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Alissa Scott at the Utica-Observer Dispatch wrote an important article in June on the challenges small cinemas face in upgrading to digital projection. The article is well worth your time, and a number of our colleagues in Oneida and Herkimer counties are mentioned and quoted, but I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss two of the broader themes in the article. As supported by research conducted by the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, and as stated by the Foundation's Director of Marketing Cassaundra Baber, "We know that young professionals and our millennial groups are looking for a community where downtowns are developed, arts and culture is available and accessible in these downtown areas, and where they don't have to go far to get those quality-of-life experiences."
This speaks once again to the importance of arts and culture in a community, even for those who don't attend the theater or visit a museum. For our region to remain competitive, we need to attract and retain a young, educated workforce and that population demands arts, culture, and entertainment offerings. The "halo effect" that is a created by these offerings is also crucial... downtowns that don't shut down at 5:00 every night when the work day is over are more likely to attract investment and beautification efforts.
The article also discusses the struggle for small arts and cultural providers to sustain and improve themselves in an environment where public support for the arts is struggling to recover to pre-recession levels. Arts institutions need to remain competitive with an increasing number of home-based entertainment options by providing the best quality programs, securing state-of-the-art equipment, providing competitive pay for artists and staff, and meeting ever-higher costs for licensing and performance fees, but funding is just sufficient to sustain operations as they exist currently. In addition to our regranting programs, CNY Arts serves arts and cultural providers through gotoCNYArts.org, our Collaborative Marketing Information System. The goal of gotoCNYArts.org is to increase participation in the arts by eliminating a key barrier: the lack of timely notification of arts events. Increased participation for the arts will result in a steadier stream of earned income and a stronger case to make for funders. If your organization is not already participating with our Collaborative Marketing program, I encourage you to reach out to the CNY Arts Marketing Manager today. If you would like to join us in promoting arts and culture, look below.
CNY Arts will continue to explore ways to maximize the positive effect arts and culture has on our communities, and find new ways to support this crucial sector.
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CNY Arts
421 Montgomery Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
315-435-2155
CNY Arts is supported by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency,
with support from the
the IDEAS Collaborative
and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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 The Central New York Community Foundation awarded CNY Arts $15,000 to support a much needed Information Technology overhaul. "With a 5500 square mile service area, our staff is increasingly mobile and requires an IT infrastructure that is fast, secure, and reliable," said CNY Arts Executive Director Stephen Butler. "We are very grateful for the continued support of the Community Foundation.
CNY Arts will use funds to replace its eight year old server and several workstations, and to add new database software to better manage customer records. |
 Arts Grant Information, Guidelines, and Seminar Schedule |
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Decentralization Grants for 2016
CNY Arts will once again administer Community Arts, Individual Artist, and Arts Education grants through Decentralization, made possible with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts. This year CNY Arts has received a twenty percent increase to Decentralization Grants! We look forward to another round of outstanding projects for 2016.
Grant guidelines are available at cnyarts.org/grants. Applications will open July 15, 2015 through GO: Grants Online (cnyarts.culturegrants.org). Deadlines and Informational Seminar dates will be available shortly.
 New Upgrade to GO: Grants Online
We're excited to announce CNY Arts has upgraded the CNY Arts online application portal for grants! New features include auto-save, navigation sidebars, and a new modern look! There is an added feedback feature where you can tell us what you think. Check it out today!
We're Looking for Panelists
CNY Arts is seeking individuals to perform evaluation and rating of funding applications made to CNY Arts for 2016. To nominate yourself or a qualified individual, please complete the nomination form here.
Stay in the Loop
To ensure you receive all notifications about grant opportunities and reminders from CNY Arts, manage your newsletter subscription here, and check off the CNY Arts Grant Opportunities box.
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| John Ben Snow Foundation Awards CNY Arts $2500 for Arts in Higher Ed |
The John Ben Snow Foundation awarded $2500 to CNY Arts in support of an Arts in High Education Consortium. The Consortium's goals are to:
- encourage students to attend cultural events on member campuses;
- increase pool of students interested in enrolling in arts programs;
- improve retention of arts students after graduation;
- strengthen communication, planning, and resource-sharing among member institutions.
The Consortium is a crucial element of ENGAGE CNY implementation and a partner in CNY Arts' Collaborative Marketing Information system. Funds will allow CNY Arts to retain an Arts in Higher Education Coordinator.
