named programs · 4 · from sources
What they call their work
CTHQ
Creative Time’s gathering space for art and politics in New York City, hosting public programs, exhibitions, and community events.
Creative Time Summit
An annual gathering of artists, activists, and thinkers working at the intersection of art and politics, featuring panels, workshops, and public discourse in New York and global cities.
If you hear something, free something
Chloë Bass’s sound art project using MTA subway station PA systems to promote everyday care and connection among transit riders through poetic announcements in multiple languages.
Toward Sanctuary
A series of programs co-curated with artists and organizers exploring sanctuary through art, mutual aid, and community care, culminating in Guadalupe Maravilla’s public art commission.
activities · 4 groups
What they do
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Site-Specific Artistic Installations and Performances 1 activity
- Commissioning and producing large-scale public art projectsCommissions, produces, and presents temporary, site-specific public art installations by contemporary artists in New York City, across the U.S., internationally, and in outer space. Has commissioned over 350 projects since 1974, including major works such as Kara Walker’s A Subtlety, Duke Riley’s illuminated pigeons, Pedro Reyes’s Doomocracy, and Chloë Bass’s subway sound installation.
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Trauma-Informed Community Resilience Initiatives 1 activity
- Hosting public programs on sanctuary, community care, and socially engaged artOrganizes a series of public programs focused on sanctuary, healing, and community care, hosted at CTHQ and other locations including nightclubs, urban farms, and transit stations. Events include teach-ins, healing sessions, performances, dialogues, and celebrations centered on immigrant rights, queer nightlife, plant-based healing, and grassroots organizing.
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Professional Conference & Symposium Organization 1 activity
- Organizing the Creative Time SummitHosts an annual convening that brings together artists, activists, and thought leaders to address urgent social and political issues, with in-person attendance exceeding 10,000 since 2009 and remote engagement through livestreams and over 150 global satellite sites. The Summit has been held in multiple cities including New York, Stockholm, Venice, Washington D.C., Toronto, and Miami.
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Benefit Events for Arts and Culture 1 activity
- Producing public art events and benefit programsOrganizes public art events such as the Sandcastle Competition at Rockaway Beach and the Sandcastles Benefit Bash at The Rockaway Hotel, which engage artists and community members while supporting artist-led public art initiatives.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.98M
Contributions & grants$2.26M114%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$64K3%
Other revenue$-350K
expenses
Total expenses$2.88M
Program expenses72%
Admin / overhead14%
Fundraising13%
Salaries & benefits$1.27M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$3.36M
Cash$1.06M
Investments$358K
Liabilities$42K
Net assets$3.32M
Liquid reserves5.9 mo
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -49.5%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 2
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| JUSTINE LUDWIG | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $256K |
| AMBER SASSE | HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT | 40 | $115K |
board members · 23
- AMANDA WEIL — BOARD MEMBER
- ANNA-MARIE WASCHER — BOARD MEMBER
- BETTINA PRENTICE — BOARD MEMBER
- CAROLYN RAMO — BOARD MEMBER
- CRISTINA GRAJALES — BOARD MEMBER
- DANA FAROUKI — BOARD MEMBER
- ERIC RICHTER — TREASURER
- FRANCESCA CAMPBELL — BOARD MEMBER
- JED WALENTAS — BOARD MEMBER
- JON NEIDICH — BOARD CHAIR
- KATE YOUNG — BOARD MEMBER
- LILY JOHNSON WHITE — BOARD MEMBER
- MARGARET WANG — BOARD MEMBER
- MARIE DOUGLAS — BOARD MEMBER
- PABLO HELGUERA — BOARD MEMBER
- PATRICK LI — BOARD MEMBER
- PEDRO REYES — BOARD MEMBER
- PHILIP AARONS — FORMER BOARD MEMBER
- RENEE ROCKEFELLER — BOARD MEMBER
- SARAH LEWIS — BOARD MEMBER
- SHIRIN NESHAT — BOARD MEMBER
- SOFIA HERNANDEZ CHONG CUY — BOARD MEMBER
- STEPHANIE INGRASSIA — FORMER BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 44
Who they work with
- Black Alliance for Just Immigration Partner — Collaborates on the "We Keep Us Safe" public program series examining sanctuary movements and immigrant safety.
- Bloomberg Philanthropies Funder — Major supporter of Creative Time in 2024.
