Promoting arts and creative practices that support our cities and communities

The Arts and Culture Committee brings together urbanists, artists, and other interested groups to discuss and learn how arts and culture can support economic, social, environmental, and quality of life goals in the New York Metro Region. I co-founded and co-chair this group with the aim to provide education, strategy, and guidance to its members and a broader audience, while incorporating arts and culture into policy and development initiatives. Through our programming we look to engage a wider set of participants in planning and land use decisions. We push to highlight and support existing community assets across the region.

Below see a snapshot of programming developed for New York Metro Region.

Living Los Sures: Place, Cultural Heritage, and Gentrification

In Collaboration with the Urban Design Committee, we hosted an interactive walking tour, filming of the 1984 documentary “Living Los Sures,” and Q+A with tour guides to explore the topics of sustainable community planning and the ways local stories are a tool to understand the challenges and opportunities to support a place and its residents.

Planning for New York City’s Arts and Culture Master Plan

Following the lead of cities like Houston, Denver, and Chicago, the New York City Council approved and Mayor de Blasio signed into law a requirement to develop a comprehensive, city-wide cultural plan. Panelists discussed their work developing cultural plans, the purpose of launching city-wide cultural plans, and if and when a city should think about launching a cultural plan.

Freshkills Park: Cultivating Arts into an Organization's Framework

Freshkills Park is slated to become the largest park development in NYC since the 19th century, transforming a former landfill into a 2,200-acre public park on Staten Island. This inaugural salon conversation explored the process used to activate and reclaim underutilized land for recreational park use, and learn how stakeholders from patrons and artists to city administrations shaped goals for the master plan, park operations, and public space programming.

Crafting Public Art and Space

Public Art Projects have the capacity to engage a range of community members, but the methods and reasonings behind engagement practices vary. During this Tete-a-Tete artists and planners presented and shared work to engage diverse groups in local and international settings through innovative public art projects and share insights into how the arts can contribute to successful public spaces.  

The Art of Public Safety: 100 Gates Project

Security gates are a necessary evil in New York City. Roll-down gates provide vital protection for businesses against vandalism, but they can also deter foot traffic and impose a sense of danger. Since 2014, the 100 Gates Project at the Lower East Side Partnership has been working to transform roll-down security gates into original, engaging works of art. The local Business Improvement District and artists shared how creative partnerships can stimulate neighborhood improvements and they share their successes and challenges.

Melissa McGill’s Constellation and Bannerman Island Boat Tour

Bannerman Island, a mysterious island 50 miles north of NYC in the Hudson River, houses the ruins of an eccentric arms dealer’s turn of the 20th century castle. The public art piece, Constellation, transforms the castle ruins and island into a light installation that highlights the interconnection between the present, the past, and nature. Planners, artists, preservationists, and enthusiasts of the whimsical came together to tour the island, and learn about the story behind Constellation, the challenges for the historic preservation of the island, and the funding mechanisms to launch a public work of art at such a large scale.

Daring in the Digital: Implementing Technologies in the Public Realm

Apps, interactive kiosks, live maps, and other web and smartphone technologies have altered how citizens relate to the public realm. These advances have made it easier than ever to engage citizens and solicit feedback for planning efforts. Yet many of these efforts receive short-lived success or become a blip in a widening landscape of digital tools. Conference panelists discussed what makes technologies ‘successful’ and NYC startups shared their work,  PechaKucha style. All participants provided learning lessons from their own projects for virtually engaging with the public realm.

Shaping Transformation Policies through Mural Arts

Traffic safety is a cornerstone to community health and mobility. In conjunction with the Transportation Committee, the Arts and Culture Sub-committee invited artists, city agencies, and nonprofits to discuss how the mural “Not One More Death” sparked the NYC Department of Transportation to develop traffic calming measures in Gowanus, Brooklyn. This project set in motion a new focus on building safer streets throughout the City, eventually leading to the launch of the Mayor’s Vision Zero initiative. Participants discussed how projects like this demonstrate how public art, when combined with effective community organizing, can directly and positively impact the urban environment.