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Photo by Francisco Graciano, courtesy of Broadway Dance Lab.
Choreographer Ephrat Asherie leads a group of Dance Lab New York dancers.
Culpeper Arts & Culture
Goal: Nurture a vibrant and inclusive arts community in New York City
The Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture program supports the creative process, builds the capacity of small and mid-size arts and cultural institutions across all arts disciplines, and promotes diversity in the city’s creative life.
Strategies
- Supporting organizations that assist individual artists and the creative process with an emphasis on providing opportunities for artists of color and other underrepresented artists.
- Providing artist residencies, in partnership with grantee organizations, at The Pocantico Center.
- Building capacity in small and mid-size cultural organizations, particularly those that are community-based and/or reflect the city’s diversity.
- Read the Full Guidelines
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The Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture grants honor the legacy of Charles E. Culpeper by supporting the artists and arts and cultural organizations that make New York City one of the world's most dynamic creative capitals. The Fund is inspired by the conviction that arts and culture promote free expression, foster a deeper understanding of human experience and diverse communities, and provide a fresh lens on persistent problems and emerging challenges. The Fund aims to strengthen the cultural environment of the city by supporting its rich artistic community and the diversity of the city’s population. Special interests of the Fund are to sustain and advance small and mid-size cultural organizations, particularly those that are community-based and/or culturally specific, and to provide opportunities for artists of color and other underrepresented artists to contribute to the cultural vitality of New York City. The Fund also seeks to encourage mainstream, larger institutions to present underrepresented artists and to find innovative ways to engage new and diverse audiences.
The Pocantico Center, located in Tarrytown, New York, is an important resource in the Fund’s efforts to support artists and the creative process, advance cultural awareness, and foster artistic collaborations. The center provides time and space for aesthetic exploration and opportunities for nurturing artistic imagination.
Grants support the creative process and build the capacity of small and mid-size arts and cultural institutions across all arts disciplines, and promote diversity in the city’s creative life. Capacity-building grants support strategic planning, technology enhancements, board and staff development, marketing, and outreach initiatives.
The Culpeper program prioritizes support for organizations with annual budgets under $4 million. Given limited resources and to enable the program to be responsive to a wider range of applicants, grantee organizations must wait a minimum of three years from their grant final payment before reapplying.
The Culpeper Arts & Culture program only considers unsolicited requests during its annual call for Letters of Inquiry (LOI). Please do not submit requests for Arts & Culture support through the unsolicited grant request.
Program Team
Program Director
Program Associate
What We Fund
The Culpeper Arts & Culture program funds organizations that elevate the role the arts and artists play in revealing, assessing, and addressing pressing social issues. Grantee organizations must provide support—including space, materials, education, and paid work opportunities—primarily to artists living in New York City. While we believe all artists should be fairly compensated for their work, by law, the RBF cannot make grants to individual artists, including filmmakers. The RBF does not contribute to capital expenses for the purchase, construction, or renovation of buildings or property. Read more about What We Fund.