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State Council on the Arts awards $40M in grants

The New York State Council on the Arts will distribute $40 million in grants to 1,225 arts and cultural organizations statewide, supporting nearly 150 artists across 10 regions.

“During an unprecedented and most challenging year for our sector, New York State arts and cultural institutions have continued to showcase their inspiring resiliency, creating and connecting with their communities in the most innovative of ways,” said NYSCA Executive Director Mara Manus. “New York is the home to countless cultural anchors that fuel our creative economy and New York’s artistic ecosystem. NYSCA is grateful for Gov. Cuomo’s commitment to recognizing the valuable role the arts are playing in building our economy back from the damage done by the global pandemic.”

NYSCA’s funding prioritizes underrepresented regions and communities as well as small and medium-sized organizations. More than $31 million of its total awards this year went to organizations with operating budgets of less than $5 million.

In the Finger Lakes Region, NYSCA awarded 30 grants totaling nearly $550,000. That amount includes nearly $70,000 for the Arts Council for Wyoming County, $49,000 for Garth Fagan Dance, nearly $70,000 for Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Inc. and $69,000 for the University of Rochester.

“In many ways, arts and cultural organizations make up the fabric of their communities and have proven to be instrumental in the financial, social, mental and physical health of New Yorkers,” said NYSCA Chair Katherine Nichols. “NYSCA recognizes the immensely challenging climate for arts and cultural organizations across New York. It is the state’s priority to reopen the arts safely and to support a return of the arts to our daily lives.”

NYSCA preserves and advances the arts and culture in New York state. Through its core grantmaking activity, the organization awarded $43.8 million in fiscal 2020 to 2,500 organizations statewide.

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BOA Editions receives Council on the Arts grant

BOA Editions Ltd. has been awarded a $23,000 grant from the state Council on the Arts to support the transformative impact of the performing, literary, visual and media arts in New York.

BOA Editions is a nationally acclaimed nonprofit, independent publisher of contemporary poetry and literary fiction that was founded in 1976. The organization has released more than 300 titles, including more than two dozen books of poetry-in-translation.

“The arts and culture are critical drivers of health in people and places,” said Mara Manus, executive director of the New York State Council on the Arts. “Our state’s creative industries generate a total of $120 billion to the state economy, account for 466,000 jobs and play a significant role in revitalization, education and social justice.”

NYSCA will award a total of $41 million to arts organizations across New York for fiscal 2020. BOA Editions’ funding will support the publication of poetry and other literary works.

“Year after year, NYSCA funding plays a crucial role in BOA’s ability to continue bringing vital voices to a world of readers,” BOA publisher Peter Conners said. “The funds also flow out to a host of authors, graphic designers, visual artists, printers and other businesses and cultural institutions that work with BOA. The grant goes to BOA, but reaches a much larger pool of secondary recipients.”

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer