Attention, New York City women working in the arts: the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre is now accepting applications. Per a press release, the grant program — previously known as the “Made in NY” Women’s Film, TV and Theatre Fund — will now be supporting women-centric, women-made music projects, alongside film, television, digital, and theatre ventures.
The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre is part of a planned three-year, $5 million fund program for creatives developing projects by, for, and about women. It is spearheaded by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) in partnership with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).
The projects eligible for 2020 funding, and the maximum potential grants they could be awarded, are: fiction features ($50K), fiction shorts ($25K), fiction webisode/web series ($20K), doc features ($50K), doc short ($25K), doc webisode/web series ($20K), theatre production ($50K), music: classical/experimental/jazz/new music ($20K), and music general ($20K).
“In addition to being made by, for, or about all who identify as women, projects are eligible if they feature a strong female perspective,” according to the Fund’s website, “and/or include a female-identified director and/or producer and/or writer/songwriter and/or engineer (for recordings) and/or female protagonist(s) or lead musical role.” All grant recipients must be NYC residents.
“New York City is home to the strongest creative talent in the word,” said Media and Entertainment Commissioner Anne del Castillo. “We are proud to expand the NYC Women’s Fund to include female-identified songwriters, composers, engineers, and producers working in all genres of music. Supporting women creatives in media and entertainment diversifies our talent base and generates richer content.”
The Fund awarded its first round of grants in February. $1.5 million was presented to 63 projects, such as Isabel Sandoval’s “Lingua Franca,” a narrative film about an undocumented Filipina trans woman pursuing a legal immigration status and embarking on a new relationship, and Aisha Jordan’s web series “#HashtagTheShow,” a sketch comedy exploring modern culture through the perspective of American people of color.
Applications for the 2020 round of NYC Women’s Fund grants will be open until October 1, 2019. Recipients will announced in March.
For more eligibility information or to apply, visit the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre’s website.
