Originally established as the Balkan Arts Center in 1968, CTMD assists the city's ethnic and immigrant communities in maintaining their traditions and cultural heritage.
Over the past five decades, CTMD's programs have led to the creation of nationally renowned ensembles, folk arts festivals, and community-based cultural organizations.
CTMD provides the public with a full calendar of events designed to showcase and promote the diversity of New York City's performing arts traditions.
With the financial support of the NEA, Koenig and Raim proceeded to build an organization that would focus exclusively on the music and dance traditions of New York City's immigrant and ethnic populations.
"[1] Towards this end, CTMD has established and collaborated on a number of projects, including Community Cultural Initiatives (CCI), Sharing Traditions youth education programs, Touring Artist series, an extensive archive of audio and visual documents from over forty years of performances and events, the production of major festivals, the publication of printed materials, and the release of audio and visual recordings.
CCI programs are also designed to promote sustained interest in and financial support for the performing arts traditions of New York's diverse communities.
The middle phase of the CCI model, generally lasting three years, involves program development through ongoing collaboration between CTMD and local artists, teachers, and organizations.
The Mariachi Academy of New York and Pachamama Peruvian Arts are two recent examples of successful organizations that evolved from Sharing Traditions programs.
Fiscal Sponsorship/Technical Assistance CTMD provides a variety of services and training opportunities for artists, ensembles, and newly formed cultural organizations.
The facilities will include a theatre, gallery, library, music school, study center, cafe, gift shop, and an archive of historic images and recordings.