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Q&A
Discussion on new Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) members
2:37:08
·
155 sec
Council Member Rivera inquires about the status of new Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) members. Commissioner Cumbo reveals that they are close to announcing potentially five new organizations, one from each borough, focusing on underserved communities and city-owned properties.
- DCLA is planning to add up to five new CIG members, one from each borough
- Selection criteria include being on city-owned property and serving underresourced communities
- This expansion is the largest increase in CIG membership in over 30 years
Carlina Rivera
2:37:08
And I know you're always looking to grow.
2:37:11
I mean ideally that's what we would want, expansion.
2:37:14
I know we're expanding the number of cultural institution groups there are.
2:37:19
The preliminary plan included 3,000,000 in baseline funding for new SIGs.
2:37:24
You mentioned in your testimony you really have to see if the designation is the right fit.
2:37:30
Have the new SIGs been determined and if so which institutions are they in in which boroughs?
Lauri Cumbo
2:37:38
I'm excited about that question.
2:37:41
I wish I could give you the announcement that we're all waiting on with pins and needles on to announce who those organizations are, but at
Carlina Rivera
2:37:49
this time Are you close?
2:37:50
We're close.
2:37:51
Okay.
Lauri Cumbo
2:37:52
We're really close.
2:37:55
We're so close, but it's going to be potentially five organizations, one from each borough.
2:38:02
We wanted to make sure that we prioritized organizations that are on city owned property, which is a criteria to making sure that we can support these organizations, but also we wanted to bring it to all five boroughs and communities that have typically been underserved and under resourced, similar to the Equity Fund, but in a different way.
2:38:25
So we wanted to make sure that the organizations were on city owned property, that it was a good fit for the organization, understanding the financial viability of the organization, and so it's a really intensive process in terms of determining whether CIG status is a right fit for the city and the organization because there are many factors that could come into play in terms of ownership of the property.
2:38:53
Do organizations want to work with the city in that way?
2:38:58
Many organizations have really expansive portfolios where they own properties all across the city.
2:39:05
Some are leased, some are owned, some are rented.
2:39:08
So there are a lot of complexities that go into determining if an organization is a right fit for the cultural institution group.
2:39:16
And so we are continuing to undergo that vetting process.
2:39:20
We're really excited about it.
2:39:22
There hasn't been an increase of the cultural institution group of this magnitude in over thirty years.
2:39:28
So we're really excited to again to continue to make herstory along with the expansion of the baseline budget, the expansion of the cultural institution groups, as well as an increase to our local arts councils by 15%.