ArtsWestchester Wins Grant for 2023 Exhibition, “Crossing Borders”

ArtsWestchester has won a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to commission new work for a 2023 exhibition.

“Crossing Borders: The Art of Memory and Heritage” is a visual art exhibition featuring artists who identify as new or first-generation Americans, and whose works engage with and reflect on the contemporary immigrant experience.

“This exhibition is a key initiative in our five-year equity, diversity, and inclusion strategic plan, which includes increased collaboration with and representation of Westchester’s diverse communities,” said ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam. “As Americans, we need to hear the voices and aspirations of newcomers to our country so we can help them realize their hopes and dreams, as others did for us.”

Crossing Borders revisits the themes of a 2015 exhibition which was also made possible with an NEA grant. The $40,000 NEA funds will support the creation and presentation of new works.

“We are profoundly thankful to the NEA for its continuing support that allows us to celebrate Westchester’s diverse community of artists,” said Langsam.

The commissioned artists will use objects and their associations as vehicles, or grapple with the complex history of portraiture to unpack their cultural identities and the act of remembering. The artists will blend their everyday experiences with their inherited legacies to produce varied but impactful personal contemplations on experiences that transcend a singular ethnic or cultural group.

ArtsWestchester’s project is among 1,248 projects across the United States totaling $28.8 million that were selected for funding. 

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from ArtsWestchester that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers, who announced the awards. “ArtsWestchester in White Plains is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”