NYC Department Of Cultural Affairs Advances Key Priorities And Makes Critical Cultural Invesments In 2023

Today, Commissioner Laurie Cumbo highlighted the accomplishments of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) for 2023.

From advancing major cultural infrastructure and public art projects, to maintaining the city's record-high investments in cultural programming in every corner of the city, DCLA worked with its many public and private partners to build on the strengths of the cultural sector. As the largest funder of art and culture in America, DCLA under the Adams administration recognizes the essential role that art and culture play in the lives of New Yorkers, both as a pillar of the local economy and as a critical aspect of healthy, thriving communities.  

"This administration understands that New York isn't New York without its cultural community, and as a result we work tirelessly to support this indispensable part of our city" said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. "After two years in office, we're proud of our efforts to invest in a vibrant, equitable cultural sector that will continue to drive our economic recovery, while also serving to strengthen our social and community bonds in neighborhoods far and wide." 

Below are highlights and examples of the accomplishments DCLA made in 2023 in collaboration with partners citywide: 

DCLA's unique capital program invests city funding in construction, renovation, and equipment projects at cultural intuitions across the city. These critical upgrades expand access, grow audiences, and help to ensure NYC's cultural infrastructure remains the best in the world – an essential part of the city's status a cultural capital and magnet for visitors and talent from around the globe. This year, the city invested over $220 million in nearly 80 capital projects citywide, investments that Commissioner Cumbo highlighted as part of DCLA's second annual Five Borough Tour. Throughout late summer and fall, the agency made stops at New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, the Queens Museum in Queens, Sesame Flyers in Brooklyn, Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island, and The Africa Center in Manhattan to celebrate these transformative capital projects. 

DCLA also joined cultural partners to mark the start and completion of projects that moved forward thanks to earlier city investments. These included:  

• Opening the American Museum of Natural History's new Richard Gilder Center For Science, Education, and Innovation, which included a city investment of over $90 million; 

• Celebrating the latest phase of renovations to St. George Theater's historic building on Staten Island's North Shore; the city has invested over $7 million in different components of the theater's ongoing renovation effort;  

• Topping off the future home of the People's Theater Project in Inwood, which includes a city investment of over $24 million to date; 

• Cutting the ribbon on a new education building for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens, which includes more than $10 million in city investment 

• Topping out National Black Theatre's new home in Harlem, which includes over $28 million in city investment; 

• Breaking ground on a new home for the Bushwick Starr in Brooklyn, which includes more than $2.5 million in city support; 

• Starting construction on Green-Wood Cemetery's new Education and Welcome Center, which includes over $13 million in support from the city; 

• Cutting the ribbon on a newly-renovated La MaMa in the East Village, a project which included over $15 million in city investment;  

• Culture in New York City is a public-private partnership, and this year we also celebrated a number of new cultural assets driven by private sector partners. DCLA joined to celebrate the opening of The Perelman Performing Arts Center, Powerhouse Arts, 92nd Street Y's newly renovated Buttenwieser Hall, and other cultural assets coming online, important projects advanced through broad collaborations. 

DCLA's Public Art Unit commissions permanent public art through the city's Percent for Art program; embeds artists within city agencies through the Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) program; and administers the City Canvas program, which transforms unsightly sidewalk sheds and scaffolds into platforms for temporary public art. In 2023, the unit had a number of notable accomplishments, including: 

• Percent for Art marked its 40th anniversary this year, celebrating with an exhibition outside of City Hall, public tours of Percent for Art projects, and more to come in the new year; 

• Five Percent for Art projects received Awards for Excellence in Design this year; 

• NYC Public Artists in Residence debuted a number of new, collaborative works as part of their residencies this year, including a video installation by the Department of Records' PAIR Kameron Neal; a new mural installed at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx by Health + Hospital's PAIR Modesto Flako Jimenez and his collaborator, Fernando “Ski” Romero; a sculptural installation exploring the city's relationship to climate change by Department of Design and Construction's PAIR Carlos Irijalba; and an exhibition of work created by the Department of Sanitation's PAIR, sTo Len. 

• Through the City Canvas program, DCLA worked with NYCHA and non-profit ArtBridge to create Bridging the Divide, an ambitious year-long, five-borough, public art exhibition that amplifies the stories, cultures, talents, and histories of New York City's 400,000 public housing residents;

• DCLA's ongoing efforts to create a more inclusive public art collection saw major progress this year, particularly when the design for a monument honoring Shirley Chisholm, planned for Prospect Park, received unanimous approval from the Public Design Commission; 

• Oh, and remember the Alamo? It's back.  

