MOME Announces JanArtsNYC 2026

Includes 53rd Year of APAP Conference in NYC 

Full Calendar of Events Available at JanArtsNYC.org

The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) is proud to announce the full slate of programming for JanArtsNYC, the annual collection of world-class public performances and innovative industry gatherings taking place throughout the month of January at various NYC venues. For 13 years, JanArtsNYC has helped position January as “Performing Arts Month” in NYC, where the world’s best come annually to premiere the newest works in theater, dance, opera, music and performance. Kicking off on January 3, 2026, with the opening night of the Out-FRONT Festival, JanArtsNYC once again centers around the APAP|NYC Conference, January 9-13, and leverages the global audience drawn to NYC every year to shine a spotlight on this city’s performing arts community. To join the conversation, please follow the #JanArtsNYC hashtag on social media.

This year, MOME and APAP are proud to present a short film that celebrates the coalition of exciting and distinctive festivals, convenings and events that fall under the JanArtsNYC umbrella. Produced by filmmaker AJ Wilhelm and Jenny Thomas for APAP, the film features partner and audience interviews, meant to showcase the exceptional and unique array of talent available for all to experience in NYC in January. The film is available here.

Together with event partners, MOME welcomes back to NYC the more than 45,000 performing arts leaders, artists and enthusiasts from across the globe to participate in and enjoy the following events (listed in chronological order):

• Out-Front! Festival, January 3-11 – A high-visibility platform for radical choreographers and performing artists whose rigorous, playful, and fabulously outrageous creative practices speak to our community in new, unexpected, and beautiful ways, centering on LGBTQ+ and feminist emerging voices.
• Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz Congress and Unity Festival, January 7-9 – Experience the pinnacle of jazz culture at these two events, blending intellectual discourse and vibrant performances, geared to expanding the audience for jazz.
• Live Artery|New York Live Arts, January 7-17 – The dynamic festival is one of NYC’s most attended dance-specific platforms during the annual conference season, featuring resident commissioned artists and curated guests of New York Live Arts, which is led by visionary artist Bill T. Jones.
• PROTOTYPE, January 7-18 – An annual festival produced by Beth Morrison Projects, a trailblazer in the creation and presentation of contemporary, multi-disciplinary opera-theatre and music-theatre works. The visionary festival is the only one of its kind in New York City and a model now emulated around the country — producing and presenting a wide spectrum of works, from intimate black-box experiences to larger chamber opera productions, to concerts, and more.
• Under the Radar Festival, January 7-25 – The United States’ premier festival of experimental theater and performance art, UTR has been bringing bold, risk-taking work to NYC for over two decades, and celebrating groundbreaking theater and performance from around the world and just down the street.
• NYC Winter Jazzfest, January 8-13 – Celebrating 22 years, NYC Winter Jazzfest is proud to reaffirm its commitment to nurturing community and free expression through live music, with themes that center on the joy and beauty of gathering together while celebrating the tradition and future of Black American music.
• PhysFestNYC, January 8-18 – A community-led festival that celebrates, enriches, and envisions the field of physical theater, and provides space for practitioners, audiences, and the physical-theater-curious to share in presented works, diverse workshop offerings, and community-building events.
• APAP|NYC Conference, January 9-13 – The world’s premier gathering of the performing arts presenting, booking, and touring industry and the annual members conference of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. Called “the spawning ground for the world-wide music and performing arts industries” by the Wall Street Journal, the APAP conference has been the gravitational hub for the JanArtsNYC festivals and convenings for decades. Attracting artists, agents, managers, producers, presenters and more from across North America and beyond, APAP|NYC is the singular hub to discover artists, connect with colleagues, secure booking opportunities, and chart the industry’s collective future. With showcases, networking, strategy sessions, and the world’s largest EXPO of its kind, APAP|NYC fuels the performing arts.
• globalFEST Annual Wavelengths Concert, January 9 – An annual gathering of a wide array of arts professionals, including artists, arts organizations, venues, agents, managers, media, funders, activists, and others that are part of the global music community. The conference creates a space for dialogue around critical issues facing the field and operates as a hub for networking. It is also a friendly and generous resource for those looking at career development, exploring new touring projects and booking opportunities.
• Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival, January 9-13 – Gather round inside Guggenheim New York and celebrate NYC’s extraordinary club, street, social, and concert dance traditions, all supported from studio-to-stage with fully-funded Works & Process creative residencies.
• globalFEST, January 11 – The annual festival, which has been promoting the world’s greatest musical traditions for over 20 years, features an eclectic array of musical discoveries from today’s hottest international sounds to styles born and bred in the U.S.
• International Society for the Performing Arts’ (ISPA) 2026 New York Congress, January 13-15 – Welcoming 500 arts leaders from 50 regions will connect, reflect, and share perspectives in the spirit of Resilience: A Global Dialogue.