New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Diya Vij have announced that the city will increase its grants for individual artists and small nonprofits from $5,000 to $10,000, the first such increase in nearly 20 years.
Grants, which are distributed through partners in each borough, are open to artists, collectives, and small nonprofits working across film, dance, writing, painting, and other disciplines. Applications are now open in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens. Staten Island's cycle opens in November.
Alongside the increase, DCLA's Materials for the Arts program will also launch a monthly “shopping day” for grantees to access free art supplies. “Artists are working New Yorkers with the same costs as everyone else. But while rent, grocery bills, and child care costs have skyrocketed in New York City, the funding artists rely on has stayed flat,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Doubling these grants is a critical step towards making sure that the painters, musicians, filmmakers, and other artists who bring life to this city can afford to call it home.” Vij, who said she spent the past six months in town halls with working artists across the five boroughs, called the increase “our first step to deeper, more meaningful support.”
Mamdani also relayed the news in a more informal Instagram announcement. In the clip, he is filmed painting at an easel across from Vij, saying, “Artists are forced to make hard choices when it comes to living in this city and getting paid. There's never been a better time to apply.” According to Hyperallergic, the news follows a $323.8 million allocation for DCLA in the city's Fiscal Year 2027 budget. It marks the highest-ever yearly appropriation for the agency, which ensures public funding to supports cultural organizations throughout New York City.
A January report from the Center for an Urban Future noted that the city's resident artist population has fallen 4.4 percent since 2019, its first measurable decline in decades.
The increase extends a pattern of arts investment under Mamdani, who in July announced a Groundswell Community Mural Project commissioning 12 artist-led, community-painted murals across the five boroughs for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Mamdani has separately partnered with the Met Opera and the Theatre Development Fund to expand free and low-cost access to performances for New York residents and students.
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