ARTSWESTCHESTER GRANTS PROGRAM

ArtsWestchester grants reach every part of the County and make possible an extraordinary array of cultural activities. Our grants help:

  • Westchester’s cultural organizations grow and support individual artists in the creation of new work.
  • Museums and galleries present exhibitions of regional significance.
  • Concerts feature musicians of the first rank.
  • Conservatories provide need-based financial aid, making instruction more accessible.
  • Community choruses, theaters, and orchestras give hundreds of people the chance to perform.
  • Local arts councils custom-fit programs for their communities.
  • Artists explore and share their personal visions.
Arts Alive Grantee, Nowodworski Puppet Workshop photo courtesy of Nowodworski Fdtn.
Arts Alive Grantee, Puppet Workshop
photo courtesy of Nowodworski Fdtn.

funding opportunities for artists and arts organizations

Arts Alive Grants for Westchester and Rockland Counties

The Arts Alive grant supports arts activity for Westchester and Rockland County’s geographically, economically and ethnically diverse population. This funding opportunity helps to ensure that residents throughout Westchester and Rockland have access to the arts in their communities, particularly in areas where access is limited.

Arts Alive grants support community projects, individual artists and arts education.

Arts Alive grants are made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program (SCR) – a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor’s office and the NYS Legislature.

Arts Initiative Target Grants

These grants are designed to help individual artists and arts organizations based in Mount Vernon and Yonkers (New York) enhance the services they provide to residents in their respective cities.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY POET LAUREATE (2024-2026 Term)*

WESTCHESTER COUNTY POET LAUREATE

The Westchester Poet Laureate Program embraces both written and spoken poetic traditions, and seeks to promote poetry as a medium that defies boundaries and categories, serves as a platform for underrepresented voices, and offers a space for personal reflection and healing. Poetry is one of the pillars of the humanities, and the Westchester Poet Laureate program is to be a public humanities position. Through public facing programming, the Poet Laureate will mobilize poetry to connect with diverse audiences, to address topics of cultural, social, and historical importance, and to show that poetry can bring real meaning and positive social change to people’s lives and communities. In concert with the Westchester County Executive’s office, the Program will appoint and support an outstanding Westchester poet as Poet Laureate for the County, sponsor public programs that feature local-area poets, and promote poetry as a relevant and accessible art form. This program will be open to poets specializing in spoken and/or written traditions, and languages other than English will be considered.

The three-year term will begin January 1, 2024 and end on December 31, 2026. The Poet Laureate must be at least 25 years old and has been a resident of Westchester County for at least two years.

Arts for People with Special Needs *

ARTS FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS *

This grant program was developed to increase accessibility of the arts to people with special needs. This opportunity is open to organizations that offer programs for individuals with special needs and human services agencies who apply to partner with artists on ArtsWestchester’s Directory of Teaching Artists for an artist residency.

ART$WCHALLENGE GRANT*

The Art$WChallenge grant provides 1:1 matching grants to Westchester based organizations that recieve grant funding in one of these categories between 2021-2023: Basic Porgram Support, Project Support, Yonkers Arts Initiative or Mount Vernon Arts Initiative – OR – an Arts Alive Grant (Westchester County Only) between 2018-2023. A complete list of grantees and information on how to donate, click here.

basic program support*

Funding is directed toward ongoing activities of eligible, Westchester-based arts organizations and historic sites. When considering the provision and level of Basic Program Support, the panel examines all aspects of your operation, including artistic merit, financial stability, the strength and involvement of the board, scope of programming, geographic area and number of people served, and inclusiveness at all levels of operation (including board, staff, audience).

PROJECT SUPPORT*

Allows for a more flexible grants-making process and enables ArtsWestchester to better align funding to the wide variety of arts and cultural organizations in Westchester County.  ArtsWestchester defines “project” broadly: you may apply for support for a series of related events such as a film series or summer concert series; for an individual program or event; for a special program or pilot project.  This funding category is primarily intended for organizations with modest incomes that are run by volunteers; for cultural organizations whose public programming is developed and funded by a Friends group; and cultural organizations that offer a relatively limited season of arts programs/activities.

* Arts Initiative Targeted Grants, Arts for People with Special Needs, Art$WChallenge, Basic Program, Project Support, and Restart the Arts grants are made possible with funds from Westchester County Government and the support of the Westchester County Executive and Board of Legislators.

VOICES FOR CHANGE

Voices for Change provides the creative community with an opportunity to develop and present new work that inspires and informs, and may be a catalyst for action. Different funding levels will be available and competitive projects will identify an organizational partner to work with.

Voices for Change is supported in part with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information please email grants@artswestchester.org

To schedule a time to speak with our grants staff one-on-one, click here to see our availability.

ArtsWestchester accepts applications through an electronic portal, Submittable.

Become a Panelist

Panelists play a central role in reviewing applications for funding. We rely on panels composed of individuals who represent a broad range of artistic and cultural viewpoints, as well as wide geographic and ethnic diversity, to provide advice about the artistic excellence and artistic merit of proposals in a variety of funding categories. Our panels are composed of both arts professionals and knowledgeable laypersons. Most panelists are arts professionals who are qualified by their activities, training, skills, and/or experience in one or more art forms. Every panel also includes a layperson – someone knowledgeable about the arts but not engaged in the arts as a profession either full- or part-time.

Panelist Nomination

ArtsWestchester maintains a bank of potential panelists, and invites county residents, as well as colleagues in the field, to recommend panelists.

For more information please contact grants@artswestchester.org

ArtsWestchester is committed to maintaining a balance of geographic, ethnic, and cultural diversity in its commitment to high standards of integrity and impartiality in its decision-making process. While every panelist nomination is considered, ArtsWestchester is not able to appoint every qualified nominee to a panel.