Announcing | NYFA Launches New Emergency Grant Program for NYC-Based Artists with Disabilities

The Barbara and Carl Zydney Grant for Artists with Disabilities will distribute $1,000 grants to artists who experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) has announced the launch of The Barbara and Carl Zydney Grant for Artists with Disabilities. This program will provide unrestricted cash grants of $1,000 to artists with a disability ages 21 and older who have experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis. The program is open to visual, media, music, performing, and literary artists who live in New York City’s five boroughs. The application will open on Tuesday, May 4 at 10:00 AM EDT and close on Tuesday, June 15 at 5:00 PM EDT. Please visit NYFA’s website for full details and eligibility requirements.

This emergency grant program is named in honor of Barbara and Carl Zydney, who were born and raised in New York City and later retired there after raising their family on Long Island, NY. In retirement, they were both patrons of the arts and volunteered as docents in museums. Carl inspired others through his kindness, generosity, and adventurous spirit—still bicycling in the Five Boro Bike Tour well into his 80s. Barbara bettered her community as a specialist dedicated to teaching children with visual disabilities within the public school system. 

The Barbara and Carl Zydney grant will enable their legacy to live on by offering financial help to New York City artists with disabilities so they can make their work accessible to others. It combines three things that were important to the Zydneys: their love for New York, their passion for the arts, and Barbara’s dedication to working with individuals with disabilities. This grant was created in response to the devastation by the pandemic to New York City’s art scene, and is specifically geared towards people with disabilities who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

“We’re proud to administer The Barbara and Carl Zydney Grant for Artists with Disabilities, which addresses a need in the creative community for artists with disabilities to be recognized and supported, especially in the wake of COVID-19,” said Michael L. Royce, Executive Director of NYFA. “We hope that this grant gives artists some financial relief and helps them get back to their creative practice,” he added.

Those interested in contributing to The Barbara and Carl Zydney Grant for Artists with Disabilities may do so here or by emailing [email protected] for a direct mailing address.

For general questions and to request an accommodation or if you need assistance in applying online, please email [email protected] or call 646.801.0632 on Mondays between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM EDT.

If you need resources, please check our Emergency Grants page on NYFA’s website. We are updating it as new funding comes in. Find out about additional awards and grants here. Sign up for our free bi-weekly newsletter NYFA News to receive announcements about future NYFA events and programs.