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LMC­C’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island Opens to the Public

Sep 20, 2019 10:45 am

Sep­tem­ber 19, 2019. The Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC) and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island cel­e­brat­ed today the pub­lic open­ing of LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island. The first year-round ten­ant ded­i­cat­ed to arts and cul­ture on Gov­er­nors Island, LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter is a new home for artists and audi­ences and will host a diverse range of free arts, cul­tur­al and edu­ca­tion­al pro­gram­ming, includ­ing a year-round artist res­i­den­cy pro­gram. Begin­ning today, the Arts Cen­ter will be open Thurs­day-Sun­day through the remain­der of Gov­er­nors Island’s pub­lic season.

Con­ceived as an incu­ba­tor for cre­ative explo­ration and a gath­er­ing space to engage in dia­logue, LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island fea­tures over 40,000 square feet of space ded­i­cat­ed to pub­lic per­for­mances, exhi­bi­tions and artist res­i­den­cies, visu­al and per­form­ing arts stu­dios and the Island’s first indoor café. Begin­ning today, the Arts Cen­ter will also host a year-round artist res­i­den­cy pro­gram, pro­vid­ing stu­dio space for up to 20 indi­vid­ual artists, ensem­bles and chore­o­g­ra­phers. Cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming will take place through­out Gov­er­nors Island’s pub­lic sea­son, which cur­rent­ly runs between May 1 and Octo­ber 31. LMCC’s inau­gur­al sea­son pro­gram will host works and artists that inves­ti­gate issues of ecol­o­gy, sus­tain­abil­i­ty and his­to­ry, includ­ing site-spe­cif­ic exhi­bi­tions by Yto Bar­ra­da with guest artist Bet­ti­na and Michael Wang, as well as The Take Care Series fea­tur­ing artists and col­lec­tives Ola­fur Ellia­son, Jesse Paris Smith, Tat­tfoo Tan, House of Trees and Jérôme Bel.

Locat­ed in an 1870s for­mer ord­nance ware­house with­in the Gov­er­nors Island His­toric Dis­trict, LMCC part­nered with the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island on an inte­ri­or and exte­ri­or ren­o­va­tion to reimag­ine the build­ing for the 21^st cen­tu­ry. The inte­ri­or ren­o­va­tion, designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Part­ners and Adam­son Asso­ciates Archi­tects and engi­neered by Buro­Hap­pold Engi­neer­ing, fea­tures open plan artist stu­dios, two floors of gal­leries, per­for­mance and rehearsal spaces and a café, and suc­cess­ful­ly reveals the stun­ning struc­ture of the water­front his­toric build­ing, while keep­ing its spaces flex­i­ble for a vari­ety of uses.

Rep­re­sen­ta­tives from LMCC, The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, the City of New York, elect­ed offi­cials and cul­tur­al lead­ers joined a rib­bon cut­ting cer­e­mo­ny on Gov­er­nors Island on Sep­tem­ber 19 to mark the offi­cial open­ing of the Arts Cen­ter. LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island will be open to the pub­lic Thurs­day-Sun­day from 12PM-5PM for the remain­der of Gov­er­nors Island’s pub­lic sea­son. The Arts Cen­ter will con­tin­ue its oper­a­tions year-round, as an artist res­i­den­cy program. 

“We’re excit­ed to wel­come the Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC) to their new home on Gov­er­nors Island,” said Deputy May­or for Hous­ing and Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Vic­ki Been.” As the island’s first per­ma­nent cul­tur­al ten­ant, LMCC will pro­vide a vibrant space for art cre­ation and enjoy­ment for Gov­er­nors Island vis­i­tors. More­over, the cen­ter will have an out­sized role in giv­ing artists and audi­ences from diverse back­grounds an oppor­tu­ni­ty to par­tic­i­pate in the City’s thriv­ing arts scene.”

“LMCC is a cul­tur­al anchor of New York City and Low­er Man­hat­tan, unit­ing cul­tur­al and insti­tu­tion­al part­ners with its vision­ary lead­er­ship in the arts,” said Timur Galen, Chair of the Board of LMCC. ​“In part­ner­ship with the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island will enable LMCC to con­tin­ue its work with artists and the cre­ation of excep­tion­al artis­tic pro­gram­ming for broad audi­ences for the long term.” 

“Arts, cul­ture and cre­ativ­i­ty have made Gov­er­nors Island the spe­cial place it is today, and with LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter, they now have a per­ma­nent home,” said Ali­cia Glen, for­mer Deputy May­or for Hous­ing and Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment and Chair of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“The open­ing of LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island is a tes­ta­ment to our com­mit­ment to mak­ing New York City an afford­able place for artists to work while real­iz­ing our vision to unlock the poten­tial of Gov­er­nors Island as a place for New York­ers to learn, work and create.” 

“We are thrilled to expand upon the decades-long work of LMCC to con­nect artists and com­mu­ni­ties through our mod­el of ser­vice and shar­ing of the cre­ative process, said Lili Chopra, LMCC’s Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of Artis­tic Pro­grams. ​“The deep roots of LMCC’s pres­ence in Manhattan’s arts and cul­tur­al land­scape are now promi­nent­ly vis­i­ble through LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island. Through the inau­gur­al exhi­bi­tions of Yto Bar­ra­da and Bet­ti­na, Michael Wang, and the Take Care series, as well as work that will be devel­oped by the inau­gur­al fam­i­ly of artists-in-res­i­dence, we invite the pub­lic into LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island to reflect on the world we inhab­it. How can we bet­ter care for our­selves, those around us and the plan­et as a whole?”

