NYC Awards $493,350 in Queens Arts Fund Grants to 129 Artists & Nonprofits

 The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), have announced the 129 recipients of the 2026 Queens Arts Fund (QAF). The annual City-funded program offers project grants to Queens-based artists, artist collectives, and small non-profit organizations of all artistic disciplines to support the local production of artwork and cultural programs that highlight, engage, and bolster the cultural community of Queens.

The awarded projects will be supported by $493,350 in total funding, and span creative disciplines including dance/choreography, playwriting/screenwriting; social practice; music/sound; video/film; and textile, installation, multidisciplinary, and visual art. The projects create spaces for community-building, engagement, art-making, exploring topics ranging from home and immigration, how environment shapes identity, and imagining just futures to honoring and celebrating our ancestors, community storytelling, and more.

All have strong community tie-ins, as the Queens Arts Fund requires a public component—held in-person, virtually, or combination of both—that takes place in Queens within the 2026 calendar year (January 1-December 31, 2026) and provides Queens community members with the opportunity to experience dynamic, affordable, and accessible arts and cultural events. As such, the QAF represents a significant investment in the cultural community that is essential to the economic and social vibrancy of communities across Queens and all of New York City. The QAF provides support to local artists and organizations through two grant programs.

Together, the projects present a multi-faceted reflection of Queens—one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse urban areas in the world—and the remarkable creative community that calls the borough home.

"The artists and cultural workers who live, work, and create in neighborhoods across Queens fuel the energy, vibrancy, and cultural offerings of this international borough," said NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij. "We’re so proud of this public investment in the work of dozens of individual artists and grassroots arts and cultural organizations, which will give them the resources they need to bring free programming to residents across Queens."

Michael Royce, NYFA CEO, continued: “Queens Arts Fund supports and activates the work of artists and organizations across Queens. The public component lights up Queens with arts of all disciplines throughout the year, making an already vibrant and bustling borough even more exciting. We’re grateful to our partners at NYC Department of Cultural Affairs for funding this program and investing in the arts in NYC.”

In the application and review process, inclusivity and representation that reflects the diversity of Queens communities was a strong consideration for the selection of panelists and recipients. Nearly 80% of the panelists who chose to self-identify identified as People of Color, and 66% identified as women or gender non-conforming/nonbinary. Among New Work recipients, more than 75% chose to self-identify as People of Color, and 64% identified as women or gender non-conforming/nonbinary. NYFA also ensured that language access was a considered part of the application process, making materials available in Spanish and Chinese, alongside English.

The Department of Cultural Affairs invests in the city’s artists and small organizations in all five boroughs in partnership with local regrant partners in each borough including NYFA. These investments—which have been sustained at robust levels despite the fiscal challenges facing the city—support hundreds of creatives across the city, who in turn engage New Yorkers with free and affordable arts programming that ensures all New Yorkers have opportunities to experience the wide ranging benefits of the arts. 

QAF offers Arts Access Grants of $2,500 to $5,000 to Queens-based small-budget 501c3 nonprofit organizations or unincorporated artist collectives. These grants support community-based organizations and collectives in their efforts to produce public arts and cultural programs in the Queens communities and neighborhoods where they are located and operate.

QAF also offers New Work Grants of $2,500 to $5,000 to Queens-based individual artists, unincorporated artist collectives, or collaborations between multiple artists of all disciplines to support the creation of new work. “New Work” is defined as work that has not been produced or presented to an audience before.

"Queens is unquestionably home to the most dynamic and engaging arts and culture scene New York City has to offer. These 129 recipients of the 2026 Queens Arts Fund represent 129 reasons why that fact is indisputable," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "To the winners of this vital funding, your incredible art not only entertains and excites us—it inspires us to act, propels us forward as a society and makes us a can't-miss destination for visitors from around the world. Thank you to the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York Foundation for the Arts for your steady partnership in growing the already unparalleled arts and culture scene here in Queens."

Said New York City Council Deputy Speaker and Chair, Cultural Affairs and Libraries, Nantasha Williams, who represents the 27th Council District in Queens: “Dedicated investments like these are important because they recognize the depth of creativity that exists across Queens and the role artists play in shaping how communities connect, express themselves, and see one another. I appreciate the continued partnership of the Department of Cultural Affairs and NYFA in supporting this work and making this level of investment possible. I’m also glad to see more dollars being directed to Queens artists, given how often the borough has been underfunded compared to others. Artists across Queens are building community, telling stories, and creating spaces for connection, often while working across multiple jobs and navigating funding structures that don’t always align with how that work actually happens. Investments like this help address the gaps we heard in our hearings around affordability and sustainability by providing support that meets artists where they are and allows their work to continue to grow and remain accessible in the communities it comes from.”