Tom Finkelpearl News

Today, MCC Theater Artistic Directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, and Executive Director Blake West officially opened MCC's first permanent home, The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space.

The service organization Dance/NYC is pleased to announce the release of Immigrants. Dance. Arts.: Data on NYC Dance, prepared in collaboration with the Immigrants. Dance. Arts. Task Force.

Dance/NYC, New York City's leading organization dedicated to promoting the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan area, will host an Immigrants. Dance. Arts. Conference on Thursday, November 8, 2018, presented in partnership with the New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and The Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College with performances curated by Queens Theatre. This free, day-long series of convening will gather leaders in dance and immigrant communities to consider the role of dance artistry in fostering the inclusion, integration, and human rights of local immigrants. Hundreds will attend panel discussions, interactive workshops, individual legal consultations, a networking lunch, and more. Visit Dance.NYC/IDAC for the complete program.

Dance/NYC, New York City's leading organization dedicated to promoting the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan area, will host an Immigrants. Dance. Arts. Conference on Thursday, November 8, 2018, presented in partnership with the New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and The Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College with performances curated by Queens Theatre. This free, day-long series of convening will gather leaders in dance and immigrant communities to consider the role of dance artistry in fostering the inclusion, integration, and human rights of local immigrants. Hundreds will attend panel discussions, interactive workshops, individual legal consultations, a networking lunch, and more. Visit Dance.NYC/IDAC for the complete program.

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) today announced that the City has allocated $1.9 million in new capital funding for LAHM to support the renovation of Selma's House, an integral part of the expanding Louis Armstrong cultural center campus in Corona. This brings total City investment in the renovation of Selma's House to $3.53 million. Now fully funded, the project will enable the restoration and renovation of the historic house of Selma Heraldo, long-time neighbor and close friend of Louis and Lucille Armstrong. Selma's House, as it is commonly called, is located next to the Louis Armstrong House, a National and NYC Landmark.

Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl and City Council Member and Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer today joined cultural stakeholders from across the city to announce $43.9 million in grants to support public programming at 977 cultural organizations across all five boroughs. This includes major support for priorities in the City's CreateNYC cultural plan, providing greater funding equity for culture in every corner of the city.

As part of the string quartet's 20th anniversary season, ETHEL returns to BAM with Circus: Wandering City, a multimedia musical journey into the history of the iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that explores and honors the complex relationship between circus troupes, their performers, and the audiences they inspired. 

Actor and IAC Honorary Chair Gabriel Byrne; Corey Johnson, Speaker of the New York City Council; Congressman Joseph Crowley; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl; Ciaran Madden, Consul General of Ireland; and other City and State dignitaries joined the Irish Arts Center board, staff, and supporters as they broke ground today on the New Irish Arts Center, a heralded multidisciplinary center that will bring people of all backgrounds together through the excellence and dynamism of Irish arts and culture. The ceremony marked the start of construction on Phase One of the new facility, a state-of-the-art new building at 726 11th Avenue, now fully funded and scheduled to open in late 2020.

Queens Council on the Arts (QCA) is pleased to announce that the Queens Arts Fund (QAF) will distribute $527,600 in regrants to individual artists and nonprofit organizations - almost twice as much as was awarded in 2018. Applications for 2019 QAF grants may be submitted online until Thursday, October 25, 2018.

One of the oldest theaters in NYC - 74 E. 4 St., home to the 2018 Tony Award-winning La MaMa in the East Village - will mark the start of its first-ever restoration and renovation since the building was constructed in 1873 with a GROUNDBREAKING EVENT attended by Tony winning composer and longtime La MaMa company member SCOTT WITTMAN (Hairspray, the upcoming remake of Mary Poppins), NYC Deputy Mayor ALICIA GLEN, TOM FINKELPEARL (Commissioner of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs), BRAD HOYLMAN (NY State Senator), NYC Council Member CARLINA RIVERA, the world-renowned National Medal of Arts recipient PING CHONG, La MaMa Artistic Direct MIA YOO and Board President FRANK CARUCCI, along with performers from the SPIDERWOMAN THEATRE and THE SILVER CLOUD SINGERS.

Today the City launched a call for proposals to install large scale, temporary artwork on protective construction structures - such as construction fences and sheds - throughout the five boroughs. The 24-month pilot program, City Canvas, is a collaboration between the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the Office of the Mayor, and the NYC Department of Buildings designed to improve the city's visual landscape, while giving artists and organizations opportunities to bring their work to public space.

El Museo del Barrio is pleased to re-open its Galerias (Galleries) to the public on September 13, 2018, after a ten month-long renovation of its mechanical and control systems, including heating, air-conditioning and humidification. The renovation, also known as the Gallery Environmental Stabilization Project (The Project) was generously funded with $4.85 million from the City of New York, including support from the New York City Council, the Office of the Mayor, and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President. City funding, which covered all expenses associated with the project, was provided through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. 

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), in partnership with the New York City Council, has allocated $3.1 million in capital funding in the FY19 City capital budget to the Staten Island Children's Museum (SICM) for improvements that will reduce the institution's carbon footprint. SICM will upgrade its 40-year-old heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, increasing operating efficiency and improving visitor experience.

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art program, in partnership with the New York Public Library, today announced an open call for artists to design a permanent public artwork for the historic Port Richmond library in Staten Island. Artists can respond to the Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) through Friday, August 10 at midnight.  Local artists with knowledge of the Port Richmond community are especially encouraged to apply.

The service organization Dance/NYC today announced the release of Performing Disability. Dance. Artistry. The study is meant to increase knowledge about dance made by disabled artists, performed by disabled artists, and rooted in disability culture and aesthetics, in and beyond the New York City metropolitan area.

Lincoln Center today announced additional artists to the Out of Doors 2018 lineup, with musicians covering genres like country, funk, rock, indie-folk and more. Held in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park and BEYOND from July 24 - August 12, Out of Doors is one of the country's longest-running summer outdoor festivals, offering free music, dance, spoken word and family events to all.

Flushing Town Hall held its 39th Anniversary Gala on Thursday, June 7th, honoring Howard Graf, Graf & Lewent Architects, LLP, 1st annual Creative Design and Architecture Award; President Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, Queens College, CUNY; and, 9P Community Volunteers.

MCC Theater announced today the naming of its new home, The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, in recognition of the cultural, environmental, and preservation philanthropist, and the public opening of the space in November 2018. 

Lincoln Center today announced its annual Out of Doors season of free music and dance, invigorating Damrosch Park and the Lincoln Center campus from July 24 to August 12. One of the country's longest-running free outdoor festivals, now in its 48th edition, Out of Doors intertwines diverse social and cultural dialogues with multi-genre music programming, family events, dance, and spoken word by artists from New York City, across the United States, and beyond in this year's lineup.

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) today announced an open call for applicants to the pilot CreateNYC: Leadership Accelerator program. For this pilot, the program will utilize a curriculum developed by the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) to engage up to 25 mid-level professionals in a five-week professional development course. The goal is to support cultural workers from diverse backgrounds as they seek to grow into leadership positions across the city's vibrant cultural sector.