Art$WChallenge, ArtsWestchester’s Public/Private Matching Program Raises $734,742 for Arts & Culture

Westchester County Partnered with Arts Council to Attract New Private Support of the Arts in Westchester, Benefiting 46 Arts Organizations

 

(February 7, 2018) – ArtsWestchester this week hosted a reception to thank Westchester County and its legislators for their continued support of the arts, specifically the Art$WChallenge program, which has helped to generate new funding for arts organizations in the county.

 

During the reception, which was held at Kanopi at The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester on February 6, ArtsWestchester announced that 46 arts organizations raised a total of $543,912 in new funds through the 2017 Art$WChallenge program. And, with the support of the County, ArtsWestchester was able to match those funds with an additional $190,830. The public/private program, in the end, successfully leveraged a total of $734,742 for arts and culture in Westchester County.

 

Over the last eleven years, since the inception of the Art$WChallenge in 2007, $4,741,296 has been raised for Westchester cultural organizations: $3,084,352 has been raised by area arts groups with $1,656,944 in matching funds from ArtsWestchester through support of Westchester County.

 

“The Art$WChallenge program is a powerful example of a forward-thinking public/private partnership that pays dividends for the economy. We are extremely thankful to Westchester County and the County Board of Legislators for spearheading a program that over eleven years has raised more than $3 million in private funding for the arts,” said Janet Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester.

 

The following 43 arts organizations were awarded funds in the 2017 Art$WChallenge match:

 

Actors Conservatory Theatre

Arc Stages

Axial Theatre Co.

Ballet des Ameriques School and Company, Inc

Blue Door Art Center

Caramoor Center for Music & Arts

Clay Art Center, Inc.

Clocktower Players

Copland House, Inc.

Downtown Music at Grace

Emelin Theatre for Performing Arts

Fine Arts Orchestral Society Yonkers

Friends of John Jay Homestead

Hammond Museum, Inc.

Historic Hudson Valley

Hoff-Barthelson Music School

Hudson Stage Company

Hudson Valley Center for Cont. Art

Hudson Valley Writers Center

India Center

Jacob Burns Film Center

Jazz Forum Arts, Inc.

Katonah Museum of Art

Lagond Music School

Lyndhurst, A National Trust Historic Site

Mamaroneck Artists Guild

Neuberger Museum

New Rochelle Opera, Inc.

Pelham Art Center

Performing Arts Center at Purchase College

Picture House Regional Film Center

Rivertowns Arts Council, Inc.

Schoolhouse Theater

Songcatchers

Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation

Taconic Opera, Inc.

Tarrytown Music Hall

The Rye Arts Center

The Symphony of Westchester

Untermyer Performing Arts Council

Westchester Children’s Museum

Westchester Philharmonic

White Plains Performing Arts Center

 

About ArtsWestchester

For more than 50 years, ArtsWestchester has been the community’s connection to the arts. Founded in 1965, it is the largest private not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to create an equitable, inclusive, vibrant and sustainable Westchester County in which the arts are integral to and integrated into every facet of life. ArtsWestchester provides programs and services that enrich the lives of everyone in Westchester County. ArtsWestchester helps fund concerts, exhibitions and plays through grants; brings artists into schools and community centers; advocates for the arts; and builds audiences through diverse marketing initiatives. In 1998, ArtsWestchester purchased the nine-story neo-classical bank building at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue which has since been transformed into a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations and the community. A two-story gallery is located on the first floor of ArtsWestchester’s historic building on Mamaroneck Avenue. artsw.org