Community Arts Commission Inc.

As many of you know, “Community Arts Commission” was founded about a year ago as a Staten Island-based art collective with the purpose of supporting the art community in our NYC borough. Since its creation, we have hosted community songwriter showcases at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, provided free resources and support to local artists, and curated various live music events.

We are so excited to share that, as of a few weeks ago, we have officially incorporated this collective into a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization! We know this next step will allow us to have an even greater impact on furthering arts and culture in our communities!

All of the work we have done over the past year has been made possible by grant funding, volunteers, and community support. While we are so grateful to have had these resources, we understood that they are very limited and would only be able to take us so far. We were determined to continue growing in order to expand our impact in the arts community.

We knew that the next step was to become a registered nonprofit, and we have been working tirelessly over the last several months to make this a reality. This was certainly not an easy task and although many long days and nights were spent writing bylaws, filling out government forms, and establishing our Board, we believe this was a necessary transition. This status will allow us to apply for larger grants, receive non-profit support and resources, form organizational partnerships, and receive tax-deductible donations.

We do however understand that with this growth, we will face more challenges as well. We will require a larger team, incur more expenses, and will have more legal responsibilities and requirements than before.

We are seeking financial contributions to help us properly establish this new organization and kick-start some of our creative community initiatives. Some of the expenses this will cover are:

These initial funds will be invaluable and will provide us with a solid foundation to continue to build upon.

Our Mission:

Our mission is to further arts and culture across Staten Island by organizing creative programming and events that allow artists to engage with the community. We believe the arts have the power to highlight unique voices and to unite a diverse group of individuals. We are determined to provide support and resources to creatives that will allow them to share their work and inspire change.

Some of our previous and current community programs:

Our “Sisters in the Studio” Initiative, which was funded by Staten Island Arts, connected local female songwriters with a female producer and allowed them to professionally record and release their original music at no cost to them. This project was part of our ongoing mission to correct the gender imbalance in the music industry and to uplift female creatives.

Our “Staten Island Songwriters” showcase series at Snug Harbor Cultural Center highlighted local songwriters and provided them with a platform to share their original music with the community. Thanks to sponsorships from Maker Park Radio, Staten Island Arts, and NYFA, we were able to financially support all of the featured artists.

Most recently, we have been appointed as the new director of the Westerleigh Folk Festival, an all-day music and arts festival that has been serving the community for over 15 years and has grown to be one of the most-anticipated festivals on Staten Island! We are so excited to continue this tradition!

We appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope you will consider supporting our ongoing mission!

- Julia Aponte and Brianna Montalbano