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 At its core, the Arts and Entertainment Events Guide at gotoCNYArts.org is a collaborative marketing program. Artists and arts organizations post their arts events, CNY Arts approves the events, posts them at gotoCNYArts.org and pushes them on to VisitSyracuse.org, auburn-arts.com, and other partners.
We support this program with over $100,000 annually in radio, print, web, and billboard advertising across all six counties, supported this year by the Market NY program of Empire State Development, the National Endowment for the Arts, generous in kind donations from vendors, and a Google grant. But we need more help spreading the word about the fantastic arts offerings in our region. This is where we need YOUR involevement.
If you're interested in helping out, please consider adding one of a banner like this one to your website or blog. A variety of sizes and designs can be found here, along with instructions on how to link to the the calendar. Promoting the calendar with these banners is a great, cost-effective way to help spread the word, and can also be an incentive for visits to your website.
Thank you so much. |
 Are you working on a cultural grant application? We strongly recommend taking a look at some of the fantastic information in the ENGAGE CNY cultural plan and assessment. Through the assessment process we received public opinion responses from over 7200 individuals, 525 individual artists, and 131 organizations. We have the raw data from those surveys available here, and it is filled with statistics about what our community thinks and values about arts and culture, and what our artists and organizations need to be successful.The full 10-year plan with many fundable action steps, written by a national consultant and prioritized and vetted by a summit of community leaders, is available here, and contains detailed steps to help us achieve its goal to boost the livability and economic vitality
of Central New York.
This assessment and plan, supported in part by NYSCA through the Regional Economic Development Council, is available for all arts organizations to use. If you would like help navigating the assessment data or plan, please contact our Program Associate Elizabeth Allers or call 315-435-2155.
CNY Arts has set up a resource page for research and planning purposes.
Reminder, the Consolidated Funding Application deadline is July 31st! |
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Beginning today, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to consider legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The last time there were floor votes was almost 14 years ago! And the U.S. House is also preparing for final votes on the House's education bill this week!
Please take two minutes to urge your members of Congress in the Senate and House to support arts education.
The Senate education committee unanimously passed their bill, the Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177), in April. The long-awaited and bipartisan bill is now ready to be considered on the Senate floor, where more amendments will be considered, including arts-friendly amendments on state accountability plans.
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CNY Arts Newsletter Submissions
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CNY Arts encourages all readers to share arts news and opportunities of regional relevance with us at communications@cnyarts.org. Newsletters are typically published the first week of each month. We are always on the look out for job opportunities in the arts, calls for entry, requests for proposals, grant opportunities, volunteer opportunities, newcomers to (and passings from) our community.
We also only share RFP's and Calls for Entry where artists have an opportunity to earn income, through stipends, salaries, or sales.
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Opportunities and Resources for Artists and Organizations
(email communications@cnyarts.org to submit)
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Opportunities
Westcott Street Cultural Fair
Artists, Crafters and Community Organizations
On September 20, 2015, the 24th WSCF will take place from noon to 6:30pm. It is a one day event that celebrates diversity and uniqueness of the Westcott neighborhood.
The fair has over 110 artists, crafters and community organizations. To apply for a booth, please visit:
Applications close August 28th.
Near Westside Peacemaking
Making Peace / Making Art
Deadline August 17
The Near Westside Peacemaking Project is sponsoring a summer art contest! We are looking for permanent artwork for the Peacemaking Center located at 601 Tully Street. There are adult and youth (under 21) categories with cash prizes for both.
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Resources
Giffordslist.org- A resource sharing website, administered by the Rosamond Gifford Foundation, for Central New York nonprofits and businesses.
Oswego Arts Collaborative - a local service and advocacy organization whose mission is to be a catalyst for the economic development and sustainability of visual and performing arts, is compiling a list of artists and arts organizations interested in strengthening the cultural life of Oswego County. All artists, groups and residents interested in receiving regular information about the Collaborative and its initiatives or in taking part in the mission of the Collaborative are asked to email artsinoswego@gmail.com.
The Salt District of the Near West Side
Jobs/Volunteers/Grants
Syracuse First can always use volunteers. Call for more information (315.396.6418)
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For a comprehensive listing of artist workshops and classes in your area,
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