The Neighbors Receive $17.5k Cultural Development Fund Grant From NYC Department Of Cultural Affairs

What Will the Neighbors Say? one of nearly 1,100 cultural organizations across New York City to receive support as part of the City's largest-ever $59.3 million Cultural Development Fund. The Neighbors have received an award of $17.5k from the City of New York as part of the city's recent announcement of more than $59 million in Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grants to 1,078 cultural organizations across the five boroughs. With support coming from the NYC Mayor's Office and the City Council, this is the city's largest-ever allocation for the CDF and represents a major investment in the cultural life of New York City.

For the Neighbors, this CDF grant will support the world premiere of "At the Barricades," a multilingual documentary theatre play about the international troops fighting in the Spanish Civil War, written by WWTNS? Co-Artistic Directors James Clements and Sam Hood Adrain, helmed by director Federica Borlenghi and supported by script supervisor Skye Pallo Ross. "At the Barricades," which has been in development since 2022, has been recognised by the National Endowment for the Arts in the 2024 cycle, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Cultural Development Fund at DCLA and the Brooklyn Arts Council. It has been developed at Brooklyn Art Haus and through a year-long residency at NYU's Espacio de Culturas.

What Will the Neighbors Say? is an investigative theatre company that provokes questions through untold stories. Founded by a collaborative cohort of International Artists, the Neighbors present overlooked social, cultural and historical narratives that challenge the audience to reflect on the current moment. Through a combination of original plays, arts education workshops and dynamic community gatherings, the troupe encourages rowdy and rigorous debate at the theatre and throughout the Neighborhood.

Founded in 2016, the company has premiered 11 original plays in 6 cities in 4 countries on 2 continents, and co-presented a further 24 new works. Over the course of these projects, the Neighbors have created jobs for over 250 artists - 75% of them non cis-male identifying and 50% of them members of the global majority or immigrants.

"To make New York City the best place to raise a family, we need good-paying jobs and vibrant cultural organizations; these grants will help us support both by bolstering our museums, music venues, and much more," said Mayor Adams. "Our administration has already shattered the record for the most jobs in city history and made the largest ever investment in the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. With the record grant money announced today for our cultural organizations, we are adding another exciting milestone to that list and strengthening our city's position as the cultural capital of the globe."

"Simply put, there is no New York City without the cultural sector that strengthens our communities, drives our economy, and makes us the creative capital of the world. And the work that goes into making our cultural sector thrive starts with the 1,000+ nonprofits that we're proud to support through the Cultural Development Fund," said DCLA Commissioner Cumbo. "This year, we're rolling out new reforms that will expand investments in low-income communities, we're bringing back city support for cultural programming that break down barriers to access, we're increasing support for individual artists, we're offering greater stability to the groups who rely on our funding to deliver cultural programs for New Yorkers - and we're doing it all with a record investment from the city, thanks to Mayor Adams and our partners on the City Council. Congratulations to all of this year's CDF recipients!"

The FY25 CDF funding - which is awarded annually by DCLA using a competitive, peer-evaluated grant process - includes $51.9 million from the New York City Mayor's Office and $7.4 million from members of the New York City Council. Funding from the CDF supports a broad range of artistic, cultural, and historic organizations across New York City, helping support good-paying jobs and strengthening the city's flourishing cultural sector. Additionally, this year's CDF includes investments to create a more inclusive cultural sector, as funding will support people who speak a language other than English, people with disabilities, vulnerable populations, and more.

Learn more and find a full list of this year's CDF grantees in the City's official press release.