Bill de Blasio News

The Brown Arts Initiative (BAI) at Brown University today announced the launch of the Warren and Allison Kanders Lecture Series, an annual series of presentations and student interactions led by prominent contemporary artists and art-world luminaries. Designed to serve as a catalyst for open dialogue about the impact of contemporary visual art on our world, the new series will include four presentations per year beginning in October 2017. Inaugural participants include artists Nick Cave, Wangechi Mutu, and Shirin Neshat and The Studio Museum in Harlem director and chief curator Thelma Golden.

The University of Central Arkansas, in conjunction with partners in Little Rock, has produced multiple events that use the arts to spotlight the history of Little Rock's Central High School, marking the 90th anniversary of its opening and commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Desegregation Crisis in 1957. T

The University of Central Arkansas, in conjunction with partners in Little Rock, has produced multiple events that use the arts to spotlight the history of Little Rock's Central High School, marking the 90thanniversary of its opening and commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Desegregation Crisis in 1957.

BRIC, the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, has just announced the complete list of artists awarded BRIC's new ArtFP commission.

Artistic Director Jacqulyn Buglisi and Buglisi Dance Theatre are honored to be welcomed back by Lincoln Center for a 7th annual presentation of the transcendent  '9/11 Table of Silence Project,' a public performance tribute to 9/11 and prayer for peace and healing, conceived and choreographed by Jacqulyn Buglisi.  The tribute will take place Monday September 11, beginning at 8:15 AM and concluding precisely at 8:46 AM, the moment when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower.  Buglisi was inspired to create the 9/11 Table of Silence by Italian visual artist Rossella Vasta's sculptural installation of 100 ceramic plates that represent a banquet table uniting humanity.   Given the unrelenting and tragic acts of terror and violence that continue in the world,  '9/11 Table of Silence' remains as relevant and timely today as when it was first performed seven  years ago at Lincoln Center.                                        

BRIC is pleased to announce full programming for the 2017 BRIC JazzFest, the third annual edition of the celebrated Brooklyn jazz festival, conceived and curated by Jack Walsh, Lia Crockett and Brice Rosenbloom. As it expands even more in its third year, the Festival continues to deliver on the promise Nate Chinen suggested in The New York Times when he wrote, "Given what's still a limited infrastructure for jazz in Brooklyn, BRIC JazzFest could be an important force for good." The Festival takes place over the course of a week (October 14-21), featuring film, dance, panel discussion and student workshops, and culminates with a three-day concert marathon, with performances taking place simultaneously in the various spaces comprising BRIC House (647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn).

At a celebratory opening ceremony for The Jim Henson Exhibition, housed in a new gallery at Museum of the Moving Image funded by The City of New York, the First Lady of New York City Chirlane McCray, the Museum's Executive Director Carl Goodman, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer were joined by Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson, and special appearances by Abby Cadabby, Red Fraggle, and Fozzie Bear, among other guests. This major new exhibition is dedicated to the life and legacy of Jim Henson, who was a singular creative figure in the realms of television, film, and puppetry-and a New Yorker who made the City his base for family and work. The Jim Henson Exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, July 22.

Arts organizations who show an increase in the diversity among their staff and board members will see more city funding, if NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio's new "cultural plan" for the five boroughs delivers on its goals.

BRIC is pleased to announce programming and other details of the 2017 BRIC JazzFest, the third annual edition of the celebrated Brooklyn jazz festival, conceived and curated by Jack Walsh, Lia Crockett and Brice Rosenbloom. As it expands even more in its third year, the Festival continues to deliver on the promise Nate Chinen suggested in The New York Times when he wrote, "Given what's still a limited infrastructure for jazz in Brooklyn, BRIC JazzFest could be an important force for good." The Festival takes place over the course of a week (October 14-21), featuring film, dance, panel discussion and student workshops, and culminates with a three-day concert marathon, with performances taking place simultaneously in the various spaces comprising BRIC House (647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn).

