press releases

For Immediate Release

This year’s grantees are all innovative partnerships that highlight the various tourism opportunities that New York State has to offer. They range from drawing tourists to explore architectural wonders in the Adirondacks, to attracting audiences to Brooklyn’s world-class cultural institutions and vibrant neighborhoods, and initiatives to increase community visibility from Harlem to Niagara by highlighting artisans, architecture, and historic destinations.  View a complete list of this year's award-winning projects.

Now in its eighth year, ABC/NY’s Cultural Tourism Initiative provides funding for cultural organizations to expand and enhance their use of tourism to attract new visitors to and stimulate economic growth in their respective communities. To be eligible, a project’s lead arts organization must be a NYSCA grantee in good standing, form a partnership with a local tourism agency, and be able to match the grant with funding from other sources. This year’s winning projects were selected from 44 proposals submitted by organizations around the state. Grants averaged $20,000.

The New York Statewide Cultural Tourism Coalition defines cultural tourism as travel that is directed toward experiencing the rich arts, heritage, and diversity of the people and landscapes of New York State. Its findings show that cultural and historic trips in the state tend to last longer (5.2 nights versus the U.S. average of 4.1 nights, excluding transportation); and cultural travelers spend more ($623 per trip versus $457). New York’s tourism industry employs more than 750,000 people and generates more than $5.2 billion per year in revenue for local and state governments. Previously funded Cultural Tourism Initiative projects have had an estimated economic impact of more than $50 million.

Arts & Business Council of New York is committed to joining the resources of arts and business.  It serves both the arts and business communities of New York through programs in volunteer development, professional development, leadership development, and economic development. Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America.  With more than 45 years of service, it is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

New York State Council on the Arts is a state-funding agency dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will become the heritage of New York’s citizens. The Council strives to achieve its mission through its core grant-making activity and by convening field leaders, providing information and advisory support, and working with partners on special initiatives to achieve mutual goals.

A total of $177,500 in Cultural Tourism Initiative grants was recently awarded to the following grantees:

Grantee:  Adirondack Architectural Heritage (Clinton County)
Tourism Partner:  Adirondack Regional Tourism Council
Project:  Adirondack Rustic Architecture Study Tours

Grantee:  Brooklyn Botanic Garden Corporation (Kings County)
Tourism Partner:  Best of Brooklyn, Inc. (Brooklyn Tourism)
Project:  Experience the Heart of Brooklyn

Grantee:  Cattaraugus County Arts Council (Cattaraugus County)
Tourism Partner:  Cattaraugus County Dept. of Planning, Economic Development, and Tourism
Project:  Routes to Art

Grantee:  Columbia County Council on the Arts (Columbia County)
Tourism Partner:  Columbia County Department of Tourism
Project:  Weekends in the Country

Grantee:  Dance Theater Workshop Inc. (New York County)
Tourism Partner:  NYC & Company
Project:  Destination Chelsea

Grantee:  Harlem Stage/Aaron Davis Hall, Inc. (New York County)
Tourism Partner:  Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Project:  Harlem One Stop - "Destination Uptown"

Grantee:  Hallwalls Inc. (Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center) (Erie County)
Tourism Partner:  Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau
Project:  Beyond/In Western New York

Grantee:  Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (Warren County)
Tourism Partner:  Towns & Villages of the Battenkill Valley
Project:  Seasons in the Battenkill Valley

Grantee:  Westchester Arts Council, Inc. (Westchester County)
Tourism Partner:  Westchester County Office of Tourism
Project:  All Fired Up!

The Cultural Tourism Initiative is a program of Arts & Business Council of New York, a division of Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts, a state arts agency.