• 2011

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

New York, New York
$200,000

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs strengthens the cultural life of the Big Apple's five boroughs. By funding not-for-profit organizations and providing free supplies for art programs and New York City schools, the Department of Cultural Affairs is a vital part of the region's cultural life.

The department's Our Town grant will support Space for Art, a community arts engagement program that places artists in residence at senior centers across the five boroughs. Local artists, selected through a competitive process, will be given free studio space and a stipend in exchange for creating programming for seniors and cultural interactions with the community. The project aims to positively impact the well-being of seniors through creative aging activities; increase access to work space for artists (a major issue in the city); and connect senior centers to their surrounding communities through exhibits and other public programming. Space for Art was developed as part of Age-Friendly NYC, a citywide effort to make New York more livable for its rapidly growing senior population. More than half of the approximately 7,000 seniors served daily by New York City's senior centers live below the poverty line and have little or no access to arts programming.

A senior center member creates a ceramic statue as part of a residency at the Sirovitch Senior Center in New York City. Photo by Emily Berl

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