Key Takeaways
- The maximum city-funded grant for New York City artists is increasing from $5,000 to $10,000.
- Zohran Mamdani and DCLA Commissioner Diya Vij announced the increase on Oct. 2.
- Borough application deadlines range from Oct. 30 in the Bronx to Nov. 17 in Queens.
More than a decade after embarking on his last adventures as a SoundCloud rapper, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is paying for your studio time. Just as long as you can secure one of his new grants.
On Oct. 2, the 34-year-old mayor and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Diya Vij announced that they’re leveling up the total city-funded grant money for artists in the city. A grant that was once a maximum of $5,000 will now be raised to a maximum of $10,000. According to a press release announcing the news, this is the first time the grant amount has increased in almost 20 years. Deadlines for artists from each borough to apply range from Oct. 30 in the Bronx to Nov. 17 in Queens. So, you know? Painters, sculptors, and MCs should get to applying. That’s a lot of paint, studio time and plane tickets.
This news arrived just two days after the mayor’s office published a conversation Mamdani had with the one and only Nas Escobar. Speaking to the rap legend, he made a point to emphasize that, when it comes to cultivating new generations of Hip Hop talent, NYCshouldn’t rest on its laurels.
Mayor Mamdani once had a song on a Disney soundtrack
“We can’t be content with having been the birthplace of Hip Hop. We want to still be the home,” Mamdani explained during that chat. “How do we also make those neighborhoods the places that, if you make it, you want to choose to stay there?” The newly announced artist grant increase feels like at least part of the answer. It’s one that’s way more rooted in Mamdani’s background than an outsider might think.
Throughout the 2010s, Mamdani was a pretty dedicated rapper who spit under the names Young Cardamom and later Mr. Cardamom at different points of his career. His 2016 track, “#1 Spice,” was featured in the 2016 Disneyflick, Queen of Katwe, which was directed by his mother, Mira Nair. These days, it feels like anyone will call themselves a rapper if they can, but it’s clear that Mamdani is still genuinely down for the arts.