Five Decades of Building Creative Communities: Celebrating Lower Manhattan Cultural Council at 50 Years

Manhattan’s Arts Council, LMCC is celebrating five decades with four parties over five months, including the Downtown Dinner and three LMCC alumni-artist hosted parties

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) proudly announces its momentous 50th Anniversary season, marking five decades of championing independent artists and fostering vibrant cultural communities throughout New York City. Established in 1973 with a vision of artists as beacons of resilience and inspiration, LMCC is Manhattan’s Arts Council; expanding its work and reach beyond Lower Manhattan over the years, LMCC now serves the entirety of the borough, from Governors Island to Inwood. 50 years on, the organization stands as a pillar of strength, boasting renowned artist service programs and a rich and diverse alumni community that includes luminaries such as visual artists Simone Leigh and Sanford Biggers and the groundbreaking experimental music collective, Bang on a Can. LMCC’s artist residency programs (Workspace, Arts Center Residency) provide vital support and studio space for talents across all career stages. Other groundbreaking initiatives, such as the SU-CASA program, enrich the lives of hundreds of older adults through immersive arts workshops at local senior centers. For 50 years, LMCC has sustained the city’s arts landscape, spearheading cultural revitalization efforts in the Financial District after 9/11 and securing essential resources for artist communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

To commemorate its milestone anniversary, LMCC presents “Party as Performance,” a captivating four-month series (March-June 2024) of artist-led celebrations. These monthly gatherings, hosted by esteemed LMCC alumni artists, promise unique aesthetics, immersive environments, and opportunities for lively community engagement.

A highlight of LMCC’s anniversary festivities, “Party as Performance” includes the eagerly anticipated Downtown Dinner gala on April 15, 2024 at The Conrad Downtown. This prestigious event serves as a tribute to the indelible contributions of Downtown artistic, civic, and corporate leaders. This year, LMCC is honored to recognize the extraordinary achievements of choreographer Bill T. Jones with the 2024 Liberty Award for Artistic Leadership, joining esteemed past recipients including Twyla Tharp, Julie Mehretu, and Steve Buscemi. LMCC Alumni will also receive awards for contributions to their field: Baseera Khan will be presented with the Michael Richards Award for Visual Art and Miguel Gutierrez with the Sam Miller Award for Performing Arts. The evening will feature a special performance by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, promising an unforgettable celebration of artistry and community.

“Since Arnie Zane and I started our Company in 1982, just under 10 years after LMCC was founded, it’s been a fierce community of thinkers and movers. A chosen family, as we would call it today. Over the decades and now at New York Live Arts, our Company and other programs continue to center on innovative movement-based artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times. It is heartwarming and my pleasure to be honored by such a passionate and dedicated organization as LMCC – a true leader and accomplice in transcending barriers between and within communities. Congratulations on 50 years of creating space and support for artists in our city, and beyond,” said Bill T. Jones

Other parties in the monthly-occuring Party as Performance series will be hosted by LMCC alumni artists, each gathering featuring its own signature aesthetic, vibe, and community. Specializing in the art of bringing people together, Party as Performance alumni artist-hosts include YiuYiu 瑶瑶 (aka Rochelle Kwan) of Chinatown Records, Larissa Velez Jackson (of YACKEZ) and Elisabeth Smolarz. Parties will feature YiuYiu’s record collection of treasured Chinese albums from the 1920’s to the present day and a “matinee…laugh out loud…Swaying in the corners party” from YACKEZ.

Rounding out the 50th anniversary festivities, LMCC will present the annual River To River Festival June 10-June 22. Celebrating five decades of LMCC and 23 years of River To River, the 2024 festival will feature performances by LMCC’s Extended Life artists in residence, as well as Workspace Open Studios and other events. Presenting 10 offerings of live dance, storytelling, performance, and installation in public spaces throughout Downtown New York and Governors Island, River To River 2024 Artists include: jaamil olawale kosoko (dance, installation, video), Jesi Cook (dance), Kayla Hamilton (installation), Leslie Cuyjet (video, installation, dance), mayfield brooks (dance, installation), Miguel Gutierrez (dance, interactive), Nattie & Hollis (dance), NIC Kay (dance, performance), and Samita Sinha (dance, sound), and Black Elder Seafarer Storytelling & Boat-Building Workshop (storytelling, public practice, Interactive).

