Acra, NY—Wave Farm announces sixteen grantees for the Spring 2026 cycle of the NYSCA/Wave Farm: Media Arts Assistance Fund (MAAF) for Organizations, a regrant program with the New York State Council on the Arts. This cycle supports organizations across nine counties in New York State. We are thrilled to support these diverse organizations in their efforts to serve new audiences, build sustainable media and community infrastructure, and advance and experiment in the field of media arts. 

MAAF for Organizations 2026 grantees are: Adirondack Film, Anthology Film Archives, CultureHub, Dance Films Association, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), Franklin Furnace Archive, HUDSY Community Project, Institute for Electronic Arts (iea), Maysles Documentary Center, New York Women in Film & Television, Rhizome, Rivertown Film Society, Rooftop Films, WMHT Public Media, Woodstock Film Festival, and Youth FX.

The Media Arts Assistance Fund supports electronic media and film organizations, as well as individual artists, in all regions of New York State. For organizations, MAAF provides funds to support technical strategies for online development as well as to hire outside consultants to support organizational and professional development. MAAF prioritizes organizations that have missions specific to the media arts or dedicate the majority of their programming to technology as an art form. All applicants are current NYSCA grantees. The biannual application deadlines are May 1 and October 1.

SPRING 2026 GRANTEES AND PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

Adirondack Film (Essex County) - Technical Strategies for Online Development and Virtual Screening Infrastructure
Adirondack Film will use MAAF funding to expand ticketing capabilities online and in-person, as well as showcase film programming in an online capacity through the Eventive technology platform. Through this platform, Adirondack Film aims to increase its audience and gain a new revenue stream, solidifying efforts to advance the art of film and filmmaking in the greater Adirondack region. 

Anthology Film Archives (New York County) - Consulting for Board Development
Anthology Film Archives will use MAAF funding to hire a management consultant to support the design and implementation of board development strategies to meet the organization’s current needs and to strengthen the board’s long-term development capacity.

CultureHub (New York County) - Technical Strategies for Online Development and Scalable Improvements
CultureHub will use MAAF funding to support maintenance and improvements to its custom web-based tool for interactive livestreams, ensuring the longevity of this tool and increasing scalability and stability when presenting to large audiences. Additional improvements will include a multi-camera switching functionality that will allow audience members to engage with unique camera feeds in an interactive and individualized viewing experience. 

Dance Films Association (New York County) - Development Coaching for Organizational Resilience
Dance Films Association will use MAAF funding to hire a fundraising consultant to help build a multi-pronged fundraising strategy and support board development. This project will include crafting and executing an annual donor giving program and codifying board roles and responsibilities. This work will ensure organizational stability and growth and broaden reach and deepen engagement.

Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) (New York County) - Accessibility Updates for Virtual Educational Platform
Electronic Arts Intermix will use MAAF funding to engage a consultant to research and improve accessibility through its Educational Streaming Service (ESS), a digital resource for students and library users that provides direct streaming access to EAI’s collection. Features such as alt text and screen reader compatibility optimization will allow EAI to serve a wide audience in online learning, increasing the usability and accessibility of the organization’s online educational portal. 

Franklin Furnace Archive (Queens County) - Technical Strategies for Online Development
Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc. will use MAAF funding to support technical assistance in publishing its new Oral History Project online with a contemporary website interface and transcriptions that make the oral history recordings widely accessible. Franklin Furnace’s Oral History collection aims to preserve the voices and memories of seminal artists in the history of avant-garde art in New York and across the globe.

HUDSY Community Project (Ulster County) - Outside Consultant for Organizational Development 
HUDSY Community Project will use MAAF funding to hire a development consultant to help develop and strengthen nonprofit arts leadership working methods, organizational sustainability and resilience, and board relations. This work aims to serve the organization’s co-leadership model to support HUDSY's mission, programming, and long-term growth.

Institute for Electronic Arts (iea) (Allegany County) - Outside Consultant for Audio Systems Integration 
iea will use MAAF funding to work with an audio-visual engineering consultant. This work will include consultation on acoustic considerations, curation, collection of audio technology, and professional training for staff. The consultant will develop internal workshops and mentorship models that support ongoing maintenance of iea’s facilities. 

