Skip to Content

New York City

Local Partner: Bronx Council on the Arts

www.bronxarts.org

 

Creative Communities Project

Urban Artist Initiative (UAI): The complexities of supporting artists can often place new pressures and demands on under-financed and under-resourced arts service organizations, especially those serving communities of color. Several New York City arts organizations joined forces with Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) and the New York Foundation for the Arts to form the Urban Artist Initiative (UAI) which awards grants of $2,000 to artists of color in all disciplines. Recently, UAI adapted an online application and digital submission process in order to respond to applicants more effectively. UAI has also developed a Public Programs component to provide context for the work of its artists. In June 2008, UAI exhibited the work of 18 visual and media artist grantees in a show, “Other, Other…,” which commenced with a two-day public symposium. 
 
Organizations working in conjunction with BCA and the New York Foundation for the Arts are:
                Asian American Alliance
                Association of Hispanic Arts
                Harlem Arts Alliance
                Queens Council on the Arts
                Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
 

In addition to awarding grants, these organizations focus on providing recognition, financial support, technical assistance, and professional development opportunities to artists of all disciplines who self-identify as artists of color.

 

About Bronx Council on the Arts

BCA is a non-profit membership organization that is the official cultural agency of Bronx County, serving a multicultural constituency in excess of 1.2 million residents. BCA provides an array of services to 5,000 artists and more than 250 arts and community-based organizations. Basic cultural services include: direct financial support to individual artists and non-profit organizations; information services; technical assistance; education and community programming; advocacy; operation of the Longwood Arts Project, an exhibition gallery and cyber arts program; and the operation of the Bronx Writers Center, an initiative dedicated to the creative and professional development of writers.
 
Grantmaking Period and Focus
May 2004 – December 2008
Donor Development and Validation

 

Category: 
New York