- Bloomberg Philanthropies Funder — Provided programming support for Creative Time in 2025.
- Body Hack Partner — Co-presents the "Sanctuary After Dark" program exploring queer nightlife as sanctuary.
- Chto Delat? Partner — Russian multidisciplinary collective featured as a participant in the Creative Time Summit.
- Creative Time Summit Partner — Program through which Creative Time expands its international reach and engages with diverse global traditions.
- Democracy Now! Partner — Media organization represented at the Summit by its host and executive producer Amy Goodman.
- Duke Riley Partner — Collaborated on the creation of a public art installation featuring an illuminated flock of pigeons at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
- Herban Cura Partner — Partners on the "Tending Sanctuary" event celebrating plant-based healing and mutual aid.
- Kara Walker Partner — Collaborated on the creation of a large-scale public art installation featuring a sugar sphinx at the Domino Sugar Factory.
- Lambent Foundation Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation Funder — Major supporter of Creative Time in 2024.
- Lambent Foundation Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation Funder — Provided programming support for Creative Time in 2025.
- MTA Arts & Design Partner — Collaborates with Creative Time on public art commissions, including the project "If you hear something, free something" by Chloë Bass.
- MTA Arts & Design Partner — Presented a public art commission together on the New York City Transit PA system.
- New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Government — Provided public funds for Creative Time’s programming in partnership with the City Council and Mayor’s office.
- New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Government — Provides public funds to Creative Time in partnership with the City Council and Mayor Eric Adams.
- New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Government — Public funder supporting Creative Time through city funds in partnership with the City Council in 2024.
- New York Foundation for the Arts Partner — Yukiko Yamagata is part of the 2025 cohort of New York Foundation for the Arts’ Incubator for Executive Leaders of Color.
- New York State Council on the Arts Government — Provided public funding support for Creative Time’s programming with support from the Governor and State Legislature.
- New York State Council on the Arts Government — Provided public support to Creative Time with funding from Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
- New York State Council on the Arts Government — Public funder supporting Creative Time with state funds in 2024.
- Open Society Foundations Partner — Yukiko Yamagata previously led global arts, culture, and photography programs at Open Society Foundations.
- Peace is Loud Partner — Yukiko Yamagata is an executive board member of Peace is Loud.
- Pedro Reyes Partner — Collaborated on the creation of a public art installation, a haunted house of political horrors, at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
- Red Canary Song Partner — Hosts a performance and film premiere centered on care, labor, and nourishment in migrant sex worker communities.
- Rockefeller Foundation Funder — Provided programming support for Creative Time in 2025.
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Partner — Yukiko Yamagata held curatorial and research positions at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
- TTA Healing Studio Partner — Leads a public healing session on cultivating inner sanctuary through reiki and ancestral connection.
- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Funder — Major supporter of Creative Time in 2024.
- The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Funder — Provided programming support for Creative Time in 2025.
+ 14 more
strategies · 5
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.
- Artist-Centered Public Engagementmethodology: artist_centered_public_engagementBy affirming artists as essential voices in public life and supporting their creative expression in shared spaces, we foster civic dialogue and shape societal values, because artistic perspectives uniquely disrupt dominant narratives and invite reflective public engagement.
- Cross-Sector Collaboration for Cultural Exchangemethodology: cross_sector_collaborationBy developing partnerships across sectors and disciplines, we transcend silos and foster cross-cultural exchange, because collaborative infrastructures amplify the reach and impact of socially engaged art and build resilient artistic communities.
- Inclusive, Research-Informed Civic Dialoguemethodology: inclusive_multi-perspective_dialogueBy conducting thorough research on sensitive issues and inviting multiple perspectives, we foster inclusive and respectful civic dialogue, because informed, pluralistic inquiry enables honest engagement across difference and strengthens democratic participation through art.
- Public Art as Disruptive Social Interventionmethodology: artistic_disruption_of_public_narrativesBy placing artistic interventions in high-visibility or institutional public spaces like transit systems, we disrupt fear-based narratives and cultivate emotional connection among strangers, because unexpected art in routine environments shifts public affect and opens space for reflection and solidarity.
- Socially Engaged Art for Collective Healing and Visioningmethodology: liberatory_practiceBy integrating art with politics and social practice in public spaces, we cultivate sanctuary, healing, and collective action, because community-centered artistic processes rooted in historical and liberatory practices enable emotional connection, reflection, and transformative social change.