Funds Available for Community-Based Arts in Rockland County

ArtsWestchester recently joined Rockland County Executive Ed Day and New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to announce the availability of $42,000 in State grants to support community-based arts and cultural activities in Rockland County. The grants are funded through NYSCA’s Decentralization Program, which are designed to increase access to arts activities, nurture the growth of emerging arts organizations and support local artists.

In recent years, NYSCA has been moving toward a more regional approach, with designated agencies administering the regrant funds for more than one county. “In Rockland and Westchester Counties, we are fortunate to have a state legislature delegation that supports the arts… Over the years, Arts Council of Rockland has redistributed almost $600,000 in NYSCA funds, making possible arts programs that simply would not have been possible without these funds,” said ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam.

Grant opportunities are available in three categories: Project Grants support community-based arts and cultural projects, Artist Grants support the creation of new work related to the community and Arts Education Grants support in-school, after-school and lifelong learning activities developed by artists or cultural organizations in collaboration with educators. The deadline for submissions is November 7.

In order to guide potential applicants through the application process, ArtsWestchester has scheduled five pre-application workshops throughout Rockland County, which each include an overview of program priorities and an introduction to the web-based application portal. Upcoming workshops, all taking place at 6pm, include:

• September 14: Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library
• September 18: Nyack Public Library
• October 2: Suffern Free Library
• October 3: Finkelstein Memorial Library, Spring Valley

For information and guidelines, visit: artsw.org/rocklandgrant.

Image above: (l to r) Rockland County Executive Ed Day, ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam and New York State Council on the Arts Program Director Leanne Tintori Wells gathered at Garner Arts Center to announce the availability of grants in Rockland County.

A version of this article first appeared in the September issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.