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CULTURE PUSH INC

NEW YORK, NY · EIN 263250931 · Form 990EZ · FY2024 · NTEE A20 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Small ($100K-$1M) · culturepush.org
revenue
$178K
expenses
$124K
net assets
$142K
employees
mission · from form 990

TO CREATE PROGRAMS TO NURTURE ARTISTS AND OTHER CREATIVE PEOPLE WHO ARE APPROACHING COMMON PROBLEMS THROUGH HANDS-ON CIVIC PARTICIPATION

profile · synthesized from sources

Culture Push is a New York-based nonprofit that nurtures artists and creative practitioners engaged in civic participation. It supports interdisciplinary fellows working at the intersection of art, social justice, and community-based practices. The organization funds and platforms projects that explore themes like climate justice, Black utopias, disability arts, and cultural preservation through hands-on, participatory methods.

named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

Black Utopian Fellowship
Supports Black artists exploring themes of utopia, identity, heritage, and community through interdisciplinary practices including performance, storytelling, and ritual.
Climate Justice Fellowship
Funds artists addressing climate change, ecological imaginaries, and environmental justice through research-based art, oral history, and public engagement.
Culture Push Fellowship
General fellowship program for interdisciplinary artists using civic participation, co-creation, and community-based methods to address social and cultural issues.
Disability Arts + Dreaming Fellowship
Supports disabled artists creating work that centers disability culture, chronic pain, and inclusive performance practices.
activities · 7 groups

What they do

  • Worker Rights Advocacy & Wage Protection 1 activity
    • Advocacy for sex workers’ rights and decriminalization
      Advocates for sex workers’ rights and against sex trafficking and financial discrimination at city, state, and federal levels, including serving on the Steering Committee of The National Survivor Network, a pro-sex work and pro-decriminalization anti-trafficking organization.
  • Community-Engaged Public Art Projects 1 activity
    • Community-engaged art and research projects
      Supports and produces participatory art projects that combine civic engagement with creative practice, including co-creating Afro-Andean Funk performances, developing lived art experiences through daily practices like litter-picking, creating installations using oral histories and decentralized storytelling, and conducting workshops using film and animation to unlearn settler colonialism and capitalism.
  • Artist Support Grants 1 activity
    • Fellowship for Utopian Practice
      Operates a process-based fellowship program that supports artists and creative practitioners in testing new ideas through civic engagement, providing financial and institutional support including stipends, mentoring, feedback, and fiscal sponsorship. Fellows have conducted projects such as radical free libraries, dances with individuals in solitary confinement, wage-theft identification apps, and site-specific research on climate change.
  • Archival Digitization and Preservation 1 activity
    • Multimedia library of programs and events
      Maintains a multimedia library documenting ongoing and past programs, including exhibitions, artists' events, projects, and symposia, to preserve and share the organization’s civic and artistic engagement over time.
  • Literary and Cultural Publishing 1 activity
    • PUSH/PULL online journal and publication
      Operates PUSH/PULL, an online journal and zine series that serves as a virtual forum for dialogue among fellows, the Culture Push community, and the public. Includes thematic issues such as 'Heirlooms' and features curated content exploring lineage, inheritance, and community narratives.
  • Professional Conference & Symposium Organization 1 activity
    • Show Don't Tell Symposium
      Hosts an annual public symposium showcasing the work of Culture Push Fellows and Associated Artists, featuring workshops, screenings, panel discussions, and presentations across New York City. Events are offered free of charge to the public and include participatory programming such as city walks and embodied practices.
  • Uncategorized 2 activities
    • Digital archive and research on Black web culture and sex work
      Creates and maintains a digital archive of multimedia content including images, videos, interviews, academic journals, art, and writing related to Black web culture and sex work, and contributes writings to publications on sex work, feminism, and body autonomy from 2009 to 2025.
    • Fiscal sponsorship and financial pass-through services
      Provides fiscal sponsorship to Fellows, Associated Artists, and partner organizations to support projects focused on healing, community empowerment, and cultural enrichment, and acts as a fiscal pass-through for emergency and mutual aid funds.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$178K
Contributions & grants$138K78%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$10%
Other revenue$39K
expenses
Total expenses$124K
Program expenses
Admin / overhead
Fundraising
Salaries & benefits
Grants paid out
balance sheet
Total assets$455K
Cash
Investments
Liabilities
Net assets$142K
5 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +89.1%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
CLARINDA MAC LOW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $11K
board members · 3
  • CAROLYN HALL — BOARD MEMBER
  • LAURA NOVA — BOARD MEMBER
  • NADIA TYKULSKER — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 76

