In 2002 we provided information to some 450,000 artists through an interdependent network of services. A year later, NYFA’s consolidated Information & Research department served a total of 856,500 artists, and the number or artists we serves continues to grow daily.

Artists and Others Served through
Information and Technical Assistance

Programs	FY03	FY04
NYFA Source	65,000	74,000
NYFA Quarterly	80,000	85,000
NYFA Interactive	700,000	800,000
NYFA Current	10,000	18,000
Full-Time Artist Conferences	n/a	110
Outreach Initiative	1,500	1,600
TOTAL	856,500	978,710

NYFA organizes the art world's information and makes it universally accessible and useful to artists. NYFA provides a bridge between artists and the resources, services, and information they need to realize their visions and advance their careers.

"I first became aware of your Web site last July and have used it on a weekly basis since then. It is an invaluable resource for artists at any stage in their careers." - Anne Dobek, New Providence, NJ

Two years ago NYFA decided to reign in the information explosion on the Internet, make it more artist-centered, and concentrate its diversity of resources to provide working artists in all disciplines with a streamlined set of resources that would give them broad accessibility. Now, it doesn’t matter what discipline artists work in, which state they call home, or how or when they like to get information. Whether in print, online, by email, over the phone, hourly, daily, weekly, or quarterly, NYFA’s Information & Research department provides individual artists with the most comprehensive, personalized, and professional informational support in the country.

We are able to reach so many artists by rebuilding our Internet presence from the ground up. Features previously found on the NYFA’s former Arts Wire Web site were integrated and combined with a host of new features to serve each of NYFA’s constituencies: artists, arts organizations, donors, and those who are simply art-curious.

Today NYFA Interactive is the heart of an evolving, innovative, user-friendly set of information resources, most notably, NYFA Source. Growing out of NYFA’s earlier effort the Visual Artists Information Hotline, NYFA Source was developed in cooperation with the Urban Institute as a key part of its Investing in Creativity study. Never before had information on grants, awards, services, and publications for artists working in any discipline anywhere in the U.S. been made freely available in one place. As of this writing, there are more than 7,800 opportunities listed in the interactive database, with more added every day.

The success of NYFA Source has exceeded all our imaginations. It was quickly accepted by the national arts community, with 26 state arts councils linking to it and some groups shutting down their own information resource and instead linking to NYFA Source. The National Endowment for the Arts links to NYFA Source in sixteen different places on its Web site.

Over the past two years, use of NYFA Source has grown dramatically – from 38,000 in 2002 to more than 74,000 in 2004. Public radio announcements have helped make it known nationally. As well, our staff hosts demonstrations of NYFA Source for assemblies of artists large and small nationwide to help them make the best use of it, assisted by free travel provided by Continental Airlines.

"Terrific Web site. I wish we had the money to do such a site for Canadian awards and prizes." -Carol Bream, Canadian Council for the Arts

Many visual and performing artists also take advantage of the free personal assistance from NYFA Source specialists through a toll-free phone number or by email. A loyal consortium of some 18 funders, most of whom also supported the Visual Artist Information Hotline, make this resource available free of charge.

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