New York City has doubled the amount of city-funded grants available to individual artists, lifting the ceiling from $5,000 to $10,000. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij announced the increase in a video on 2 October, describing it as the first raise in the grant level in nearly two decades. The DCLA disperses the funds through local partners across the boroughs, which then administer them to artists, arts nonprofits and cultural organisations. "Artists are forced to make hard choices when it comes to living in this city and getting paid," Mamdani said in the announcement, in which he paints at an easel alongside Vij. "There's never been a better time to apply. Anyone who's an artist in our city and has a vision is welcome to." Vij added that artists are "the beating heart of this city," even as making a living as one has grown harder. Applications are currently open in all boroughs except Staten Island, which opens in November. Deadlines vary by borough partner: the Bronx Council on the Arts accepts applications until 30 October, the Brooklyn Arts Council until 11 October, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council until 12 November, and the New York Foundation for the Arts in Queens until 17 November. The increase follows a record year for city arts funding. In July, Mamdani reached an agreement with the City Council to allocate $323.8 million to the DCLA for the 2027 fiscal year, the largest appropriation in city history, including a $10 million-per-year Cultural Stability Fund for nonprofits. The move responds to a documented affordability crisis for the city's artists. A January report from the Center for an Urban Future found the resident artist population has fallen 4.4% since 2019, the first measurable decline in decades, pointing to shortages of affordable housing and income stability. Separately, the DCLA's Materials for the Arts programme will begin a new monthly shopping programme for grantees on 19 October, offering free materials from its 35,000-square-foot warehouse of donated arts supplies.