Candidates shows solidarity at the rally—Erik Botcher running for City
Council and State Sen. Brad Hoylman, candidate for Boro President.
This percussionist originally from
Bukina Faso keeps things hot with
heart pounding, feet stomping
rhythms.
Artists rally at Foley
Square for equitable
access to relief funds
important art and culture is to civic
health. Smaller arts organizations have
been greatly impacted by the pandemic
with dozens of exhibition and performance
venues lost.
“Art workers are necessary workers,”
the message of the day from artists and
PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
An off-and-on rain did not deter artists
and supporters on Saturday at
Foley Square.
Art workers of all sorts rallied there,
under umbrellas, to underscore how
their supporters, many behind Arts
Workers United for Equitable Funding.
Its petition reads: The equitable distribution
of the New York State relief funds
approved in the FY 2022 Enacted Budget
is vital to the survival of New York’s Art
and Culture workers. As seen throughout
the pandemic, barriers to accessing relief
funds can exclude many in historically
marginalized communities from receiving
necessary relief.
Among the many “respectful demands”
on the petition are prioritizing funding for
these marginalized artists and organizations
and small non-profi t organizations
with an operating budget of less than
$250K and independent artists.
River to River Festival to return for 20th anniversary
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
The 20th annual River to River
Festival is returning to Manhattan
this June.
Presented by the Lower Manhattan Cultural
Council (LMCC), Downtown New
York City’s leading free summer arts festival
will take place June 10-27. Co-curated by
Lili Chopra, LMCC’s Executive Director of
Artistic Programs, and Nanette Nelms, a
NYC-based fi lmmaker with roots in performance
and contemporary dance, the River
to River Festival will put groundbreaking
works on display while presenting opportunities
for profound connections not just with
the artists themselves but also with the city
as it continues to emerge from the pandemic.
The festival will be made up of in-person
outdoor performances at The Battery and
indoor performances with strict COVID-19
protocols and online streaming options.
This year’s line-up includes Arthur Jafa,
esperanza spalding, Wayne Shorter, Black
Gotham Experience featuring Kamau Ware
and Rodney Léon, Okwui Okpokwasili,
Miguel Gutierrez, The Illustrious Blacks,
Maria Hassabi, nora chipaumire, Mariana
Valencia, Meg Webster, Onyedika Chuke,
Damon Davis, Muna Malik and more.
“This edition of River To River comes at
a complex moment. As we were programming
the Festival this past year, societally
we were experiencing a sustained period of
collective trauma, rife with incessant ideological,
psychological and physical attacks,
staggering loss, and an overwhelming sense
of isolation,” says Nelms. “Yet slowly,
through conversations with artists we
care so deeply about, we found a common
entry point: starting from a place of history.
Kamau Ware profoundly inspired us with
his extraordinary success in petitioning city
offi cials to recognize Land of the Blacks, 28
Black-owned farmsteads that once covered
a large part of Lower Manhattan. Mariana
Valencia and nora chipaumire also unearth
layers from the past in their work, giving
much needed perspective to the present.”
“This year’s Festival offers a space to
be with our emotions and ask timely questions
of ourselves and others,” said Chopra.
“The works by Damon Davis, Womxn in
Windows and Maria Hassabi invite us to
quietly sit in the present, to allow for intimate
transformations to take place. At the
same time, we recognize that this moment
is an opportunity to come together in celebration
and solidarity. We honor pioneers
such as Wayne Shorter, esperanza spalding
and Arthur Jafa and ultimately rejoice in
artists continuing to lead the way, through
participatory processions led by Miguel
Gutierrez, Okwui Okpokwasili and The
Illustrious Blacks.”
As a part of the festival, a multi-part video
installation entitled Womxn in Windows
will be placed in windows throughout the
Seaport District. In the series, womxn from
diverse cultural backgrounds will present
video artworks that challenge society’s
defi nition of femininity, redefi ning what it
means to be a “womxn in a window.”
The River to River Festival will also
include A Day at The Arts Center at Governors
Island, where guests can attend
day-long events and activations, including
site-specifi c exhibitions by Meg Webster
and Onyedika Chuke, a participatory
sculpture by Muna Malik, Open Studios
with LMCC artists-in-residence and ongoing
screenings of Damon Davis’ fi lm, “The
Stranger.” Select performances and digital
fi lms in the Festival’s program will be
streamed on LMCC’s website, LMCC.net.
The full line-up is expected to be announced
soon. For more information, visit
lmcc.net/river-to-river-festival.
Schneps Media May 13, 2021 3
/LMCC.net
/river-to-river-festival
