National Endowment for the Arts awards CNY Arts a $40K contract

by Eric Reinhardt

Date: 12/8/2014 at 16:58:59

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded CNY Arts, Inc. a $40,000 contract through its Art Works grant program.

CNY Arts will use the funds to support implementation of Engage CNY, the local organization’s 10-year cultural plan to boost “the livability and economic vitality” of Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, Oneida, Cortland, and Herkimer counties, according to a news release.

Art Works grants focus on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work; lifelong learning in the arts; and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields, the release stated.

Engage CNY will continue its work connecting audiences to artistic offerings through “collaborative marketing” and through “increased integration” with the region’s higher-education institutions, the organization added.

“It is incredibly gratifying that this process receives support on a national level,” Stephen Butler, executive director of CNY Arts, said in the news release. “This project is the culmination of months of work from dozens of people … This award is a great win for the community.”

Several organizations, including the Skaneateles Falls–based Allyn Foundation; the Central New York Community Foundation; Syracuse–based Gifford Foundation; the Syracuse–based John Ben Snow Foundation; DeWitt–based Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation; the Trust for Cultural Resources of Onondaga County; Empire State Development Corporation; and the New York State Council on the Arts through the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council, have previously supported Engage CNY, according to CNY Arts.

The offices of New York State Senator Dave Valesky, former New York State Assemblywoman Joan Christensen, and the Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau provided initial funding and support for the project, the organization added.

CNY Arts, which is located on the 11th floor of the John H. Mulroy Civic Center at 421 Montgomery St. in Syracuse, says it works to “promote, support, and celebrate arts and culture in Central New York.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com