FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR 2018 COMMUNITY- BASED ARTS ACTIVITIES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Contact:
Hope Salley
Thompson & Bender
914-762-1900, Ext. 25
hope@thompson-bender.com

Funds available for 2018 Community- Based
Arts Activities in Rockland County

New City, N.Y. (August 17, 2017) – On August 17, 2017 at 11: 30 a.m. ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam joined Rockland County Executive Ed Day at Garner Arts Center, (55 W Railroad Ave, Garnerville), to announce the availability of $42,000 in State grants to support community-based arts and cultural activities in Rockland county.

The grants, which are funded through New York State Council on the Arts’ Decentralization Program, are designed to increase access to arts activities, nurture the growth of emerging arts organizations, and support local artists.

New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) partners with 27 arts organizations throughout the state to distribute its Decentralization funds to 62 counties through locally-based panels. 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. These funds are only available because of the vision and leadership of our legislators. I want to thank NYS Senator David Carlucci, Senator William Larkin Jr, Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, Assemblyman James Skoufis, Assemblyman Karl Brabenec and Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, for their support of New York State Council on the Arts.  I also want to acknowledge our colleagues at the Arts Council of Rockland (ACOR.) Over the years, ACOR has redistributed almost $600,000 in NYSCA funds, making possible arts programs that simply would not have been possible without Decentralization funds.  On behalf of ArtsWestchester’s Board and staff, I want to thank ACOR for helping to make the transition smooth,” says ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam.

A spokesperson at NYSCA stated, “The Decentralization program is central to NYSCA’s mission, expanding our reach to a total of 2,500 arts organizations annually.”

ArtsWestchester has scheduled five pre-application workshops at various sites throughout Rockland to guide potential applicants through the application process, including an overview of program priorities and an introduction to the web-based application portal. The first workshop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the RCC Haverstraw campus.  A complete list is attached below.

Rockland grant opportunities include three funding categories:

• Project Grants support community-based arts and cultural projects.
• Artist Grants support the creation of new work related to the community.
• Arts Education Grants support in-school, after-school and lifelong learning activities developed by artists or cultural organizations in collaboration with educators.

Grant guidelines are available on ArtsWestchester’s website: artsw.org/rocklandgrant
Artists and arts organizations can apply in any of three funding categories by the grant deadline of Tuesday, November 7, 2017, 11:59pm.

For additional information about this Rockland funding opportunity, visit artsw.org/rocklandgrant or contact Sue Abbott, Associate Director of Programs, ArtsWestchester at sabbott@artswestchester.org; 914. 428.4220 ext. 304.

ROCKLAND COUNTY 2018 DECENTRALIZATION GRANT PROGRAM

Scheduled of Pre-Application Workshops:

Thursday, August 31^st, 3 pm
RCC Haverstraw Campus

Thursday, September 14^th, 6pm
Haverstraw Kings Daughters Public Library

Monday, September 18^th, 6pm
Nyack Public Library

Monday, October 2^nd, 6pm
Suffern Free Library

Tuesday, October 3^rd, 6pm
Finkelstein Memorial Library, Spring Valley

Pre-registration is recommended.  RSVP to sabbott@artswestchester.org

About ArtsWestchester

For over 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 provide leadership, vision, and support, to ensure the availability, accessibility, and diversity of the arts. artsw.org