NYC Cultural Affairs311 Search all NYC.gov websites
Cultural Funding
MFTA
Grants for OrganizationsCapital FundingCity-Owned InstitutionsArtists
SelectHistory of Cultural Institutions Group
History of Cultural Institutions Group
Cultural Institutions Group (CIG)
The Department of Cultural Affairs' mission of fostering dynamic public partnerships with private cultural organizations has its most dramatic expression in its relationship with the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG). The 34 members of this group are each located on City-owned property, and receive significant capital and operating support from the City to help meet basic security, maintenance, administration and energy costs. In return for this support, these institutions operate as publicly-owned facilities whose mandate is to provide cultural services accessible to all New Yorkers.
The CIG represents a broad spectrum of cultural endeavor, from art and natural history museums to historical societies, theaters, concert halls, performing arts centers, botanical gardens and zoos. Institutions range from the internationally renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Academy of Music to community-based organizations such as the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and the Staten Island Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden.
The genesis of this public-private partnership began in 1869, with the creation of the American Museum of Natural History. Since that time, each Institution's relationship with the City has commenced in ways that reflected the City's cultural priorities of the time.
Learn more about the City's relationship with these Institutions
DCLA's relationship with members of the CIG is managed by the Institutions Unit, whose staff oversees the disbursement of City funds to the institutions. Staff members also represent the Commissioner at board meetings of the institutions, monitor institutions' operations and programs on a periodic basis, provide technical assistance in various areas of non-profit management, and serve as a liaison between the institutions and other City agencies.
Links to Cultural Institutions
Expand All - Collapse All
Brooklyn Children's Museum
Weeksville Heritage Center
Wildlife Conservation Society / New York Aquarium
Bronx County Historical Society
Bronx Museum of the Arts
Wildlife Conservation Society / Bronx Zoo
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
El Museo del Barrio
Museum of the City of New York
New York City Center
Studio Museum in Harlem
Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning
MoMA PS 1
Queens Botanical Garden
Queens Theatre
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
Staten Island Children's Museum
Staten Island Historical Society
Staten Island Museum
Staten Island Zoological Society