For Immediate Release: March 7, 2026

Contact: LiberArte Inc. – [email protected]

Public support will go toward the Afro-diasporic Ocean Festival, a multi-cultural day of joy, celebration, music, and community.

LiberArte is one of 1,171 cultural organizations across New York City to receive support as part of the City's largest-ever $74.3 million Cultural Development Fund

New York, NY - LiberArte has received an award of $20,000 from the City of New York as part of the city’s recent announcement of more than $74 million in Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grants to 1,171 cultural organizations across the five boroughs. The FY26 awards represent the largest-ever funding allocation for the CDF and the most-ever grantee organization, supporting affordable, accessible cultural programming across the city.

For LiberArte, this CDF grant will support the 3rd annual Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival, a multidisciplinary, multicultural day that celebrates people of the African diaspora, Indigenous communities, and the ocean. A free event for adults, families, and open to everyone; a joyous day of community, music, capoeira, a panel discussion on ocean conservation, and a workshop. Through live performance, ritual, movement, and storytelling, the festival centers cultural preservation, ocean reverence, and community resilience in the face of climate change. More than 5,000 people showed up to the last two festivals and shared in the knowledge, wisdom, and culture of the event at Rockaway Beach Amphitheater in Queens, New York.

“This showcase not only exhibits the importance of sharing our diverse cultures it also encourages and spreads our shared love for protecting, preserving and educating the community about our lovely ocean,” says Tanya Alfonso, Festival Producer.

“New York City’s cultural community brings meaningful, affordable, and accessible cultural programs to every corner of the five boroughs,” said DCLA Assistant Commissioner for Program Services Audrey St. Clair. “With this historic investment through our Cultural Development Fund, we’re proud to support and partner with more than 1,000 cultural nonprofits citywide – working across disciplines, communities, and geographies – to lift up the creative sector that is so vital to our city. Art and culture can change lives, and that’s something every New Yorker deserves to experience.”

“This historic investment through the Cultural Development Fund reflects the central role arts and culture play in New York City’s identity and economic vitality. Supporting more than 1,100 organizations across all five boroughs means investing in the artists, administrators, and cultural workers who keep our communities vibrant and connected,” said Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations. “The fact that the overwhelming majority of grantees offer free or subsidized programming underscores the importance of public funding in keeping cultural access affordable and accessible for New Yorkers. As Chair, I remain committed to ensuring that our funding structures are transparent, stable, and responsive to the realities organizations face on the ground. Sustained investment in this sector is essential to preserving a cultural landscape that is diverse, community-rooted, and reflective of every neighborhood across our city.”

96% of all FY2026 CDF grantees offer free or subsidized programs to make cultural activity more affordable and accessible for New Yorkers. More than half of the recipient organizations are receiving funding as part of a multi-year award cycle following reforms that expanded eligibility for multi-year grants to all organizations, offering greater stability in funding for grantees. This year’s CDF also maintains a 15% increase in funding for the city’s borough arts councils, which goes support individual artists, collectives, and smaller organizations; support for the Language Access Fund, Disability Forward Fund, and Equity Fund to foster greater equity and access throughout the cultural sector; and discretionary funding from the City Council. With more than 84% of applicants receiving awards, DCLA continues to build on its commitment to leverage public funding in support of the broadest, most equitable group of cultural organizations possible.
Official award notifications were sent to FY26 CDF grantees in December 2025. The application for the FY27 cycle of the CDF opened on February 23, 2026 and applications are due April 2, 2026. Learn more and find a full list of this year's CDF grantees in the city’s official press release.

About LiberArte

LiberArte Inc. is a Queens–based nonprofit organization nurturing artists to co-create joyful and abundant futures in harmony with each other and Mother Earth. LiberArte centers creativity as a powerful force for cultural, social, racial, and climate justice.

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok.