ArtsWestchester Awards $105,500 in Arts Alive Grants to 52 Westchester and Rockland Projects

White Plains, N.Y. (October 21, 2025) – Arts and cultural organizations in Westchester and Rockland counties will receive $105,500 in Arts Alive grants thanks to a partnership with New York State.

ArtsWestchester awarded the funds to 34 projects in Westchester and 18 in Rockland, ensuring local artists and grassroots organizations can bring diverse and meaningful cultural experiences to their communities. Notably, ArtsWestchester awarded 14 of the grants to first-time grantee groups and individual artists, injecting new energy into the region’s cultural landscape.

“State investment in the arts plays an important role in ensuring a vibrant cultural landscape in the Lower Hudson Valley,” said ArtsWestchester CEO Kathleen Reckling.

“Arts Alive Grants translate directly into local impact, allowing artists to tell our community's diverse stories and providing access to exceptional cultural programming for families and residents who might not otherwise experience it. We are deeply grateful for our continued partnership.”

The Arts Alive grant program is ArtsWestchester’s local regrant initiative, administered through the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of the Governor’s Office and the New York State Legislature. ArtsWestchester works in close partnership with the Arts Council of Rockland in the administration of this program.

Said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins: “As a state leader, I am committed to investing in the arts here in Westchester and across New York. Regional arts organizations, like ArtsWestchester, are invaluable partners, helping distribute state funding throughout our communities, supporting local artists and ensuring the future of a thriving arts community in New York. I thank CEO Kathleen Reckling and the entire ArtsWestchester team and extend my congratulations to the more than 50 artists and projects receiving grants through the Arts Alive program.”

The recipients represent a wide range of artistic disciplines and community engagement efforts, including:

• Chioma Nwana in White Plains ($3,000): For the “You’re From Where I’m From” photography exhibition currently on view at the White Plains Library through November 1. This project celebrates the stories and histories of six historically significant Black neighborhoods through powerful photography.

• Shames JCC on the Hudson in Tarrytown ($1,500): Community Stitch Project, a four-session collaborative art workshop transforming discarded plastics.
• Strawtown Art & Garden Studio in Garnerville ($2,000): For the InHabit Art: A Nature-Discovery Art Program, offering after-school workshops in the Fall and Spring at the Haverstraw Center that incorporate nature, art, and ecology.

Photo caption: Left to right, New York State Assemblymember Dana Levenberg, Tuesday McDonald of the Peekskill Youth Bureau, New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and ArtsWestchester CEO Kathleen Reckling. Photo credit Susan Nagib.

About ArtsWestchester ArtsWestchester’s Arts Alive grant program is a regrant initiative administered by ArtsWestchester with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of the Governor’s Office and the New York State Legislature. The program provides support for grassroots arts and cultural organizations and artists in Westchester and Rockland Counties. ArtsWestchester is the largest non-profit arts council in New York State and is dedicated to making the arts accessible to all residents. Artsw.org