In a sweet, memory-laden farewell, the closing artist-led party, PARTY AS PARTICIPATION, will feature a memorable selection of craft ice cream flavors inspired by alumni artist-host Elisabeth Smolarz’s 2012 LMCC residency on Governors Island. The flavors will celebrate the friendships and artist communities Smolarz formed during that time, as well as the distinctive features of the island itself: the weeping willow tree, lavender fields, and Flour, Sam, Evening, Chad, and Philip Aries, the beloved sheep of Governors Island. The tasting event and party will offer a culinary journey honoring and blending art, nature, and 50 years of building and supporting artist communities.

“It’s thrilling to helm LMCC during this historic 50th anniversary year. For five decades, LMCC has supported artist communities throughout the borough and the entire city with unparalleled, dynamic and adaptive services that provide funding, creative time, professional education and community connection. We keep artists at the heart of all we do because we know that art is a critical and essential force for social well-being and cultural change. As we look to the future and the many issues we face as a society – climate change, global conflict and social inequity – we will continue to position artists to lead us forward in the decades to come,” said Craig T. Peterson, LMCC President.

Party as Performance Schedule
PARTY AS PROCESS: Thurs, March 28 | 6-8pm

The Arts Center at Governors Island
Hosted by YiuYiu 瑶瑶 (aka Rochelle Kwan) of Chinatown Records.

Pulling from the ever-growing archive of her Chinatown Records 華埠錄音 family history project, YiuYiu 瑶瑶 lovingly invites us into her living room dancefloor with a selection of favorite Chinese albums inherited from family and neighbors. With music dating from the present day and all the way back to the 1920s, YiuYiu 瑶瑶 sets the stage for a time-traveling deep dive into these vast collections that have soundtracked Chinatown living rooms, dancefloors, and countless beloved memories with our loved ones. Never alone in this community effort, YiuYiu 瑶瑶 will be bringing along many family, friends, and neighbors who made her into a neighborhood DJ. She invites party guests to step into these musical portals, back to a time – whether 50 years ago while dancing in youth or to childhood singing along at family karaoke parties – that etched every word and beat into memory. Join in for an intimate, intergenerational sonic history set at The Arts Center at Governors Island.

PARTY AS PRACTICE: Sat, May 18 | 1pm-3pm
The Arts Center at Governors Island
Coincides with LMCC Governors Island resident artists Open Studios at The Arts Center Hosted by Larissa Velez Jackson / (of YACKEZ)

Is sitting together a party? Is dancing? Is a hot tub? Is a drum circle? Talking? Imbibing while vibing? Can a party transform itself? Can we rest together? Yackez is throwing a party. They’ll coax a party into being. A matinee party. A laugh out loud party. A party with beverages. Swaying in the corners party. Come join them on the island known as Paggank by the Lenape.

THE DOWNTOWN DINNER: Mon, April 15, 2024  The Conrad Downtown
Honoring:

Bill T. Jones, Liberty Award for Artistic Leadership

Baseera Khan, Michael Richards Award for Visual Art

Miguel Gutierrez, Sam Miller Award for Performing Arts

2024 Gala Emcee: Darrell Martin

Special Performance by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

PARTY AS PARTICIPATION: Sat, June 22 | 11am-1pm  The Arts Center at Governors Island
Hosted by Elisabeth Smolarz

Elisabeth Smolarz will craft ice cream flavors inspired by her experiences during her 2012 artist residency on Governors Island. The flavors will celebrate the friendships and artist communities she formed during that time, as well as the distinctive features of the island itself, such as the weeping willow tree, the lavender fields, and the beloved Governors Island sheep: Flour, Sam, Evening, Chad, and Philip Aries. The tasting event will offer a culinary journey blending elements of childhood nostalgia, art, and nature.

ABOUT LMCC

Founded in 1973 as Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, LMCC serves, connects, and makes space for artists and community. Built on the premise that artists were pillars of resilience and inspiration and therefore vital to New York City, LMCC has been the champion for independent artists in New York City and the cultural life force of Lower Manhattan.