New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who made it clear that he sees the return of art and culture as key components of the state’s economic revival, announced Monday that a series of more than 300 free pop-up presentations, “ NY PopsUp ”, would start on February 20 and last until Labor Day.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, for his part, announced details of the city’s Open Culture program, which will allow open-air performances on the city’s designated streets this spring.
The state’s pop-up events are part of a public-private partnership, New York Arts Revival, and will feature more than 150 artists, including Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Mandy Patinkin, Renée Fleming and Hugh Jackman.
Since the state does not wish to attract large crowds to the pandemic, many of the events will not be announced in advance.
“We are trying to thread the needle,” said Cuomo. “We want the performances. We don’t want mass meetings, we don’t want large crowds ”.
The events, the state said, will take place in parks, museums and parking lots, as well as subway platforms and public transport stations. People can follow a new Twitter and Instagram account, @NYPopsUp, for details on upcoming presentations. Many will be shown online.
The series will be spearheaded by producers Scott Rudin and Jane Rosenthal, along with the New York Empire State Council for Arts and Development. It is part of a plan to revitalize the arts that the governor had announced during a speech in January, when he said that the state would organize pop-up presentations starting on February 4.
The series will begin on February 20 at the Javits Center in New York with a free presentation for healthcare professionals featuring Jon Batiste, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Cecile McLorin Salvant and Ayodele Casel. Artists will travel around the city to all five districts, performing in parks and street corners, as well as following in the footsteps of Elmhurst Hospital and St. Barnabas Hospital.
Cuomo said that some of the events would use flexible venues without fixed seats and therefore could be reconfigured to allow social distance, including the Shed, Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage, La MaMa and the Glimmerglass Festival Teatro Opera.
In June, the opening of Little Island, the park-shaped pier being built in the center of the Hudson River by Barry Diller, and the Tribeca Film Festival, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, will contribute to the expansion of the city’s artistic program .
Little Island plans to hold its own festival from August 11 to September 5, which will coincide with the final weeks of the “NY PopsUp” program.
Mr de Blasio announced on Monday that the city would launch a new program to help some of the city’s cultural institutions apply for federal funding. The city’s effort, called “Curtains Up NYC”, will offer webinars and advice to companies and nonprofits that are connected in some way to live performances.
“We need to ensure that New York’s cultural institutions get the help they need,” de Blasio told a news conference.
Asked whether Broadway theaters could be reopened as his plans for a revival of the arts continue, Cuomo expressed hope.
“I think that’s where we’re going, right?” he said. “The general effort is aimed at reopening with tests.”
He announced last week that the state planned to issue guidelines to begin allowing wedding ceremonies for up to 150 guests, if participants were tested in advance.
“Would I see a play and sit in a theater with 150 people?” he said. “If the 150 people were tested and all were negative, yes, I would do that. And are the social distance and ventilation system adequate? Yes, I would do that. “
Commercial producers have repeatedly said that Broadway’s economy prevents reopening at less than full capacity.
New York reported at least 177 new deaths from coronavirus and 9,923 new cases on Sunday. Although the number of new cases dropped from a post-holiday high last month, the average number of new daily cases and deaths is still far above what it was in the previous summer and fall.
Mr. Cuomo said the government must take an active role in helping the city and the state to recover from the economic pain caused by the pandemic. “It is not going to be a situation where the economy will just come back,” he said. “We have to make him come back.”
“New York leads,” he added. “And we will lead the recovery of the arts.”
Michael Gold contributed reporting.