Newest Recipients of the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre

Celebrates Culmination of Multi-Year, $10 Million Total Investment by the City of New York to Bring Equity to Entertainment Sectors

Former Fund Recipients Include Emmy & Obie-Winning, Grammy-Nominated Creators

The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), in partnership with New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), has identified 72 new recipients, to receive $1.3 million total, in the fifth and final round of the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre.

First announced in 2018 as a $5 million investment by the City of NY, the fund has expanded twice, in 2022 and 2023, for a grand total investment of $10 million. This groundbreaking initiative has targeted the underrepresentation and equity challenges that women have historically faced in the media and entertainment industries, providing grants to a total of 415 projects(72 in 2024, 97 in 2023, 89 in 2022, 94 in 2020, and 63 in 2019). The fund supports projects made by, for, or about women, and/or prominently feature a woman’s perspective.

The full lists of categories, awarded projects, and industry panelists who made the selections can be found at nyc.gov/nycwomensfund.

Selected from 1105 applications, the fifth round of NYC Women’s Fund projects represent a broad range of work by a diverse group of creatives at various stages of their careers. Grants were awarded in nine categories including general music, classical/jazz/experimental music, theatre productions, fiction shorts, documentary features, documentary shorts, documentary webisodes/webseries and fiction webisodes/webseries, and fiction features.

For the fourth year in a row, residents of Brooklyn make up more than half of Cycle 5 recipients. Projects range in genres and topics, including a focus on New York City stories:

• Brownsville Bred, from writer/director Elaine Del Valle (Brooklyn), a Nuyorican girl gains resilience as she copes with the decline of the salsa musician father she once idolized and the notorious neighborhood she calls home.
• Keeper, from Hannah Rafkin (Bronx), a documentary short about a Bronx beekeeper and his daughter as they care for their hives, and each other.
• My Love Story, from Kissatou (Queens), an EP featuring 4 distinct tracks of original love songs, sung in English, French and Dioula, a testament to an immigrant’s experience.
• STORMÉ, from playwright Carolyn M. Brown (Queens), a theatre production about the life of Stormé DeLarverie and her role in the Stonewall Rebellion.
• West Side Familia, from director/producer Taylor Michele Hosking (Manhattan), a documentary short that follows the story of a Puerto Rican-led biker gang from the 70s.

Examples of success for previous NYC Women’s Fund program participants include:

• Michele Stephenson and Joe Brewster (2021 Grantee, Brooklyn) – Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project became the first-ever Emmy-winning project for a NYC Women’s Fund recipient for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking in 2024.
• Roundabout Theatre, Sanaz Toossi playwright, in partnership with Atlantic Theatre Company (2021 Grantee, Brooklyn) – ENGLISH, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play named “best new American play staged Off Broadway over a two-year period” at the 2023 Obie Awards, will be staged again in 2025 at Todd Haimes Theatre.
• Jane Ira Bloom (2021 Grantee, Manhattan) – Picturing the Invisible – Focus 1, nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album.
• Catya Plate (2023 Grantee, Brooklyn) – LAS NOGAS, won Best Animation at the Queens World Film Festival and Best Animation at the Queens World Film Festival.
• Renee Goust (2021 Grantee, Brooklyn) – Appointed as a Cultural Ambassador of the United States through the American Music Abroad program.

More About the 2024 NYC Women’s Fund For Music, Media and Theatre:

The 72 grants were awarded across various artistic categories:

• General Music: 12 projects, each receiving up to $20,000
• Theatre Productions: 14 projects, each receiving up to $50,000
• Classical/Jazz/Experimental Music: 9 projects, each receiving up to $20,000
• Fiction Shorts: 15 projects, each receiving up to $25,000
• Documentary Features: 9 projects, each receiving up to $50,000
• Documentary Shorts: 4 projects, each receiving up to $25,000
• Documentary Webisodes/Webseries: 3 projects, each receiving up to $20,000
• Fiction Webisodes/Webseries: 3 projects, each receiving up to $20,000
• Fiction Features: 3 projects, each receiving up to $50,000

A panel of 48 industry experts evaluated the submissions, including:

• Karen McMullen: Festival Director and Head of Programming, Urbanworld Film Festival + DOC NYC Film Festival
• Roselly Torres: Distribution & Marketing Director, Third World Newsreel
• Christiamilda Correra: Director, Development & Communications, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking
• Jordyn Jay: Executive Director, Black Trans Femmes in the Arts
• Mahen Bonetti: Founder and Executive Director, African Film Festival
• Sarah Luciano: Associate Director of Special Programs, Museum of Moving Image
• Pia Agrawal: Executive Director, Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island
• Shadawn Smith: Executive Director, The Billie Holiday Theatre