Creative Engagement

*2027 Guidelines and Application Available Now*

Creative Engagement is a Manhattan Arts Grants program that provides funding to artists and nonprofit organizations for public events that will take place in Manhattan between January-December 2027. Each year, the program supports hundreds of arts projects, including concerts, performances, public art, exhibitions, screenings, festivals, workshops, readings, and more. LMCC will fund projects that connect with Manhattan’s communities from Inwood to the Battery and amplify the cultural expressions of the borough’s diverse population.

LMCC encourages projects that are generated within and serve communities that may have limited access to art programs, services, or resources due to location, race, language, economic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, and disability to apply. LMCC also highly encourages individuals and organizations whose work is rooted in the lived experience of Manhattan’s Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities to apply for funding. 

Creative Engagement funding is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Greater New York Arts Development Fund (DCLA), the New York State Council on the Arts’ Statewide Community Regrants (NYSCA) with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the Howard Gilman Foundation (HGF). Funding is intended for artists and organizations that cannot apply directly to these agencies. In general, this includes earlier career artists, collectives, and recently established organizations; and those with smaller operating budgets or less administrative infrastructure to create, fundraise, and distribute their work.

Applications are open for the 2027 Manhattan Arts Grant cycle. Review the guidelines, application, and FAQs below.

Creative Engagement FAQs (English)

Creative Engagement FAQs (Español)

Creative Engagement FAQs (普通话)

Past Grantees