Governor Paterson Names Danny Simmons, Co-Founder Of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation As New Member Of The New York State Council On The Arts (NYSCA)

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(New York, NY)-January 22, 2009 – New York State Governor David Paterson and the New York State Senate announce Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation Co-founder Danny Simmons as a Member of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

NYSCA makes over 2500 grants each year to arts organizations in every arts discipline throughout the state. NYSCA’s goal is to bring high-quality artistic programs to the citizens of the state by supporting the activities of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. The council is comprised of up to 20 individuals who are appointed by the Governor and approved by the State Senate.

“New York State, like everywhere else, is facing unprecedented budget constraints. The Arts are not immune to reductions in budget and services. We are going to have to find new and innovative ways to keep the cultural landscape vibrant throughout these hard times. I will be working diligently with my fellow trustees at NYSCA to ensure that both large and small organizations, as well as individual artists, are able to continue to produce and present quality work to the people of New York State,” says Danny Simmons.

Danny Simmons is the Vice-Chairman and Co-founder of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, a New York-based foundation dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts, as well as providing exhibition opportunities to under-represented artists and artists of color. Mr. Simmons is also the President of the Rush Arts Gallery, Executive Producer of Def Poetry Jam, the founder of the Corridor Gallery, and serves on the executive boards of the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He is also an accomplished painter and curator whose work has been shown across the country. Mr. Simmons holds an M.A. in Public Finance from Long Island University and studied social work as an undergraduate at New York University.

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