NYC Open Culture Program

What is the Open Culture Program?
Under the new Open Culture Program, NYC cultural organizations, groups and individual artists can apply for permits to perform, rehearse, and teach outdoors in conjunction with the city’s Open Streets Program. Artists can charge admission for these activities. Open Culture permits will be available for March 1 - October 31, 2021 via a streamlined, one stop application process with a $20 fee. The list of available spaces will be published in February 2021.

Read more about Open Culture:
https://www.6sqft.com/open-culture-program-will-bring-outdoor-art-and-live-performances-to-nyc-this-spring/

Requirements

Who is eligible for the Open Culture Program?
For Open Culture, there are 3 ways to be eligible to apply:
As a “cultural venue”, which is defined in the legislation as “an entertainment facility in the city of New York intended or designed to be used for a performance in front of a live audience”
As an “eligible art and cultural institution” which defined in the legislation as ”(i) an art or cultural group, organization or institution within the city of New York that is a member of the cultural institutions group, as determined by the department of cultural affairs, or that is eligible to apply for a grant through the cultural development fund administered by such department, or (ii) a person providing documentation of funding from a borough arts council within the prior two years.“
All others can also be sponsored by eligible organizations to apply for permits; that can be a fiscal sponsor, presenting organization/space you are working with, or a Borough Arts Council (guidelines for this are still being drafted).

Application Instructions

How do I apply?
The city is currently designing a website for Open Culture, and the application should be available February 2021.