rural community’s flood recovery plan
• Rehabilitation through the Arts, Katonah, which uses arts instruction to improve outcomes for the justice-involved; participants’ recidivism rate is 12 times below the national average
• National Black Theatre, Harlem: A pioneer in Black theatre productions created to uplift, strengthen, and heal Black communities; over 300 works have been produced and toured internationally
• Ganondagan, Victor, a Finger Lakes destination for Native American arts and culture; a National Historic Landmark, and the only NYS historic site devoted to Indigenous Americans.
• Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, a North Country theatre central to its city’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative plan, providing year-round performance, arts education, workforce training, and opportunities for young playwrights

A complete list is available below. NYSCA also congratulates the 126 New York State arts organizations that will receive a total of $6,300,000 of direct CARES funding through the NEA.

In addition to NYSCA NEA CARES support, NYSCA is providing a diverse set of resources to aid in arts organizations’ recovery including NYSCA PRESENTS webinar series, guidelines and best practices for reopening and recovery, guidance on creating digital programs, and listings of relief funds open to New York State arts organizations and artists.

NYSCA NEA CARES Grantees

Adirondack Center for Writing, Franklin County, North Country
African Film Festival, New York County, New York City
Akwesasne Cultural Center, Franklin County, North Country
Buffalo Arts Studio, Erie County, Western New York
Borinquen Dance Theatre, Monroe County, Finger Lakes
Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Kings County, New York City
Center for Traditional Music and Dance, New York County, New York City
Community Arts Partnership, Tompkins County, Southern Tier
Community Design Center Rochester, Monroe County, Finger Lakes
Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, New York County, New York City
Bristol Valley Theater, Ontario County, Finger Lakes
Ganondagan, Ontario County, Finger Lakes
Girls Write Now, New York County, New York City
Herstory Writers Workshop, Suffolk County, Long Island
Kitchen theatre Company, Tompkins County, Southern Tier
Lake George Music Festival, Warren County, Capital Region
Locust Street Art, Erie County, Western New York
Los Pleneros de la 21, New York County, New York City
Ma-Yi Theater Company, New York County, New York City
The Art Effect, Dutchess County, Mid-Hudson
MONO NO AWARE, Kings County, New York City
National Black Theatre, New York County, New York City
Nesin Cultural Arts, Sullivan County, Mid-Hudson
New York Chinese Cultural Center, New York County, New York City
New York Deaf Theatre, Kings County, New York City,
New York Folklore, Schenectady County, Capital Region
North American Cultural Laboratory, Sullivan County, Mid-Hudson
Pendragon Theatre, Franklin County, North Country
People's Theatre Project, New York County, New York City
Prattsville Art Center, Greene County, Capital Region
Rehabilitation Through the Arts, Westchester County, Mid-Hudson
PUSH Physical Theatre, Monrow County, Finger Lakes
Quintet of the Americas, Queens County, New York City
Rhizome, New York County, New York City
Schweinfurth Art Center, Cayuga County, Central New York
Cinemapolis, Tompkins County, Southern Tier
Shakespeare in Delaware Park, Erie County, Western New York
Springville Center for the Arts, Erie County, Western New York
Society for New Music, Onondaga County, Central New York
The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, Steuben County, Southern Tier
The Center for Photography at Woodstock, Ulster County, Mid-Hudson
The Depot Theatre, Essex County, North Country
The Rosendale Theatre Collective, Ulster County, Mid-Hudson
The Whaling Museum and Education Center, Suffolk County, Long Island
Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, St. Lawrence County, North Country
West Kortright Center, Delaware County, Southern Tier
Writers & Books, Monroe County, Finger Lakes
Young Audiences of Western New York, Erie County, Western New York
Youth FX, Albany County, Capital Region