Who they work with

  • Abuela neighborhood maintenance Partner — Fiscally sponsored project supporting community care and neighborhood maintenance.
  • Alicia Raquel / Common Knowledge Dance Partner — Fiscally sponsored artist project integrating dance and shared knowledge practices.
  • Amos Eno Gallery Partner — Collaborates with Amos Eno Gallery on public workshops, screenings, and presentations.
  • Asian American Arts Alliance Funder — Provided support for the work of artist duo hú-tu (Laura 嘟嘟 & huiyin zhou)
  • BAAD Partner — Co-hosted Dancing Futures Residency with Pepatian, where Mai’yah Kau was artist in residence in 2024
  • BRIC Funder — Provided support for the work of artist duo hú-tu (Laura 嘟嘟 & huiyin zhou)
  • Bailey’s Cafe Partner — Hosted events for the 2025 Show Don't Tell Symposium.
  • Be A Hero Partner — Partnered with Be A Hero to include their representative in a community discussion on healthcare justice.
  • Christopher Unpezverde Núñez Partner — Fiscally sponsored individual artist advancing cultural and community-based practices.
  • Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) Los Angeles Partner — Collaborates on advocacy for sex workers’ rights and anti-trafficking efforts.
  • Creative Legacy Projects Partner — Fiscally sponsored initiative fostering intergenerational cultural exchange and community storytelling.
  • Culture Project Partner — Presented work by a Culture Push fellow
  • DAEDALUS Funder — Receives support from DAEDALUS.
  • Damonique Ballou / Our Name Is Mara Partner — Fiscally sponsored artist project supporting creative expression and identity exploration.
  • Dance for Solidarity Partner — Past fiscally sponsored project using dance as a tool for social solidarity.
  • Day With(out) Art / Day With(out) Art Partner — Fiscally sponsored arts initiative engaging with HIV/AIDS awareness and care.
  • Dayonesart Partner — Collaborated on hosting outdoor art classes during the 2023 Show Don't Tell Symposium.
  • De Parade Partner — Presented work by a Culture Push fellow
  • Decrim NY Partner — Collaborates on advocacy for decriminalization of sex work in New York.
  • Durham Arts Council Funder — Provided support for the work of artist duo hú-tu (Laura 嘟嘟 & huiyin zhou)
  • Dye House Partner — Presented work by fellow Dai Asano
  • Eureka! Press Partner — Co-hosted the Divine Fellowship with Public Assistants, awarded to Mai’yah Kau
  • FABnyc Partner — Collaborates with FABnyc on public workshops, screenings, and presentations.
  • Flux Factory Partner — Hosted events for the 2025 Show Don't Tell Symposium.
  • Ford Foundation Live Gallery Partner — Presented work by fellow Dai Asano
  • Foundation for Contemporary Arts Funder — Provided support for the work of artist duo hú-tu (Laura 嘟嘟 & huiyin zhou)
  • Free Speech Coalition Partner — Collaborates on advocacy for sex workers’ rights and free speech protections.
  • Freedom Network Partner — Collaborates on advocacy for sex workers’ rights and against trafficking and financial discrimination.
  • Glastonbury Partner — Presented work by a Culture Push fellow
  • Graduate Center, CUNY Partner — Hosted exhibition of fellow Chloe Smolarski's installation at the James Gallery
+ 46 more
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Civic Engagement Through Art and Imagination
    methodology: civic-engaged-art
    By using public art, workshops, and performances as entry points, we foster civic participation and collective imagination, because creative, participatory experiences enable communities to envision and enact social change in accessible and joyful ways.
  • Decolonial and Embodied Unlearning Through Art
    methodology: decolonial_unlearning
    By intervening in the designed environment and everyday life through sculpture, performance, and daily artistic practices, we challenge systems of settler colonialism and capitalism, because embodied, lived experiences are essential sites for unlearning oppressive structures and reimagining relational futures.
  • Participatory Art for Social Wellness and Healing
    methodology: participatory_art_for_social_wellness
    By designing co-created, embodied, and accessible art experiences in public and sacred spaces, we reduce social isolation and support healing, because participatory art fosters connection, challenges oppressive norms, and transforms sites of trauma into spaces of communal celebration.