March 14, 2006

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced on March 8 that it will award more than $27 million in grants to Lower Manhattan cultural institutions. Much of the money will go toward funding construction projects.

That largest grant, $2 million, will go to the New Museum of Contemporary Art, which broke ground for a new seven-story home on the Lower East Side, designed by Sejima + Nishizawa/SANAA, in October, 2005. In its fundraising materials, the museum estimates the total cost of the new building at $50 million.

The National Museum of the American Indian will receive $1.5 million toward the completion of its new education pavilion, which is scheduled for completion this spring. The 6,000-square-foot pavilion, designed by Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn, will occupy space under the museum's rotunda in the old U.S. Custom House. Other cultural institutions receiving money for capital projects include the Henry Street Settlement, a theater complex; The Flea Theater, an off-off-Broadway troupe; and WNYC radio.

The grants will aid over 63 Lower Manhattan arts organizations and projects in all. They will also help fund organizations' exhibitions, events, and general capital needs.

Kevin Lerner

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