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photo: Green-Wood Cemetery
New York City is approaching nearly $2 billion in combined expense and capital funding allocated through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) to support a stronger, more vibrant, equitable, and resilient cultural sector. NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo highlighted the city’s investments, initiatives, and programs from the past four years, describing a funding scale that spans day-to-day nonprofit support as well as long-term upgrades to major cultural infrastructure.
In 2025, the adopted budget increases DCLA’s baseline funding by $45 million, the first substantial baseline increase in more than a decade. The current expense budget is $300 million, a record high for the agency, supporting programming and operations at more than 1,100 cultural nonprofits across New York City.
“Culture is the heart and soul of our city, and under the leadership of Mayor Adams, we’re proud of our track record of historic investments in the arts, along with new and exciting programs to support our sector,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “Art and culture drive our city’s economy, strengthen our communities, and do so much to educate, inspire, and connect New Yorkers to one another. From the post-pandemic recovery, to charting new paths and solutions to challenges: we’ve worked hand in hand with our city’s cultural sector to deliver world-class cultural experiences that are affordable and accessible to residents in every corner of our city. We couldn’t be prouder of the extraordinary legacy we’ve created in collaboration with colleagues, allies, advocates, and residents across the city.”
Capital investments in the cultural sector have also increased. In FY26, DCLA allocated more than $282 million in new cultural capital funding to support renovations, expansions, and new construction across the city. Over the past four years, the city allocated more than $938 million in total capital support through DCLA.
Projects cited include a children’s museum within the Queens Museum, a Hip-Hop Museum under construction in the Bronx, the newly renovated Delacorte Theater in Central Park, renovations to Weeksville Heritage Center’s historic houses in Brooklyn, and restoration of the St. George Theater on Staten Island.
NYC’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) grew significantly in 2025, with five institutions added: BRIC; Bronx Children’s Museum; Louis Armstrong House Museum; Noble Maritime Collection; and Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT). The expansion brings total CIG membership to 39 and is described as the largest expansion of the group in nearly five decades.
The city’s Cultural Development Fund (CDF) continues to provide program support to cultural nonprofits across New York City. In FY 2025, CDF grants totaled a record $59.3 million awarded to 1,078 organizations, including small community-based groups, individual artists, and nonprofits serving under-resourced communities, people with disabilities, and English-language learners.
The CDF also underwent reforms described as equity-driven, including an increase to minimum awards and the creation of a new Equity Fund designed to increase support for organizations in historically underserved neighborhoods.
Through Materials for the Arts (MFTA), DCLA’s creative reuse program, the city provides free materials to nonprofits, public schools, and arts educators. In 2024 alone, MFTA diverted more than 6 million pounds of materials—valued at approximately $28.3 million—from landfill and made them available to over 4,400 active member organizations.
In 2025, in the first full year of an expanded partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), MFTA received more than $7.4 million worth of donated items from NYC-based film, television, and theater productions.
DCLA launched NYC Create in Place in December 2024 to support small, community-based cultural assets threatened by the city’s affordability crisis. The interagency program offers case management, technical assistance, and a one-stop online resource hub for cultural organizations and creative businesses seeking to preserve, expand, or relocate their space.
In 2025, the program’s milestones included assisting the Lower East Side performing arts space wild project in acquiring its longtime home and aiding artists and creative workers impacted by a fire in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
The City Canvas program allows public artwork to be installed on temporary protective structures such as sidewalk sheds, scaffolding, and fences. In January 2024, DCLA and the Department of Buildings announced City Canvas as a permanent program, and in July 2024, DCLA released a first gallery of pre-approved artwork to streamline licensing for building owners.
By late 2025, pre-approved artworks by artists Lauren Camara, Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, Bayeté Ross Smith, and Zazu Swistel were installed on the protective sidewalk shed surrounding DCLA’s offices at 31 Chambers Street.
DCLA continues to commission and install permanent artworks across NYC civic spaces such as schools, libraries, parks, recreation centers, and streets. In 2024, the agency marked the 40th anniversary of the Percent for Art program and launched an interactive map to help New Yorkers explore the collection.
In 2025, new permanent works were installed, including five new artworks commissioned for five historic Carnegie branches of the New York Public Library. In 2024, the agency also restarted the She Built NYC program, committing to building new monuments honoring women in all five boroughs, starting with Shirley Chisholm in Brooklyn, Billie Holiday in Queens, and Dr. Helen Rodriguez Trias in the Bronx.
DCLA also continued its Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) program, placing artists within city agencies to engage with civic challenges. In December 2025, DCLA announced a new cohort of PAIRs working on issues including supporting asylum seekers, connecting residents to government services, and better serving small businesses in immigrant communities.
In 2025, DCLA, the Department of Homeless Services, and Storefront for Art and Architecture debuted “Public Address” by artist Alex Strada, identified as a PAIR with the Department of Homeless Services. The work was first unveiled in Lt. Petrosino Square in Lower Manhattan and is slated to travel across all five boroughs over the following year, centering homelessness, and housing insecurity.
With nearly $2 billion invested into culture between 2022 and 2025, the city’s funding priorities span operating support for nonprofits, major renovations and new construction, and programs designed to preserve cultural spaces, expand access to materials, and integrate public art into everyday life. The mix of capital projects and neighborhood-facing programs is intended to help ensure culture remains integral to New Yorkers’ lives across schools, streets, communities, and institutions.