Join us for a Panel on Stimulating and Sustaining Creativity in NYC!
How can crisis be turned into an opportunity for the arts?
Event Date: Friday, February 25, 2011
Event Time: 6-7 pm panel, 7-8 pm reception
Event Location: The Barney Building, 34 Stuyvesant Street
New York University Steinhardt’s arts advocacy group, Advocates for Cultural Engagement (ACE), in partnership with the NYU Steinhardt Visual Arts Administration program, presents:
Making Space for the Arts: Reflections on the Center for an Urban Future’s 2010 report Time to Be Creative.
For decades, New York City has been the center of artistic activity in America and the world, and the city has been defined and immeasurably enriched by its vibrant cultural sector. Today, this distinction is threatened as a dearth of low-cost real estate and part-time jobs sends artists packing for more affordable and supportive environments. At a PEN American Center event last spring, quintessential New York artist Patti Smith said, “New York has closed itself off to the young and struggling… New York City has been taken away from you.”
The recent release of the Center for an Urban Future’s report Time to Be Creative provides the backdrop for this panel on promoting creativity in the urban environment. Time to Be Creative author Jonathan Bowles argues that the sharp downturn in New York City’s real estate market presents a unique opportunity for the creative sector to reignite and diversify the city’s economy. Bowles contends that creativity and design are “arguably the city’s greatest competitive advantage.”
The report’s 17 recommendations for taking advantage of the downturn will provide the starting point for a discussion on the present situation faced by the city’s artists, arts groups and creative entrepreneurs. The panelists will provide historical context, personal experiences, and suggestions for what can be done to maintain the relevance and health of the city’s arts sector in the future.
Panelists:
Jonathan Bowles author of Time to Be Creative. He became director of the Center for an Urban Future in 2005 after serving as the organization’s research director for nearly seven years. During his 12 years at the Center, he has written extensively about key economic trends facing New York and its five boroughs, the importance of diversifying New York’s economy, the value of small businesses to cities and the economic challenges facing the middle class, the working poor and those on the city’s margins. The reports and commentaries he has authored, from a widely acclaimed 2007 study about the impact immigrant entrepreneurs are having on cities’ economies to a report about what Staten Island should do to grow and diversify its economy, have been covered in publications ranging from The Economist to The Washington Post. In 2008, he served on Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s Small Business Task Force to examine the threats facing mom and pop retailers in the borough. In 2006, City Hall News named him one of 35 “Rising Stars” Under 40. In 2005, Time Out New York named him “New York’s Finest Troublemaker.” Before joining the Center, he worked as research director for former New York State Senator Franz Leichter and spent time as a freelance journalist. He lives in Queens with his wife and his two kids.
Paul Nagle, Executive Director, the Institute for Culture in the Service of Community. Previously, as Director of Cultural Policy for NYC Councilmember Alan Gerson (2002-2010), Paul crafted strategies to help preserve and revitalize the arts in Lower Manhattan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. He convened a consortium of 30 downtown arts leaders, which met monthly for two years and developed Campuses & Corridors, a community-based strategic plan that guided the Councilmember’s policies and investments in Lower Manhattan’s cultural redevelopment. Originally a playwright, Paul became Founding Executive Director of All Out Arts and Founding Executive Producer for its first five festivals, as well as the Managing Director and Interim Executive Director of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center. He holds a B.A. in Arts Administration and an M.A. in Cultural Policy from New York University. Paul is a graduate of Coro Leadership Program.
Naomi Hersson-Ringskog, Executive Director of No Longer Empty, received her Masters of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University. At NLE, she is designing community and real estate outreach strategies and programs. Her interest lies in studying the effects on urban design and revitalization. During her studies at Columbia University, she focused on urban green sustainability specifically on green roofs. Naomi will continue her study of green roofs and green infrastructure as recipient of the William Kinne Fellowship, which will take her to Berlin, Paris and Tel Aviv. On the heels of an architectural study trip to Japan, she is currently drafting a Japanese contemporary architecture guidebook that will be published with Dr. Lynne Breslin of Columbia University. Naomi has helped form and launch the GSAPP Alumni Association and continues to serve on its Executive Board.
Moderator:
Madeleine LeMieux is a graduate student in the Visual Arts Administration program at NYU Steinhardt. She is a founding member and president of Advocates for Cultural Engagement and works as a Development and Communications Assistant at Groundswell Community Mural Project. She is currently finishing her thesis, reviewing and updating U.S. Cultural Planning Guidelines. Her background as an artist, combined with her history of working on collaborative art and community organizing projects both in Chicago and New York has allowed her a unique perspective on culture’s role in various urban communities.
About the presenter:
The mission of Advocates for Cultural Engagement (ACE) is to create awareness of arts and cultural issues at the local, state and national levels. To achieve this goal, ACE encourages action within the NYU community, collaborates with other student groups and appeals to government representatives.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information on the event or to get involved, visit ACE’s website at http://nyuace.wordpress.com/events/, email ACE at nyu.artsadvocates@gmail.com, or follow ACE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nyuace.
