News and Press Releases

DCLA, ACS, and the Center for Art and Advocacy Present the Youth Art Space, an Exhibition of Youth Artwork Curated by NYC Public Artist in Residence Immanuel Oni  
The Youth Art Space is a pop-up gallery part of the Center for Art and Advocacy’s “Keeping Community” exhibition featuring drawings, models, interviews, photography, and comic books created by youth at ACS’s Crossroads Juvenile Center during workshops led by teaching artists including Immanuel Oni, on view through September 25, 2026.
July 16, 2026
Learn more about Immanuel Oni's PAIR project. 

NYC Announces Filmmaking Collective Storyline as Public Artists in Residence for the World Cup 
Storyline’s “One World, One Game” multimedia project documents World Cup fandom in immigrant neighborhoods, local businesses, and international communities across the five boroughs. 
July 13, 2026
Learn more about Storyline's film project. 

DCLA and MOERJ Announce New Public Artwork at Marcus Garvey Park, "From Root to Bloom" by Public Artist in Residence Singha Hon
Singha Hon’s “From Root to Bloom” is on view in Marcus Garvey Park through August 22, 2026 with an accompanying permanent installation in the MOERJ offices. Bookmarks featuring vignettes from the artwork are available at select libraries.
July 9, 2026
Learn more about the artwork.

City Adopts Largest-Ever Budget for Arts and Culture
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin officially announce the City's Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which includes a historic $323.8 million for the Department of Cultural Affairs and establishes Cultural Stability Fund to assist organizations experiencing unexpected or emergency circumstances.
June 30, 2026
Learn more about the FY27 budget.

Meet "Reusey Lucy" and "Buttercup": Materials for the Arts Unveils New Names for Fully Electric Truck and Van Chosen by Third Graders from PS 17 in Queens 
The new electric vehicles are part of the city’s commitment to create a more sustainable, energy-efficient fleet and will expand MFTA’s ability to collect and deliver donated materials from donors and members across the city. 
June 25, 2026
Learn more about the electric vehicles.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art with the City of New York Launches New Free Membership for New York SNAP Participants
The Met together with the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Social Services announced the launch of the Explorer Membership level to provide access for over 1.7 million SNAP participants in NYC.
June 2, 2026
Learn more about the Explorer Membership.

NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Releases Six Artist Proposals for a Permanent, Public Artwork Honoring Billie Holiday in Queens 
Commissioned through DCLA's Percent for Art program, the Billie Holiday monument will be installed at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens. 
May 19, 2026
Learn more about the artist proposals.

NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Joins Green-Wood Cemetery "Cut the Garland" on New Green-House Visitor Center
The Green-House at Green-Wood, supported by more than $13 million in city funding, will welcome visitors to engage with the cemetery’s singular programming. 
April 16, 2026
Learn more about this capital project.

Massive 600-Foot Public Art Installation Highlighting Immigrant Stories by Artist Venazir Martinez Unveiled at Willets Point During Immigrant Heritage Week
“The Shaping of New York," which was installed as part of DCLA's City Canvas program, surrounds the largest new 100 percent affordable housing development in NYC in four decades.
April 16, 2026
Learn more about the artwork.

NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and New York Foundation for the Arts Announce $493,350 in Grants for 129 Queens-Based Artists, Art Collectives, and Small Nonprofits Though the Queens Arts Fund
The annual City-funded program offers project grants across all artistic disciplines to support the local production of artwork and cultural programs.
April 8, 2026
Learn more about this year's grantees.

NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Vij Joins Roundabout Theatre Company to Cut Ribbon on Major Renovations to Todd Haimes Theatre 
The City provided $10.9 million to support the historic theater’s first major renovation in nearly 30 years.
April 2, 2026
Learn more about this City-funded renovation project. 

"Public Address" by Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) Alex Strada Moves to Brooklyn as Part of a Citywide Public Art Project Centering Homelessness in NYC
"Public Address" - created by Strada as part of her PAIR residency with the Department of Homeless Services - is a long-term, multiborough, and socially engaged installation that centers the lived experiences of housing insecurity. It will be on view in Brooklyn's Columbus Park through summer 2026. 
March 31, 2026 
Learn more about the artwork. 

MFTA Presents "All Night I Hear the Nose of Water Sobbing," A New Exhibition by MFTA Artist-in-Residence Mary Mattingly 
Mary Mattingly's fascination for water permeates through colorful water sculptures, leaving visitors to meditate on the element’s simultaneous capacity to corrode and restore our physical and internal worlds.
March 12, 2026
Learn more about Mattingly's work.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani Appoints Diya Vij as Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs
As Commissioner, Vij will extend Mayor Mamdani’s affordability agenda to the arts, ensuring NYC remains the cultural capital of the world. 
February 28, 2026
Learn more about the new appointment. 

Mayor Mamdani Announces Completion of Weeksville Restoration, Preserving One of the Nation’s Oldest Free Black Communities
DCLA joined Mayor Mamdani to mark the completion of a major restoration of the historic Hunterfly Road Houses at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn.
February 27, 2026
Learn more about the restoration project.

NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Announces $74.3 Million in Grants for 1,171 Cultural Organizations Across the City 
The Fiscal Year 2026 Cultural Development Fund awards represent the largest-ever funding allocation, supporting affordable and accessible cultural programs in all five boroughs.
February 26, 2026 
Learn more about the FY 2026 Cultural Development Fund awards.

Public Art for Public Schools: at the Start of a New Semester, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art Program and NYC School Construction Authority's Public Art of Public Schools Celebrate Five New Installations
DCLA, in partnership with the New York City School Construction Authority, is delighted to announce five new, permanent art projects completed in NYC public schools in 2025 across the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. 
January 28, 2026
Learn more about the new public artworks. 

Materials for the Arts Presents "AIRPLANE," a Fashion Show by MFTA Designer-in-Residence Victor Pearlman on January 22, 2026
Victor Pearlman's "AIRPLANE" - the is first-ever live fashion show to take place in the MFTA warehouse - is inspired by the designer's longtime fascination with airports and planes. Pearlman's collection encapsulates the liminal experience of air travel shaped by bureaucratic transit systems, safety devices, uniformity, efficiency, and conveyor-belt repetition.
January 13, 2026
Learn more about Victor Pearlman's collection and residency.