Brooklyn Arts Council to Award Nearly $420,000 to Brooklyn-Based Artists and Arts Organizations

On Wednesday, March 29, 2017, Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) will celebrate BAC's 2017 Community Arts Grants recipients in a special recognition event at Brooklyn Borough Hall. 119 grants totaling close to $420,000 will be awarded to Brooklyn-based artists and cultural organizations. These grants support the creation of new works by local artists and provide organizations with the financial assistance they need to carry out community arts and cultural projects taking place across the borough.

BAC's Community Arts Grants program deeply impacts the local, neighborhood-based economies that keep Brooklyn vibrant. As reported by Americans for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, for every dollar invested in the arts, seven dollars is returned to the resident economy. In 2017, BAC's Community Arts Grants program will stimulate nearly $2.94 million dollars in economic activity in Brooklyn, energizing local culture and contributing to the economic health of New York City.

"BAC is thrilled to support such an incredible group of grantees," says BAC Executive Director Charlotte A. Cohen. "This year, we'll deliver almost $420,000 to artists and cultural groups creating new work in our borough. The benefits of this funding are felt immediately in the Brooklyn community, with the staging of new work taking place throughout the granting year, and perhaps more importantly, they manifest in the long-term careers and legacies of the artists and cultural groups that we support. These grants support new work - they are also a concrete demonstration of an artist or cultural group's influence, importance, and legitimacy, even at an emerging stage in their career."

"Dance Caribbean COLLECTIVE is truly honored to have received funding for a second year from Brooklyn Arts Council's Brooklyn Arts Fund and Local Art Support programs," says Candace Thompson, Director of multi-year BAC grantee organization Dance Caribbean COLLECTIVE. "As a small, collective-based organization that runs mainly on passion, funding on this scale is key to the success of our main program, the New Traditions Festival. With BAC's support, we have been able to secure a venue fit for dance and to run our festival for three nights. Being a multi-year grantee means that others see the importance of our role in furthering Caribbean culture."

"BAC funding has enabled Home Audio to continue to exist for over five years, and has supported over 200 artists since we first received funding in 2015," says experimental performance series and BAC grantee Home Audio's Director Mara Mayer. "Grant funding has gone primarily towards paying artists' fees, which we would not have been able to do without BAC. Without this support, Home Audio would most likely not have been able to continue. Instead, we have been able to offer artists a guarantee for their work and to continue to present work of a high level at events that are open to the community on a sliding scale or donation basis. Our concerts are open to everyone regardless of financial means. Thanks, BAC for supporting artists and making our performances accessible to the community!"

The BAC 2017 Grants Celebration will feature performances by 2017 grant recipients Brooklyn Raga Massive; Suku Dance Lab; Toni Blackman featuring artists from The Cypher workshop; and Yacine Boulares; and keynote speeches by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams; Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer; BAC Chairman of the Board and President of Pratt Institute Dr. Thomas F. Schutte; New York State Council on the Arts Executive Director Mara Manus; and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl.

The BAC Community Arts Grants program is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the New York City Council; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and NYC & Company Foundation. Local Arts Support (LAS) grants are funded by NYSCA; Brooklyn Arts Fund (BAF) grants are funded by DCLA; and Destination>Brooklyn grants are funded by the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and NYC & Company Foundation.

ABOUT BROOKLYN Arts Council:

For over 50 years, Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) has been the borough's leading nonprofit organization supporting artists and cultural groups in all disciplines. BAC reaches hundreds of thousands of artists and audience members each year through music, dance, film and visual arts programs, web-based directories and communities, arts education, urban folk arts initiatives, grants, training programs and artist services. By creating and supporting exciting cultural events and platforms for Brooklynites, BAC provides forums for critical thinking and self-expression for young people and adults, enriches Brooklyn's cultural landscape, and generates engaging experiences that expand horizons. www.brooklynartscouncil.org

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