Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week unveiled the New York Arts Revival initiative, a plan to revive and revitalize the arts and the “unique cultural assets” in the State, which have been devastated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The program is a public-private partnership, led by producers Scott Rudin and Jane Rosenthal, which will begin on Thursday, February 4. The events will be a series of pop-up performances and arts events to be held outdoors at state parks and other state-owned sites, plus spaces that are flexible and can adapt to social distancing protocols. These include the Park Avenue Armory, St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn and Queens Theater in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Already on board for the initiative are 150 artists, including Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Wynton Marsalis, Renée Fleming and Hugh Jackman, and organizations such as Ballet Hispanico, Ars Nova, Albany Symphony Orchestra, National Black Theatre and Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks. The initiative will culminate with two “landmark events:” the opening of Little Island at Pier 55 and the 20th anniversary of the Tribeca Film Festival in June.
In presenting the plan the Governor said that the roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine is not enough to restart the economy now. “We can’t float along watching the pain, hardship, and inequality grow around us,” the Governor said. “That’s not what we do in New York.”
Before the the pandemic, the $120 billion arts and cultural sector accounted for nearly 8% of the state’s economy and half a million jobs, according to Cuomo. He added that in less than a year, tens of thousands of those jobs were lost, along with over two million jobs in the creative arts nationally.
Additionally, the Governor said the state will also partner with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch a Creatives Rebuild initiative. Developed in partnership with the Reimagine New York Commission, the initiative “will put back to work 1,000 artists who have been impacted by the crisis and will invest in dozens of small arts organizations that make our towns and cities so dynamic. Arts have a multiplying effect on the economy. Creatives Rebuild will provide New York artists support so they can help build more vibrant communities across New York.”
Although, the nation’s top infectious disease authority, Dr. Anthony Fauci, speculates that live venues will likely reopen some time in the fall of 2021, Cuomo does not want to wait that long for live performances, citing the success of the experiment with letting up to 6,772 fans attend a Buffalo Bills playoff game in the 72,000-seat Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. “We just tested the concept with the Buffalo Bills playoffs game, and early indication is it was an early success.” He’s given the OK for another game.
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