FTH to administer $100k in NYSCA grants

Flushing Town Hall leadership will be distributing the next round of New York State Council on the Arts grants with a local lens. Photo via wikimedia Commons

By Rachel Vick

Flushing Town Hall has been tapped to redistribute grants funded by the New York State Council on the Arts to Queens artists.

The $100,000 in funding through “Statewide Community Regrants” will be distributed to local projects to enrich the communities they are in.

“NYSCA is an incredibly impactful agency in New York State, offering much more than funding to the artists and organizations in New York: it provides leadership, vision, and integrity, and has been a major force uniting the arts community as a whole,” saif FTH Executive and Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek. “We pledge to uphold NYSCA’s high standards of integrity and community responsiveness as we take over this program, and we invite the artists and arts organizations of Queens to hold us accountable to this pledge.“

Kodadek said that support for the arts has never been more important than it is now, as the city works to “economically, emotionally, and socially” recover from the pandemic.

Deputy Director Sami Abu Shumays and Director of Arts Services Dan Bamba will administer the program.

Eligibility guidelines and applications for organizations and artists looking to hold public arts and culture programs next year will be published online on Oct. 4

NYSCA Executive Director Mara Manus said the grants "are a critical piece of NYSCA's mission to develop and support the diverse spectrum of artists living and creating in New York State.”

“Our Fiscal Year 2022 strategic goals prioritize expanding eligibility and increasing access for the full and richly diverse ecosystem of artists and arts organizations of New York,” Manus added.