BRIC has partneredwith DeKalb Market Hall (445 Albee Square West, Brooklyn), the borough's largest market hall and culinary center, to install large-scale murals by Brooklyn-based visual artists. Columbian artist Tatiana Arocha, who is best known for placing hundreds of bird cut-outs throughout the borough as a public art commentary on climate change; Nigerian-born Olalekan Jeyifous, whose 50-foot "Crown Ether" sculpture was featured at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival; and Cern, whose Fort Greene "Comandante Biggie" mural paid controversial homage to the late rapper Biggie Smalls, have each created a mural that will remain on view indefinitely at DeKalb Market Hall.

On Today, June 22 at 7:00pm, BRIC, Third Wave Fund and the Sadie Nash Leadership Project present re:SISTER: Race, Identity and the Women's Movement, a #BHeardTown Hall event at BRIC House broadcast live by BRIC TV, the award-winning Brooklyn-focused non-profit cable channel and digital network, and hosted by BRIC TV's senior correspondent, Brian Vines.

On Thursday, June 22 at 7:00pm, BRIC, Third Wave Fund and the Sadie Nash Leadership Project present re:SISTER: Race, Identity and the Women's Movement, a #BHeardTown Hall event at BRIC House broadcast live by BRIC TV, the award-winning Brooklyn-focused non-profit cable channel and digital network, and hosted by BRIC TV's senior correspondent, Brian Vines.

BRIC, the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, is pleased to announce that Brooklyn-based Ecuadorian artist Juan Miguel Marin is the first of 15 recipients to receive BRIC's inaugural ArtFP commissioning award for the 2017-18 season. The new ArtFP open call supports the creation and presentation of immersive installations by Brooklyn- and New York City-based visual artists to be exhibited in spaces throughout BRIC House, BRIC's arts and media complex in Downtown Brooklyn. Marin's work, part of his ongoing installation and performance series Under The Influence, will be on view in the main Hallway at BRIC House beginning Friday, June 30 through Saturday, October 22, 2017. Marin, who will use self-recorded Brooklyn soundscapes to guide his painting, will engage guests in the creation of the mural during installation on June 21 and 22, and at the opening reception for Under The Influence, Thursday, June 29, 7-9pm.

Cynthia Nixon has won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Lillian Hellman'S The Little Foxes. This marks Ms. Nixon's fourth Tony nomination and second win. She previously won the Tony for 2006's RABBIT HOLE. She was also nominated for 2012's WIT and 1995's INDISCRETIONS. 

Cynthia Nixon has won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for LILLIAN HELLMAN'S THE LITTLE FOXES.

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) has announced that it has successfully completed its capital campaign to stabilize the institution's finances and open a permanent home, surpassing the campaign's $69.1 million goal.

BRIC, the leading provider of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, announces the eight recipients of the annual BRICworkspace visual artistresidency program for the summer of 2017. BRIC was able to double the number of artists in residence this summer, from four to eight, due to a new donation of space at 505 State Street in Downtown Brooklyn, courtesy of Alloy Development. The summer 2017 awardees will be an all-female roster, including Nicole Awai Esperanza Cortes, Lucia Cuba, Phoebe Grip, Katya Grokhovsky, Katherine Toukhy, Jamie Warren and Monika Weiss. The residency program is now in its fourth year and is open to artists who live, work, or were born in Brooklyn.

Local One of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) announced today, their endorsement for Bill de Blasio's re-election campaign for New York City Mayor, citing the Mayor's long track record of fighting for working families and union rights.

The Preservation League of New York State has selected the 1885 sailing ship Wavertree at the South Street Seaport Museum to receive an award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.

In celebration of the GRAMMY Awards' 60th anniversary, CBS Corporation, in collaboration with The Recording Academy, the Mayor's Office of New York City and Madison Square Garden, announced THE 60TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS will be broadcast live on both coasts from New York City's Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018