Cultural Institutions Group (CIG)

Arts and Culture not only uplifts communities, educates millions of NYC school children, and fuels local small businesses, but it's also a major economic driver for NYC's economy -- $22 Billion worth! The Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) sent a letter to Mayor Adams on Tuesday asking him to not cut culture funding, but rather to continue investing in the sector as a major driver for the recovery of NYC's economy. Read our release and letter here. https://lnkd.in/evTPbZDK #CultureDelivers

Thank you Councilmember and Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, Carlina Rivera, for advocating on behalf of NYC’s vibrant and necessary arts and culture community to restore the Mayor’s devastating cuts. https://lnkd.in/eft2k3Ri #StopCuttingStartRestoring

Kicking off TODAY, don’t miss opening weekend of The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion—an exhibition Time Out New York calls the “runway moment” for these “divas of the plant world.” ???? Leave winter’s chill behind as you step into the warmth of the Haupt Conservatory and its sartorial celebration of all things orchid, spotlighting the creations of fashion designers Dauphinette, FLWR PSTL, and Collina Strada. Trust us—these living botanical looks are unlike anything you’ve seen at Fashion Week. Get your tickets now for this long weekend (we'll be open Monday, too!): https://brnw.ch/21wH4kX

If you're familiar with Weeksville's history, or you've been to our campus, you may have heard reference to the "Weeksville Lady" – an archeological find during Project Weeksville that would redefine the search for Historic Weeksville. The “Weeksville Lady” was a discovery of William "Dewey" Harley, the assistant director of Project Weeksville. Harley, alongside project director and historian Jim Hurley, a team of boy scouts, scholars and volunteers spent weeks excavating a wreckage site that was destined for a low-income housing project. They knew the site contained proof of an affluent and literate community that was close to being erased from history. Week after week, community members returned to the site. Whenever the bulldozers paused, they sprang into action, seizing every potential clue amidst the rubble. On one particular day, near 86 Schenectady Ave, Harley's discerning eye fell upon a tintype— a small photograph printed on a thin sheet of metal, that was almost the same color of the dirt it laid in and no bigger than a credit card. The tintype boasted an impressive photograph of a Black woman in a Victorian dress, who was likely an inhabitant of Historic Weeksville or a relative of a Weeksville resident. This enigmatic woman, now affectionately known by many as the Weeksville Lady, has become our de facto mascot, embodying the vitality and pride of the Weeksville community. As we carry on our work today, the Weeksville Lady remains a poignant reminder of the legacy we strive to preserve and honor.

Thank you to Hyperallergic for highlighting several of our CIG members in its Spring NYC Art Guide. #CultureMatters #StopCuttingStartRestoring https://lnkd.in/dbiKidEq

The Staten Island Museum recently opened Taking Care: The Black Angels of Sea View Hospital -- an exhibition about how hundreds of Black nurses from around the country who came to work at Sea View in the 1930s through the 1960s, stepped in to fill positions vacated by white women and risking their lives caring for tuberculosis patients. Watch NY1 News's Roger Clark's piece about the new show. https://lnkd.in/exJbXhZw #StopCuttingStartRestoring #MuseumsNYC NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

“…first we need to stop treating museums, theaters and galleries like sacred spaces that exist in some rarefied realm of public life. And we need to start treating them — and funding them — like interstate highways, high-speed internet and other infrastructure projects, using money that’s earmarked to maintain the country’s infrastructure.” Read this Op-ed by Laura Raicovich and Laura Hanna which appeared in The New York Times yesterday. https://lnkd.in/ehC5JNfG

“I would propose that the entire cut they’re giving to cultural affairs would equal a week of police overtime,” says Adrian Benepe,?president and CEO of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, on a recent episode of “Brooklyn Magazine: The Podcast.” “It’s nothing. And yet it’s having a disproportionately harmful impact (on arts and culture). Listen to the interview here. Tell Mayor Adams to Stop Cutting and Restore our Funding. #StopCuttingCulture https://lnkd.in/ea5wt-Kf

“A cut for culture deals a blow to the millions of New Yorkers who walk through our doors annually, 2.5 million NYC students, and more than 6,000 citizens that benefit from our workforce development programs”...Read the latest piece on how Mayor Adams's devastating cuts to Culture would impact communities, NYC's school children, NYC's economy, small business, and the City's recovery. ?https://lnkd.in/epj-i59S

We've only just begun to tell our story on how the Mayor's cuts are devastating to NYC's cultural institutions. Thank you Caroline Lewis for speaking with CIG Chair, Coco Killingsworth. #CultureDelivers https://lnkd.in/epSSnEma