Queens Council on the Arts grants available

The Queens Council on the Arts has been supporting art organizations and artists in the borough since its founding in 1966 by Jeanne Dale Katz.
They celebrate the cultural heritage of Queens, by such activities as their Project Diversity, a multimedia art exhibition of 87 local artists in 13 Queens galleries, which will be appearing around the borough this fall.
More than that, the council is a conduit between the artists and public and private funding sources through their grant programs.
Some programs, like “Art Smart” or “Art in the Schools” focus on teaching artists or schools, while the “Urban Artists Initiative NYC” targets artists of “Asian, African or Latin descent.”
The Queens Community Arts Fund provides grants for individual artists and nonprofit organizations, for the creation of new work through a competitive, peer panel process. Work in any of the arts disciplines will be considered.
According to the Council, these grants, which range from $1,000 to $5,000, will ensure “the highest quality of arts activities and services in the borough of Queens.”
Last year, the fund re-granted about $200,000, according to Lynn Lobell, the Council’s managing director. “We don’t yet know how much we will receive this year from all of our sources, but we’re hoping for a percentage increase,” she said.
Individual artists must be Queens residents and organizations must be Queens-based and have been in existence for at least one year.
The application deadline is October 12 for organizations and October 17 for individual artists, and information and downloadable application forms are available on their website, www.queenscouncilarts.org
For more information and eligibility requirements, contact Vivian Warfield, director of the fund, at the Queens Council on the Arts, 718-647-3377, Ext. 19 or email: vwarfield@queenscouncilarts.org