News

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has made revisions to its Pivotal Place: New York City Program guidelines. Recognizing the many accomplishments of our grantees and the Fund's interest in concentrating limited resources on other areas in which we are currently working to achieve greater impact, the RBF will conclude its grantmaking of civic and political participation of immigrant communities in New York City.

AKA|Strategy and NEXT: Transition Advisors conducted a review of the Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants from 2003 to 2013. The review of grantmaking is intended to provide an understanding of the Fund’s place in the field, the evolution of the program, the strengths and weaknesses its strategies and grantmaking, an assessment of the contributions of Fund's grantees to progress in the field, and possible approaches going forward. 

Known for their playful and unexpected choreography, Monica Bill Barnes and Company is a contemporary American dance company based in New York City. Two of its key members had the opportunity to participate in a week-long residency at The Pocantico Center in July 2013. In this video, the dancers talk about their creative process and how the time and setting helped to shape their pieces.

Ballet Hispanico explores the diversity of Latino culture through dance. In May 2013, six dancers and artistic director Eduardo Vilaro spent a week at the Rockefeller Brother Fund's Pocantico Center during a residency to advance Ballet Hispanico's creative growth and develop new work. In this video, Mr. Vilaro and the dancers reflect on the value of the retreat and the impact their surroundings have on their pieces.

The New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs has created a series of guides to help other municipal governments support immigrant populations. Blueprints for Immigrant Integration provide guidance to mayor's offices across the country on effective local policies and practices that help immigrants successfully be a part of their communities.

With the election of New York City's first new mayor in 12 years comes an opportunity to continue engaging the public in discourse that often fades after the ballots are cast. Talking Transition is a nonpartisan effort to empower New Yorkers as Bill de Blasio takes office. Rockefeller Brothers Fund grantees that are participating, include Make the Road New York, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, and The New York Immigration Coalition, among others.

Season of Cambodia, a festival that celebrates the revival of Cambodian arts and culture, kicked off its two-month run in New York City this week. Conceived by the Phnom Penh-based nonprofit Cambodian Living Arts, the festival showcases dance, visual arts, film, music, discussions, and more, in venues across New York City, and features 125 artists from Cambodia.

The Monica Bill Barnes and Company and Ballet Hispanico of New York will partake in the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's first dance residencies as part of the Pocantico Arts Collaborative this spring. Earlier this month, grants were awarded to each organization to develop new works as part of their residencies at The Pocantico Center. Both groups of will then return in the summer to perform their works in progress as part of Pocantico's summer performance season.

Artists in Motion looks at the lives of four artists as they develop and share their struggles, inspirations, and creative work. The  artists include: Claudia Acuña, vocalist, The Jazz Gallery; Tania Bruguera, performance artist, Creative Time; Fran Romo, dancer, Gallim Dance; and Jose Zayas, director, Spanish Theatre Repertory Company.

The New York Times offered a stark assessment of New York City's preparedness for serious flooding, which would have a crippling impact on its 520 miles of coast. In the article, executive director Eddie Bautista of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, Inc., an RBF grantee, highlighted the urgency of preparing industrial areas on the waterfront, where many low-income residents live.