Public Programs
1999 - 2004: Evening Stars
Evening Stars was a program launched in 1999 in the World Trade Center Plaza alongside the Festival of Creative Communities.
2009: LentSpace
LentSpace in Hudson Square is an entire city block located between Canal St., Varick St., Grand St., and Sixth Avenue, opened in 2009.
2013 - 2017: Arts East River Waterfront
Arts East River Waterfront is a series of collaborations in the Lower East Side, connecting residents, artists, and other art-lovers to create and enjoy art and design installations, performances, and participatory activities along the East River Waterfront. This multi-faceted initiative expands the range of voices participating in the development of the Lower East Side Waterfront, to imagine and affect the future of Piers 42 and 35. In 2014, we invited choreographers luciana achugar and Faye Driscoll to carry out performance research and showings in the community and on the Pier. In 2015, we further expanded our waterfront activities by working with iLand – interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art Nature and Dance and its founder, choreographer Jennifer Monson.
In 2013, we launched Paths to Pier 42 in partnership with the Lower East Side Waterfront Alliance, State Senator Daniel Squadron’s office, and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to activate Pier 42 as a temporary park with art & design projects. We have continued to commission new artists and designers to create work specifically for Pier 42 each year until 2017. For complete information on commissioned artists and projects, visit: pathstopier42.com
Manhattan Arts Grants
1998 - 2015: The Fund for Creative Communities
The Fund for Creative Communities awarded grants ranging from $750 to $5,000 to Manhattan-based nonprofit organizations, and to artists working in partnership with a community-based organization or applying through a fiscal sponsor. The program supported high-quality performing, literary, media, and visual arts projects that included a public component to bring the arts to Manhattan communities. The Fund for Creative Communities was funded by New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Fund.
1983 - 2015: Manhattan Community Arts Fund
The Manhattan Community Arts Fund (MCAF) was a local arts funding program that provided seed grants to individual artists, collectives and small arts organizations for projects and activities that enabled Manhattan communities to experience and engage with the performing, literary, media, and visual arts. MCAF was funded by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
2003 - 2016: Creative Curricula
Creative Curricula was a local arts-education funding program open to cultural organizations and to teaching artists working in partnership with Manhattan public schools. Creative Curricula supported projects that engaged students in rich artistic learning experiences in a classroom setting. In 2017, Creative Curricula became Creative Learning, a grant program that LMCC presently supports and administers.
2005 - 2008: Downtown Cultural Grants Initiative
Downtown Cultural Grants Initiative was a $5 million initiative supported by The September 11th Fund to create resources that would support and sustain the Downtown cultural community in the vicinity of Ground Zero – with a focus on assisting arts groups that were working to regain audiences, visibility, and financial stability that were jeopardized by events in 2001.LMCC designed a roster of six funding streams to address the needs of the existing arts community in Lower Manhattan, as well as bring new and increased arts activity to the area.
Artist Residencies
1990 - 2001: World Views
World Views was a residency program that placed visual artists in residences in donated office spaces, including at the World Trade Center. Notable alums include Michael Richards. Read an article about the residency here.
2005 - 2013: Swing Space
Launched in 2005, with generous support from the downtown real estate community and LMCC’s programming partners, Swing Space placed over 1,000 artists in more than 25 different locations throughout Lower Manhattan and on Governors Island. Swing Space was designed to address short-term space needs for a wide range of projects and to encourage creative, experimental, and collaborative approaches to artistic practice in unconventional spaces. Swing Space was a project-based residency program that placed visual and performing artists and arts groups in space for the development and presentation of new projects and provided artists with space, publicity and public programs, and access to specialized support and resources.
2010 - 2017: Process Space
Process Space was a nomination-based residency program placing mid-career artists in residence at locations in Lower Manhattan and at LMCC's Arts Center at Governors Island.
2011 - 2014: Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide (SPARC)
Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide (SPARC) was a community arts engagement program that placed artists-in-residence at senior centers across the five boroughs of New York City. The program was re-named SU-CASA.
2012 - 2017: Extended Life
Extended Life, 2012-2017 showcased choreographers whose work demonstrates a strong understanding of site, space and architecture, challenges notions of form, and inspires an investigative spirit. Inaugurated during the 2012 River To River Festival, Extended Life was designed to extend the development processes and the public life of selected movement-based pieces thereby enhancing the practices and careers of participating artists. In the Extended Life 2012-2017 program, artists were specifically provided with opportunities to develop multiple iterations of a work so that it was adaptable for both traditional venues and non-traditional locations in Lower Manhattan and beyond. In 2019, LMCC introduced a new iteration of Extended Life with funding from The Mellon Foundation.
2001 - 2018: Paris Residency
From 2001 - 2018, LMCC partnered with the Mayor’s Office of the City of Paris (Mairie de Paris), to provide New York City-based artists with the opportunity to live and work at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France for six consecutive months.
Professional Development
2008 - 2015: Basic Finance for Artists
Initiated in 2008, LMCC’s Basic Finance for Artists (BFA) series was an annually recurring free, six-week intensive seminar on personal finance, developed to help artists make informed financial decisions and plans over the long term. Participants gathered essential personal financial information, gained a better understanding of their overall financial profile, developed skills in money management, identified their goals, connected with experienced financial and arts professionals, and accessed resources for ongoing learning.
Although this program is no longer offered as a stand-alone series, the findings and contents are being used to develop new programming to address the financial and business planning needs of emerging to mid-career artists. Please join the mailing list to receive information on our updated roster of professional development offerings when announced.
2010 - 2015: Artists Summer Institute
Initiated in 2010, Artists Summer Institute (ASI) was an annually recurring five-day intensive professional development opportunity for artists. The program, created and developed in partnership between LMCC and Creative Capital, brought together both organizations’ programs to provide more comprehensive, arts-focused training, tools, and advice to help put artists on a path to greater sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Participants gained access to arts-focused professional training in the areas of strategic planning, verbal communications, marketing and promotion, internet optimization, financial management, and business planning.
Over six years, the program served over 300 of New York City’s artists. LMCC is grateful for Creative Capital’s partnership.
2013-2015: Marketing For the Arts
Marketing for the Arts (MFA) provided customized training, assessment, and planning support in strategic marketing over a 20-month period to senior management and executives of seven participating arts and cultural organizations with the support of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. LMCC provided a six-session intensive training program to help participants develop detailed organizational marketing and communications plans. Each participating organization subsequently received a grant of $25,000 to support the execution of their plans.
2014 - 2015: Art & Resilience
LMCC’s Art & Resilience was a series designed to help artists build continuity and resilience into their artistic and business practices, and professional relationships. This sequential workshop series covered three important areas of business practice that have taken on greater urgency for many artists since Superstorm Sandy: Recordkeeping, Insurance, and Legal Issues.