Since the pandemic began, the sustained closure of Lincoln Center, one of the most iconic performance venues in New York City, has symbolized just how bleak the dearth of live theater and music is to a city that thrives on both. However, according to a new announcement, as part of Governor Cuomo’s New York Arts Revival, Lincoln Center will create 10 outdoor performance and rehearsal spaces to be used by the general public as part of an initiative entitled Restart Stages. The announcement elaborated that the outdoor performance centers would launch on April 7th, and that several different types of entertainment will be made accessible.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will contribute to the project by providing an outdoor reading room, Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society will provide outdoor concerts and the New York City Ballet will offer dance workshops. Of course, that’s not all: Lincoln Center will also provide film screenings and a concert and cabaret series. Some of the other organizations that contributed to the Restart Stages project include the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute and Korean Cultural Center New York.
Additionally, totally new structures will be built for people to enjoy: a cabaret-style stage on Hearst Plaza, family and kids’ areas with activities for young people and even a space for public school graduations in honor of everything students have had to endure in 2020 and 2021.
“The cultural community has an urgent role to play in the revitalization of New York, to showcase that our city is not just back economically, but spiritually and socially,” Henry Timms, President & CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, said in a statement. “We are building this outdoor campus to be ready, so that when the time comes, we do not miss a single day. We will fling our metaphorical doors wide open on day one in celebration of New York and the resolute, remarkable people who make it the best city on earth.”
