Over 200 people attended the CNY Arts 40th annual On My Own Time artists' celebration at the Everson Museum of Art on September 20, 2013. New York State Senator John DeFrancisco, Deputy County Executive William P. Fisher, and Mayor Stephanie Miner each spoke at the event to recognize On My Own Time's 40th year, and to honor the hundreds of companies and artists who have been a part of On My Own Time over the last four decades. Mr. Fisher presented a proclamation on behalf of Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney naming the day as "CNY Arts 'On My Own Time' Recognition Day."

69 works of original visual art were selected to be displayed in the month-long, grand finale exhibit at the Everson Museum of Art, out of 349 pieces submitted this year. They were created in a wide range of media by employees of fifteen local businesses and organizations. On My Own Time is a Central New York tradition developed in 1974 by CNY Arts (then the Cultural Resources Council). The program draws on the talents of dozens of employees in Onondaga and Oswego County who are not professional artists. On My Own Time is a platform for companies to demonstrate their appreciation of their employees' creativity and their strong support of art and culture in their communities.

Local volunteers from professional arts fields visited individual exhibits of employee works at each participating company this past spring and adjudicated the visual arts pieces, which included paintings, drawings, ceramics, wood work, jewelry, metal work, photography, glasswork, sculpture, mixed media, textiles, and more.

Clifford Tsan (Board Member), Mayor Stephanie Miner,  Stephen Butler (Executive Director), Deputy County Executive William Fisher, Catherine Gerard (Board President)

On My Own Time 2013 is presented by CNY Arts in cooperation with Everson Museum of Arts, lead media sponsor WRVO Public Media, Gold level sponsor Upstate Medical University and Silver level sponsor Onondaga Community College.

CNY Arts is administering the artSTART Arts Education grant for artists and organizations to execute creative projects in public schools through NYSCA's Decentralization Program. 

These collaborations serve as the crucial link between schools and artists for projects that connect the arts with traditional classroom learning.

From October 20-22, Syracuse hosted the 2013 New York State Grantmakers Forum Conference. The annual conference brings together grantmakers from across New York State and the region to gain knowledge, exchange experiences and networks with other grantmakers, to build philanthropic success. 

Steve was selected to speak about unique funder collaboratives such as IDEAS and ENGAGE CNY and means of data sharing using the Cultural Data Project (CDP). The other speakers, Paul Hogan from the John R. Oishei Foundation in Buffalo, and Katie Ingersoll from NYS CDP also spoke about the data and resources necessary for case-making and capacity building with the goal of building a robust cultural infrastructure across New York State. For a copy of Steve's presentation click here.