urban artist initiative 2009-2010

The Bronx Council on the Arts and the Urban Artist Initiative/ New York City (UAI/NYC), announce the third application cycle of a new grants program for NYC individual artists of color with a 2009 application deadline of October 29th.

In the groundbreaking first two grant cycles of the UAI/NYC grant program, 140 artists have received a total of $225,000.

This year, with support provided by Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and the Starry Night Fund of the Tides Foundation, this initiative marks the third year of a cross-discipline grant program developed specially for New York City artists who self-identify their heritage as African, Latino, Asian, or Native American, embracing as well the diversity that exists within communities of color. 

UAI/NYC, like so many others, has had to adjust to funding reductions because of the economy.  This year 34 Fellowships of $1,500 each will be available to individual artists for their artistic and professional development, allocated in accordance with the City’s demographics. Furthermore, grants in this cycle will be awarded only in the visual arts and media arts.  Native American artists, however, may apply in the performing and literary arts as well.

UAI/NYC has been developed by a consortium including AMERINDA, INC., the Asian American Arts Alliance, the Harlem Arts Alliance, and the Latino Artists’ Initiative (sponsored by the Bronx Council on the Arts) working in partnership with the Queens Council on the Arts, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Bronx Council on the Arts – the project’s sponsoring organization.

The online application is available at http://uai.cuerate.org or by going to the website of any of consortium members. Applications should be submitted online.

A series of application seminars has been scheduled throughout the city by the consortium members as well as the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Council for the Arts and Humanities of Staten Island, and the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance to answer questions about eligibility and the application process.   Artists interested in applying are encouraged to attend (See Schedule).

UAI/NYC is part of a national effort to strengthen the infrastructure and support for artists throughout the country; it is one of the Creative Communities programs of LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity), a national network of cities which serves as a laboratory for projects effecting local and national change in the lives of artists. 

UAI/NYC is one of the major projects of the Creative Communities’ program specifically addressing artists’ of color. Besides its generous support for this cycle from the funders listed above, UAI/NYC has been supported in previous years with funds provided by LINC via the Ford Foundation, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the Buddy Fund for Justice of the Rockefeller Philanthropic Advisors, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Booth Ferris Foundation.

UAI/NYC, a unique collaboration of seven arts intermediaries, creates a point of entry for artists from their specific communities, some of whom have not traditionally participated in grant and service programs for artists.   Because the organizations are working as one entity, an even more powerful alliance is being shaped to include and recognize the contributions and talents of so many previously under-recognized artists.  

It provides an important mechanism to begin to bring greater attention to the individual and collective needs of artists of color.

Tuesday / September 29, 2009 / 6:00-8:00pm
Hosts: Asian American Arts Alliance & New York Foundation for the Arts
Seminar Location: 20 Jay Street, Suite 740, Brooklyn, NY 11201
AAAA: 212-941-9208 (Asian American Arts Alliance) / www.aaartsalliance.org
NYFA: 212-366-6900 / www.nyfa.org 

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Tuesday / October 6, 2009 / 6:00pm
Host: Council for the Arts and Humanities on Staten Island
Seminar Location:  1000 Richmond Terrace, Bldg G., Staten Island, NY 10310
718-447-3329 / www.statenislandarts.org
RSVP: kkuwabara@statenislandarts.org

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / 6:00pm
Host: Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA)
Seminar Location: 178 Bennett Avenue, Washington Heights, NY 10040
718-647-3377 / www.nomaa.org 

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Thursday, October 8, 2009 / 6:00-8:00pm
Host: Bronx Council on the Arts
Seminar Location:  Hostos Community College, Room C453 (4th floor)
450 Grand Concourse at 149th St., Bronx, NY 10451
718-518-6728 / www.bronxarts.org 

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009 / 6:00-8:00pm
Host: Harlem Arts Alliance
Seminar Location:  Dwyer Cultural Center, 258 St. Nicholas Avenue at 123rd St., NYC 10027
347-735-4280 / www.harlemaa.org 

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009 / 6:30-7:30pm
Host: Queens Council on the Arts
Seminar Location:  Queens Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Blvd., Kew Gardens, NY 11415
718-647-3377 / www.queenscouncilarts.org

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Thursday, October 15, 2009 / 6:00-8:00pm
Host: Brooklyn Arts Council
Seminar Location: TBD
718-625-0080 / www.brooklynartscouncil.org

Date & Time: TBD
Host: AMERINDA, INC.
Seminar Location: TBD
212-598-0968 / www.amerinda.org