NYC Cultural Institutions Group Taps New Leaders
Stephanie Hill Wilchfort of the Museum of the City of New York and Atiba Edwards of the Brooklyn Children's Museum will lead the coalition of city-funded institutions.
The Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), a coalition of 39 city-funded New York City arts and cultural organizations, has appointed a new leadership committee following an election at the Studio Museum in Harlem yesterday, December 9.
Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, director and president of the Museum of the City of New York, will become chair of the coalition, and Atiba Edwards, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and incoming member of Zohran Mamdani's Committee on Arts and Culture, will serve as its executive vice chair. The vote also determined two at-large members and five vice chairs representing each borough.
The CIG dates back to 1869, when state legislation authorized the building of the American Museum of Natural History on city-owned property, beginning a new era for public-private partnerships with NYC institutions. Among the group's earliest members are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Botanical Garden, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now known as the Brooklyn Museum).
The group's chair manages the annual budget, determines advocacy efforts, and represents members before city officials and the public.
The leadership announcement comes after the CIG added five organizations to the coalition in September, including the BRIC in Brooklyn and the Bronx Children’s Museum. The CIG received $183 million of the $299.6 million allocated to the city's Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) this year, marking a historic $75 million increase to the group's budget.
"New York City’s cultural institutions are essential to the vibrancy, resilience, and imagination of our communities," Wilchfort said in a statement shared with Hyperallergic. "I look forward to working closely with my colleagues across the CIG and with City leadership to continue building a cultural sector that is accessible, inclusive, and reflective of the extraordinary diversity of our city."
Wilchfort previously served as the executive vice chair under Chair Coco Killingsworth, vice president of social creative impact at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
"I look forward to working alongside Stephanie and our CIG partners to champion equity, expand access, and ensure that every child, family, and neighborhood sees themselves reflected in the cultural landscape of New York City,” Edwards said.
A full list of the new CIG leadership is below.
Chair
Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, director and president of the Museum of the City of New York
Executive Vice Chair
Atiba Edwards, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Members-at-large
Confidential & EmbargoedAziz Isham, Executive Director of the Museum of the Moving Image
Frances Escano, Associate Vice President of Government Affairs at the New York Hall of Science
Vice-Chairs
Raymond Codrington, Weeksville Heritage Center (Brooklyn)
Aaron Bouska, New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Norah Yahya, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Manhattan)
Evie Hantzopoulos, Queens Botanical Garden (Queens)
Jessica Baker Vodoor, Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden (Staten Island)