Maysles Documentary Center (New York County) - Consulting for Digital Systems and Development 
Maysles Documentary Center will use MAAF funding to engage an outside consultant to guide the organization in strengthening and integrating ticketing and calendar systems. This will include contact integration, enhanced ticketing functionality such as membership options, and a redesign of Maysles’ public-facing online calendar to build an efficient and audience-centered digital infrastructure.

New York Women in Film & Television (Queens County) - Outside Consultant for Digital Optimization 
New York Women in Film & Television will use MAAF funding to engage a consultant to conduct a technical assessment and strategic optimization of its website as a core platform for media arts programming and public engagement. This work will include a comprehensive audit of site architecture and content, resolution of structural inefficiencies, improved navigation, as well as a technical roadmap to support future digital platform development and access to NYWIFT’s programming for artists, industry professionals, and the public. 

Rhizome (New York County) - Outside Consulting for Organizational Development 
Rhizome will use MAAF funding to engage an outside consultant to help develop a coherent and sustainable membership road map, reviewing the organization’s current membership infrastructure and recommending improvements based on field scans, listening sessions, and peer analysis. This project will be aimed at strengthening how Rhizome supports and engages artists and audiences working in born-digital and networked media.

Rivertown Film Society (Rockland County) - Outside Consultant for Improvements in Box Office Experience and Membership and Donor Management
Rivertown Film Society will use MAAF funding to engage a consultant to design and implement improvements to box office and ticketing systems as well as management of memberships, renewals, and donations. This work will include upgrades to platform functionality and professional development for board and staff. 

Rooftop Films (Kings County) - Integrated Website & Ticketing Platform for Audience Access and Engagement
Rooftop Films will use MAAF funding to work with a web development consultant to modernize its website infrastructure and integrate the Elevent ticketing platform directly into the Rooftop Films site. The implementation of this new ticketing system will support complex scheduling, passes, and membership service for events and screenings for an improved user and audience experience.

WMHT Public Media (Rensselaer County) - Technical Strategies for Online Development and Content Management Systems
WMHT Public Media will use MAAF funding for the development of a content management system designed specifically to support the complex needs of a public media organization that produces and distributes content across broadcast, digital, and educational platforms. This work will streamline project management across the entire organization, improve internal communication, and allow WMHT to more effectively leverage its extensive and growing content library.

Woodstock Film Festival (Ulster County) - Technical Strategies and Consulting for Online Development, Access, and Innovation
Woodstock Film Festival will use MAAF funding to work with a consultant to support a strategic effort to modernize virtual infrastructure and deepen community engagement. Through website, program, and ticketing improvements, as well as new virtual and hybrid offerings and community partnerships, WFF aims to expand capacity to support filmmakers and serve their community and audiences.

Youth FX Inc. (Albany County) - Systems Thinking for Organizational Advancement
Youth FX Inc. will use MAAF funding to engage an outside consultant to guide the organization through Systems Thinking for Organizational Advancement, a focused process of analysis, reflection, and strategic planning designed to strengthen operational systems, resource alignment, and long-term sustainability as a youth-centered media arts organization. This work will use financial and programmatic data to create a contemporary picture of Youth FX’s operational systems, laying the groundwork for the organization to align financial activity with programmatic activity, identify areas of risk and vulnerability, and explore areas of potential growth across programs, operations, staffing, board development, and sustainability.

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About the New York State Council on the Arts
The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. For FY2027, the Council on the Arts will award $161 million, serving organizations and artists across all 10 state regions. The Council on the Arts further advances New York's creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit www.arts.ny.gov, and follow NYSCA's Facebook, on X, formerly known as Twitter, @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.

About Wave Farm
Wave Farm is a transmission arts organization driven by experimentation with the electromagnetic spectrum. We cultivate creative practices in radio and support artists and nonprofits in their cultural endeavors.

Based in New York’s Upper Hudson Valley, Wave Farm is a media arts center, media platform, and arts service organization. Wave Farm offers interdisciplinary outdoor installations, residencies and fellowships, and a research library. We operate FM radio station WGXC and host many online radio channels. Wave Farm provides fiscal sponsorship, consultation, and grants to artists and organizations. For more information, please visit https://wavefarm.org.