DCLA's Materials for the Arts (MFTA) program is another crucial way that the agency supports nonprofits, educators, and city agencies with public programming. This year, MFTA's 4,700 members had access to 1.5 million pounds of donated material valued at over $10 million – free of charge, as always – in MFTA's 35,000 square-foot warehouse in Long Island City. 

In addition to serving thousands of people each year from its warehouse, MFTA has been making efforts to meet even more New Yorkers where they are. Earlier this year, they teamed up with the NYC Public Schools Arts Office and Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island for a donation event that delivered supplies to dozens of local educators. This spring also saw the launch of “MFTA After Hours,” a new initiative that keeps the warehouse open for evening shopping so that more DOE teachers can visit the warehouse once the school day ends. In all, over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers  and community-based educators were instructed by MFTA teaching artists last year. 

MFTA's 2023 accomplishments include: 

• MFTA's field trip program hosted 7,000 students in 293 classes (150 of these were FREE!); 

• MFTA worked in 27 NYC public schools offering in-school arts residencies to 13,017 students; 

• 2,146 teachers and community-based educators were instructed by MFTA Teaching Artists to gain professional credit; 

• 812 members of the general public attended our FREE in-person, Third Thursday events and over 4,000 members of the general public attended our outreach events in public places; 

• MFTA worked, alongside movie and television productions, to create a zero-waste initiative to give away thousands of items of clothing and set pieces to NYC shelters, asylum seekers, and arts nonprofits throughout the city. 

DCLA's mission is rooted in collaboration, partnership, and support for our city's remarkable cultural sector, sister city agencies, and a vast variety of other community partners and stakeholders. In 2023, these collaborations included: 

• DCLA continued its decades-long collaboration with local arts councils in each borough to distribute grants to artists, collectives, and small nonprofits. Commissioner Cumbo joined the arts councils for a number of celebrations honoring this long-term investment in artists who live and work in New York City, such as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's celebration this fall, and Brooklyn Arts Council's celebration over the summer.  

• Working with the City Council, DCLA supported youth arts programming through Cultural Afterschool Adventures; arts programming for older New Yorkers through SU-CASA; the Cultural Immigrant Initiative; Art: A Catalyst for Change anti-gun violence initiative; and Coalition of Theatres of Color initiatives.  

• In September, DCLA joined Mayor Adams as he convened the city's first-ever live performance industry council, where leaders in live performance and government gathered to address challenges facing the live performance industry. 

• 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop, and DCLA participated in a number of efforts to highlight and celebrate this important milestone, including joining Mayor Adams and "ITSALLBLACKMUSIC PRESENTS" to announce "5X5 Block Party Series," free block parties and events that took place across all five boroughs this August. 

• Commissioner Cumbo joined Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David Banks and director of the DOE Arts Office, Paul Thompson to release the latest Arts in Schools Report;  

• Commissioner Cumbo brought Mayoral Proclamations far and wide, marking diverse milestones like the 50th anniversary of the iconic TKTS Booth in Times Square, and the 17th annual Dance Parade.  

• Commissioner Cumbo made a stop at Snug Harbor Cultural Center to recruit cultural organizations to host the record number of Summer Youth Employment opportunities this year (100,000!), giving cultural groups access to this incredible pool of talent, and giving youth hands on work experience in the cultural sector  

• Commissioner Cumbo joined Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to celebrate his allocation of funds for the Magnolia Tree Earth Center, a community and cultural hub in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn that preserves the legacy of Hattie Carthan, an early environmental activist and advocate who spoke out on behalf of her Black neighbors 

• With the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities and Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, DCLA co-hosted a screening of “The Shattered Mind” at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens; 

• DCLA worked with the Mayor's Office to inaugurate a new series of art displays in City Hall, starting with a display of portraits of Alvin Ailey performers for Black History Month, and artist Elena del Rivero's powerful display for International Women's Day in March. 

• DCLA partnered on panels and webinars illuminating the City's role in public art and new opportunities for cultural programming, including Art in the City: What NYC Has to Offer Artists and Architects in partnership with Cooper Union and other city agencies in February and Culture in Public Spaces: An Open Streets/Public Spaces Programming Application Webinar in partnership with the Department of Transportation in December. 

• The city's partnership with the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) stretches back to the 19th century, and continues to be a powerful way of expanding access to arts and culture for all New Yorkers. From Teens Take the Met to Urban Advantage, CIG programs continue to find innovative ways to engage residents and visitors.  

• Last but not least, earlier this month DCLA released the official 2023 #NYCNutcrackerCensus, which found an astonishing 29 versions of the iconic holiday production happening across the city, a sign of audiences' excitement to reengage with live performance, and performing arts groups' versatility and resiliency.