HOW TO PARTICIPATE: ARTISTS

Art Connect New York’s Vision

ACNY believes art and arts professionals have a unique ability to interpret the world, connect people, and inspire insight into ourselves and the world around us. We harness the transformative power of art to affirm the human spirit and make New York a welcoming, expansive city.

ACNY creates professionally curated, themed collections of donated, original art for New York’s social service agencies and nonprofit organizations. These collections are permanently installed in the offices and facilities of the agency or organization.

What ACNY Does

• We engage curators to create themed collections for permanent installation in qualified social service agencies or not-for profit organizations.
• We maintain a database of all artworks submitted by artists and available for donation.
• We ask our curators to select artwork – from the ACNY database and/or via personal connections — to create an appropriate, themed installation.
• We facilitate installation of the work in selected agencies.
• We train recipient agencies in the proper care of original artwork.
• We coordinate the necessary paperwork so that ownership of the artwork is transferred directly from the artist to the recipient agency.
• We encourage the recipient agency to celebrate their new acquisitions with the donating artists and encourage other interactive events related to the placement.
• We look for ways to publicize the generosity of donating artists.

Why Offer Your Work for Donation?

For ACNY, it’s about the art itself (not its commercial value): your donated work will be seen and will make a difference in many people’s lives. Most importantly, you connect with people – many of whom have had little or no exposure to art – who truly benefit from the transformative power of your work. And, unlike donations for art auctions, the work will be installed, not sold: our primary consideration is your artwork itself, not its commercial value.

By donating your work, you increase your exposure and connect with a large community – other artists, curators, art enthusiasts and new art viewers. In addition, donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

How to Participate

To donate work to Art Connects New York, send us digital images of works you’d like to donate along with the Artist Form and information about yourself. Your images will be added to our database of artwork available for donation.
Work you identify for donation will stay in your possession until it is placed in a recipient agency.

Please download and complete our Artist Form.Then either:

• Email it to us at artists@artconnectsnewyork.org along with requested images and information (image identification information, resume, a brief artist’s statement and any supporting information you wish to include) or
• Send it by US Mail – Print out and complete the Artist Form and attach the requested in information and images (in jpeg or pdf format). Mail your materials to

Art Connects New York
Attention: Artist Database
491 Broadway, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10012

When we receive the images: We’ll let you know we have added them to our database. They will then be available for review by our curators as they develop specific installations. They may contact you to see the actual piece or to do a studio visit. If appropriate for an installation, the curator will include it in our proposal to the recipient agency.

We will keep your work in our database for up to three years, at which point we’ll contact you to see if you’d like to keep the work available to us. If you sell a piece that’s in our database before we’ve placed it, let us know so we can remove it – and, we hope you’ll offer us a replacement piece.

When Your Work is Selected for Placement: Our curator, or an Art Connects New York representative, will contact you directly to let you know what has been selected, for which agency, and where it will be displayed.

• We will coordinate arrangements for framing (if needed), pick-up, and transportation.
• We will prepare the paperwork for your signature – a formal Deed of Gift — to legally transfer ownership of the piece(s) from you to the recipient agency.

You will be invited to celebrate the placement of your artwork and to participate in other placement-related activities at the agency, such as panel discussions or art talks.

Art Connects New York is delighted that you are interested in sharing your work with New York City. Thank you for your generosity!

Introducing
Willy Richardson

As a prolific painter, Willy Richardson appreciates the paradox that artists face: creating art to be seen, but only selling selected pieces. "I’ve talked to a lot of other artists who, like me, want to contribute artworks because it’s the first time we’re being asked to donate for the sake of the art; the art itself is the benefit," he says. Willy donated two oil paintings to the ICD installation, one of which has the place of honor in the lobby and greets all who enter ICD’s building.

Part of the committee who first presented the art selections to ICD, Willy says, "when I met the people at the agency, the idea of receiving donated original art to benefit their clients was like a celebration for them. They were so excited by the art. And some of the staff came to my gallery opening a few weeks later. Working with Art Connects New York is a great way to get connected to other artists, curators and press, too."