Access to the Arts

We believe that art should be a right, not a privilege. To that effect, the Illumination Fund has a long-standing commitment to increasing access to the arts in New York City. We recognize the arts in playing a critical role in the quality of life and general well-being of New Yorkers. The city, with its rich history and diversity, houses many arts and cultural organizations, movements, and spaces. Yet, the unfortunate inequities in access to the arts exist.

The Fund has four core strategies in the arts:

• Supporting major institutions to strengthen their community and education programs city-wide,
• Supporting neighborhood-based arts organizations encouraging quality arts participation in low-income and historically marginalized communities,
• Supporting community anchors embedded in neighborhoods that see the arts as essential to their vision of a vibrant community, and
• Supporting organizations creating and commissioning innovative arts projects that respond to social, political, and cultural moments and change.