Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

09/28/2026

Interested in applying for 2027 Manhattan Arts Grants or SU-CASA? LMCC staff is here to help! We’re offering Virtual Info Sessions, Applicant Labs, and Virtual Office Hours.

🔗 Visit LMCC.net/Apply to RSVP for upcoming sessions!

🧰 Ready to work on your application?

Get your questions answered, technical assistance, and help with creating any part of your application at our in-person Applicant Labs. These are informal drop-in sessions to connect with our team and work alongside fellow applicants. Attend an upcoming Lab:

10/13, 3-6pm at Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance
10/14, 5-8pm at Abrons Arts Center
10/20, 5-8pm at Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York
10/21, 2-5pm at Belongó Afro Latin Jazz

📝 Already working on your application materials? Receive live guidance from LMCC staff at Virtual Office Hours. Sign up for a session:

10/27, 12-2pm EST
10/29, 2-4pm EST
11/5, 4-6pm EST
11/9, 12-2pm EST
11/10, 2-4pm EST

ℹ️ Want to learn more about the Manhattan Arts Grants? Not sure which program is right for you? Join an upcoming virtual info session:

Creative Engagement: 9/28, 6-7 pm EST
UMEZ Arts Engagement: 9/28, 7:15-8:15pm EST
Creative Unrestricted: 9/30, 6-7pm EST
Creative Learning & SU-CASA: 10/1, 6-7pm EST

Can’t make these Info Session times? Video recordings will be available online after the live session.

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Manhattan Arts Grants is supported by New York State Council on the Arts on the Arts’ Statewide Community Regrants with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Greater New York Arts Development Fund, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, and Howard Gilman Foundation.

SU-CASA is supported by funds from the New York City Council and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and NYC Department for the Aging, with additional support by the Tiger Baron Foundation.

09/22/2026

Last week, LMCC CEO & Artistic Director Moe Yousuf joined DCLA Commissioner Diya Vij, President and CEO of Harlem School of the Arts James Horton, and Senior Program Officer at Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Nicole Reiner for a listening session.

Together with artists, cultural workers, and local leaders, they discussed issues of affordability, grantmaking, and resource allocation, collectively building a vision of an arts ecosystem in Manhattan that enables artists to thrive.

Thank you to all of the participants who shared their ideas, experiences, and passions, as well as Harlem School of the Arts for hosting this conversation.

Photos by Emmett Levy

09/16/2026

“What if we reflected on the thing that didn’t happen?”

Read Brian Seibert’s piece on “Curriculum IV: Spin and Spin! Turn! Turn! Turn!” in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/arts/dance/bill-t-jones-world-trade-center-9-11.html

“Curriculum IV: Spin and Spin! Turn! Turn! Turn!” is commissioned by LMCC as part of the River To River Festival and presented in partnership with New York Live Arts and Battery Park City Authority.

Visuals by Guarionex Rodriguez

Twenty-five years after 9/11 caused the cancellation of a Bill T. Jones group performance, he debuts a work in response.

09/08/2026

📣 Calling all Manhattan artists and arts organizations! Applications for LMCC’s 2027 Manhattan Arts Grants and SU-CASA are now open!

➡️ 2027 Manhattan Arts Grants: provide artists and arts organizations with grants for unrestricted funding (new!), arts education programs, and for artistic presentations across any discipline that engage Manhattan communities in 2027.

➡️ 2027 SU-CASA Creative Aging Residency: Design and lead an arts learning project at a Manhattan older adult center between January and June 2027. No prior teaching or experience with older adults is necessary; artists comfortable leading workshops in Spanish, Cantonese, or Mandarin are especially encouraged to apply!

The deadline to apply is November 12, 2026, 6pm EST.

Want to learn more about the Manhattan Arts Grants? Join an upcoming virtual info session or in-person Applicant Lab!

🔗 Learn more at LMCC.net/apply.

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Manhattan Arts Grants is supported by New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Statewide Community Regrants with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Greater New York Arts Development Fund, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZ), and Howard Gilman Foundation.

SU-CASA is supported by public funds from the New York City Council, in partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA). It is carried out in collaboration with New York City’s local arts councils. Additional support is provided by the Tiger Baron Foundation.

08/19/2026

On August 8, Esperanza Spalding and Kayla Farrish brought something truly special to Wagner Park, an evening of dance and music, composed live, and set against New York Harbor at sunset.

Joined by an incredibly talented ensemble — Jamal Abrams, Kar’mel Antonyo Wade Small, Justin Tyson, Dayna Stevens, and Taiya Cheng — these artists shared a connective, improvisational practice forged through their ongoing collaboration. It was an unforgettable night, where music and movement unfolded together in real time. They named it right: it was ceremonial grade creation.

We are so grateful to esperanza, Kayla, and the full ensemble for trusting LMCC with the first public presentation of this work. Thank you to everyone who joined us at Wagner Park to share this experience. And big thanks to our partners at Battery Park City Parks for helping bring this evening to life as part of the 2026 River To River Festival!

📸: Cole Witter

08/07/2026

“In the beginning, jazz was dance music.”

Read Brian Seibert’s NYT feature on esperanza spalding and Kayla Farrish’s collaboration, debuting tomorrow at 7pm at Robert F. Wagner Jr Park!

Check it out: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/07/arts/dance/esperanza-spalding-kayla-farrish-jazz-dance.html

RSVP: https://lmcc.net/events/esperanza-spalding/

The one-night-only, free performance, “esperanza spalding in ceremonial grade creation with Kayla Farrish and friends,” fuses the relationship between dance – crafted live and in real time.

07/31/2026

This Saturday ➡️ Hybrid Animal Encyclopedia, an All-Ages Climate Art Workshop with Nobuho Nagasawa at LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island.

Step into a space of imagination and invention, where new hybrid creatures begin to appear! Create collages that merge dinosaurs with present-day animals. Each creation becomes a page in this shifting Hybrid Animal Encyclopedia, a meeting point of memory and invention, nature and imagination, past and future.

The workshop will be ongoing from 1-3pm. Stay for the entire event or stop by for a few minutes.

LMCC’s 2026 Climate Art Workshops are FREE and open to all. RSVPs are encouraged. Drop-ins welcome. Can’t make it this time? Join us for the next installment of Hybrid Animal Encyclopedia on Saturday, August 15!

RSVP and learn more: https://lmcc.website/artmake81

07/30/2026

Leslie Wayne featured in The Art Newspaper for her new exhibition, The Unintended Blues.

To read the piece, click the link in our bio!

The Unintended Blues is on view Friday - Sunday, 12-5pm at LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island.

07/24/2026

Last night, we hosted an opening reception for The Unintended Blues, a new exhibition at the Arts Center at Governors Island by Leslie Wayne that captures the beauty of our natural environment and renders with graphic clarity the existential threat of rising sea levels.

The Unintended Blues is presented as part of LMCC’s River To River Festival and is made possible by The Deborah Buck Foundation, Morgan Stanley Blue Rider Group, and New York State Council on the Arts Support for Artists Grant. Special thanks to Anna Raginskaya and Jack Shainman Gallery.

07/22/2026

Workshop, bus, artist activation, club, panel, exhibition, club, another activation….

This weekend, join us for a busy day at LMCC's Arts Center!

RSVP at the link in bio!