#ThinkLiveCreative! Jan 2026
Newsletter for the GraphicDesignNY Collective of MeetUp Groups. Events, Activities and Resources for Creatives in and Around NYC.
Greetings NYC Creatives
Welcome to a new year.
You are receiving this email because you are a part of the NYC creative scene. You may have joined one of our groups on MeetUp or registered for one of our events on Eventbrite. By whatever means we crossed paths, we certainly share an appreciation for art, creativity, technology, and community.
If you are looking to meet others in the exciting NYC creative world, learn new techniques, share and promote your projects, and do some meaningful networking, you are in the right place!
Let’s Connect, Network & Promote
It has been quite some time since we have done this. We are back now, and here to stay! But we need your active participation. We are open to questions, comments, suggestions, and event ideas. If you are (or know) a designer, developer, artist, or someone seeking to kickstart similar projects, and you are interested in doing interviews, let’s talk. We are also actively looking for sponsors and collaborators to work with. All of this moves forward with your support.
Please sign up for our main contact list so we can reach out with new events, job opportunities, creative news, and exclusive invitations.
EVENTS
Public Domain Day is an online event hosted by the Internet Archive. Join them on January 21 (@10 am PT/1 pm EST) for a virtual celebration of the films, music, art, & books newly free for everyone to use, remix, & share. Register here to learn more about the dozens of creative works that will be entering the public domain!
Are you interested in Bronx art events? Great! On Saturday, January 24th, from 5 pm to 7 pm, the Bronx River Arts Center will host an artist talk for its current exhibit, “Living Matters.” Living Matter occupies the space between transformation and stillness, where materials like ceramic, mycelium, fiber, light, metal, paper, and glass are both held and in flux. The artists in this show channel the life force within these materials, evoking a sensitivity to their texture, energy, and potential to grow and change.
The event is free with registration here.
Bronx River Art Center is located at 1087 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, (718) 589-5819.
JOBS
The Producer Hub is a connective space for independent producers, artists, and other arts workers creating live performance. Their mission is to provide independent producers and artists, at every level, with the community, mentorship, education, and resources to create work, realize their full potential, and make lasting contributions to the performing arts field.
Their job board has a few dozen opportunities for people seeking employment in creative fields.
Check them out for more information.
The School of Visual Arts is having an OPEN CALL for its NYC Mural and Public Arts Residency (June 8–26, 2026), a hands-on program in New York City where artists explore the city’s street art and graffiti through tours, studio visits, public art site visits, and mural-making workshops, culminating in a collaborative outdoor mural. The residency is led by muralist Jenny Roesel Ustick, known for major public commissions in Cincinnati and mural projects across the U.S., Buenos Aires, and Sicily. Application deadline is March 1, 2026.
Exhibitions
Smack Mellon in Dumbo, Brooklyn, is presenting an exhibition with two artists. Opening Sat. Jan 24, 6-8 PM, Golnar Adili’s installation gathers sculptures and reproduced texts as a mediation on language, memory, and material. The exhibition indexes linguistic gestures from the artist’s mother and late father, who were leftist activists during the Iranian Revolution.
Also featured will be Kate Teale’s installation about architecture in and around Dumbo. The ornate concrete and brick structures impose as well as protect, highlighting persistent tensions and durations between human bodies and the spaces constructed to hold them.
Smack Mellon is located at 92 Plymouth St., Brooklyn, (718) 834-8761
Art X Fashion @ The Museum at FIT
This exhibition is a comprehensive exploration of the symbiotic relationship between the world of fashion and fine art. Featuring more than 140 objects, including garments, accessories, textiles, photographs, and original artworks drawn from MFIT’s permanent collection, Art X Fashion challenges the traditional hierarchies of visual culture, presenting fashion and art each as parallel, potent expressions of social, intellectual, and creative forces. Curated by Dr. Elizabeth Way, curator of costume and accessories at MFIT, the exhibition reflects MFIT’s mission to advance the understanding and appreciation of fashion’s critical role in culture.
This exhibition will be on display from February 19 until April 19, 2026. If you cannot attend the opening, please stop in and see the show at your convenience. Call ahead for hours.
Free Museum Days
Guggenheim - Pay as you wish Tues and Sun 4-5:30
Frick Collection - Pay as you wish Wednesdays 1:30-5:30
Museum of the Moving Image - Free Thursdays 2-6
MoMA - Free advance tickets on Fridays
The Jewish Museum - Free Saturdays
The Museum at FIT - Free Wed - Sun
NY Hall of Science - Fridays 2 - 5
Contact each location to verify because offers may change!
Grants
New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)
The 2026 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship application cycle is now open!
Accepting applications for $8,000 unrestricted cash grants in Craft/Sculpture, Digital/Electronic Arts, Nonfiction Literature, Poetry, & Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts through January 27. Open to artists living in New York State and/or one of the Tribal Nations located therein.
AT&T Untold Stories
AT&T Untold Stories is an impactful collaboration between AT&T and Tribeca Festival, dedicated to connecting creators to opportunity. This program goes beyond funding, offering comprehensive mentorship and distribution support to help get unique stories onto the big screen. Heading into its 9th year, the AT&T Untold Stories award is officially growing to $1,200,000. Submissions are open now until February 6, 2026.
CitizensNYC
Are you a New Yorker with a commitment to your community and a great idea? CitizensNYC wants to fund it.
They offer two amazing grant programs. Community Leaders Grants offer up to $5,000 for projects that bring New Yorkers together to improve neighborhood life, strengthen local leadership, and scale community partnerships.
Their Neighborhood Business Grants offer up to $5,000 for initiatives your small business undertakes to positively impact your community. They fund all kinds of community-minded businesses—from barbershops and bookstores to wellness studios, cafés, and childcare providers—who play a positive role in their neighborhood. Reach out to them for more information.
Producer Hub
Producer Hub also posts several great opportunities for those looking for grants and funding resources for their creative endeavors.
Thanks for checking out #ThinkLiveCreative!
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