Grants Build on $490,000 to Arts Organizations in NYSCA NEA CARES Act Support,

Totaling $532,000 in 91 COVID-19 Relief Awards Statewide

As an extension of its ongoing support of artists who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) announced today that it has awarded $42,000 to 42 artists statewide through the new “Keep NYS Creating” grant program in partnership with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). These $1,000 grants are supported by National Endowment for the Arts funding through the CARES Act and will help artists continue their indispensable work within their communities throughout New York.   

“New York State’s cultural sector plays a critical role in our economy and communities, and our artists are at the heart of our state’s powerful creative ecosystem,” said NYSCA Executive Director Mara Manus. “At a time when our country faces immense challenges and our artistic field continues to navigate this moment together, we know that artists will play a vital role in our recovery, guiding us to heal and emerge stronger and more united.”           

Among the Keep NYS Creating recipients is Tiffany Bradley of Westchester, who will create #ArtOffPause, a digital conversation in which artists, curators, and scholars explore how the COVID and structural racism crises are shaping their practice. The series features arts workers with a social practice or public engagement process, with an emphasis on those from LGBTQ and communities of color.

“Communities of color are at the center of the COVID crisis yet remain at the periphery of the art world,” said Bradley. “This pandemic has been a force multiplier on existing financial, health, and housing disparities for people of color in the United States. But it can also be a catalyst for change. During this social rupture, artists need space for advocacy, imagination, and reflection. This is the most important critical work we can do right now.”                 

Natasha Chuk of Cairo, who received a Keep NYS Creating grant for an interactive video game exhibition, said, “These funds will help support necessary accommodations for these events to come to fruition with CDC guidelines in place, including providing PPE for public events and offering assistance toward realizing a virtual component to our in-person meetings. Most importantly, this financial support is encouraging creativity and community at a time when it is desperately needed.”  

"As a member of an upstate community, this grant represents recognition of artists in rural regions who have strong, dedicated practices," added painter Annie Hayes of Delhi. “Supporting the perception that there are people doing extraordinary work regardless of where they live is important and becoming more essential as we collectively navigate the difficult waters of the current pandemic."

”Keep NYS Creating” grants will support visual, performing, media, and literary artists across disciplines who have been actively creating new work for the last three years. Recipients hail from the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, Mid-Hudson, and Long Island regions across the state.         

In addition to the “Keep NYS Creating” grants, NYSCA has awarded $490,000 to 49 arts organizations in 9 regions and 23 counties of the state with the support of the NEA through the CARES Act.

2020 “Keep NYS Creating” Grants Recipients: