The Cultural Equity Coalition of New York (CECNY) brings together leading arts service and advocacy organizations dedicated to ensuring New York’s cultural sector truly reflects and serves the city’s extraordinary diversity. Led by representatives of the Latinx Arts Consortium of New York (LxNY), the Asian American Arts Alliance (A4), the Alliance of Resident Theaters/New York (A.R.T./New York), Dance/NYC, and IndieSpace, CECNY represents a combined constituency of more than 3,300 organizations and entities across multiple artistic disciplines and racial communities. Collectively, our members support over 100,000 artists and reach more than one million New Yorkers each year.

Grounded in the legacy and mission of the Cultural Equity Group (CEG) dating back to the early 1990s, CECNY believes that greater equity in New York City’s cultural funding and policy landscape is essential for a healthy, thriving cultural ecosystem. We see every day how artists, cultural workers, community organizations, funders, and policymakers are interconnected. When one part of this ecosystem is under-resourced, entire communities lose access to cultural opportunity, economic activity, and creative expression. When equity is prioritized, neighborhoods thrive and the cultural sector can more fully serve all New Yorkers.

We apply our vision for the equitable distribution of public services and resources to goals including reforming the application, evaluation, and procurement process for the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Development Fund (CDF). We conduct research on the state of the field, engaging our own constituents and collaborating with partners across the cultural sector to advocate for increased investment in DCLA and cultural funding throughout New York City.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to share how our member organizations support communities across the city, and how thoughtful cultural policy can strengthen New York’s creative economy and civic life.

Updated Feb, 2026