“For over 45 years, LMCC has cham­pi­oned artists and their visions in trans­form­ing urban spaces,” said Diego S. Segali­ni, LMCC’s Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of Finance & Admin­is­tra­tion. ​“LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island is a gift to all New York­ers in a time of intense eco­nom­ic inequity and eco­log­i­cal cri­sis. The Arts Cen­ter will be a space of con­ver­sa­tion and thought. It reflects the mis­sion and val­ues of Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil to serve and con­nect artists and com­mu­ni­ties on a human and per­son­al scale, com­plete­ly aligned with Gov­er­nors Island’s com­mit­ment to the City, water and the environment.” 

“The open­ing of LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter is an excit­ing mile­stone in the trans­for­ma­tion of Gov­er­nors Island as a hub of cre­ativ­i­ty and a year-round part of New York City’s cul­tur­al life,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“The Trust was thrilled to part­ner with LMCC on this project in cre­at­ing a vibrant new home for artists, free cul­tur­al pro­grams and com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment. As our first per­ma­nent cul­tur­al ten­ant on Gov­er­nors Island, LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter is a mod­el for how the his­toric dis­trict can be reimag­ined for the 21^st century.”

“LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island will fur­ther cement the sta­tus of Gov­er­nors Island as a tru­ly indis­pens­able resource for all New York­ers,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Mar­garet S. Chin. ​“The new cen­ter will not only serve as a vibrant space for vis­i­tors to expe­ri­ence art but will also pro­vide a diverse array of artists with an oppor­tu­ni­ty to show­case their work and par­tic­i­pate in New York’s art scene. I am proud to have worked with LMCC and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island to bring this cen­ter to the island, and I look for­ward to part­ner­ing with the Trust as they bring more oppor­tu­ni­ties for enrich­ment to New Yorkers.” 

“Gov­er­nors Island just keeps get­ting more excit­ing for New York­ers, and that couldn’t be more true with its new addi­tion, LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island,” said Man­hat­tan Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Gale A. Brew­er. ​“I’m hap­py to wel­come LMCC to its new home, and look for­ward to watch­ing it flour­ish into a daz­zling part of the arts-and-cul­ture scene of this City.”

“The open­ing of LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island is an impor­tant mile­stone in the con­tin­ued trans­for­ma­tion of Gov­er­nors Island from a sleepy lit­tle island into a place where New York­ers can go to expe­ri­ence and enjoy our his­to­ry, spec­tac­u­lar views of Man­hat­tan and Brook­lyn, par­take in recre­ation­al activ­i­ties and after today enjoy a per­ma­nent arts com­plex in a for­mer muni­tions ware­house,” said US Con­gress­man Jer­rold Nadler. ​“Active in Low­er Man­hat­tan since 1973, I am proud to be a sup­port­er of LMCC and con­grat­u­late them on the open­ing of this new home for artis­tic expres­sion that will help trans­form Gov­er­nors Island into a cul­tur­al des­ti­na­tion and a year-round hub of cre­ativ­i­ty and innovation.”

“For decades, the Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil has played an impor­tant role in fos­ter­ing and sus­tain­ing New York City artists,” said State Sen­a­tor Bri­an Kavanagh. ​“By estab­lish­ing Gov­er­nors Island’s first year-round, per­ma­nent home for artists and audi­ences, LMCC will con­tin­ue to sup­port our city’s cul­tur­al diver­si­ty. Con­grat­u­la­tions to LMCC exec­u­tive direc­tors Lili Chopra and Diego Segali­ni for reach­ing this great mile­stone and to the artists who will have their work on dis­play dur­ing the Arts Center’s inau­gur­al year.”

“LMCC’s new Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island will pro­vide a great oppor­tu­ni­ty for artists to show­case their work, allow­ing the com­mu­ni­ty to engage with themes of ecol­o­gy, sus­tain­abil­i­ty, and resilience through a num­ber of cre­ative out­lets and events,” said Assem­bly­mem­ber Yuh-Line Niou. ​“In a time where the dan­gers of cli­mate change are increas­ing­ly dire, we need more dis­cus­sion of our rela­tion­ship with nature and the envi­ron­ment. The exhibits and work­shops at the Arts Cen­ter will help facil­i­tate these dis­cus­sions between artists and the pub­lic with issues rel­e­vant to Gov­er­nors Island and New York City at large.”

“Gov­er­nors Island is a gem that has already become a unique hub for NYC res­i­dents and vis­i­tors, attract­ing over 800,000 peo­ple last year alone for its excit­ing attrac­tions, stel­lar views, and vibrant cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming,” said Cul­tur­al Affairs Com­mis­sion­er Tom Finkel­pearl. ​“The open­ing of LMCC’s new Arts Cen­ter offers a spec­tac­u­lar new venue for cre­ativ­i­ty and dia­logue, and adds to our city’s sup­ply of free and afford­able stu­dio space. It per­ma­nent­ly cements a home for artists in this remark­able place mak­ing it a year-round cul­tur­al des­ti­na­tion for all New Yorkers.” 

“The addi­tion of LMCC to Gov­er­nors Island is excit­ing and yet a nat­ur­al com­bi­na­tion whose sum will be greater than the parts,” said Antho­ny Notaro, Jr., Chair of Man­hat­tan Com­mu­ni­ty Board 1. ​“It will ben­e­fit Low­er Man­hat­tan and the City at large. We wel­come this and look for­ward to won­der­ful things to come.”

“The open­ing of the LMCC Arts Cen­ter is a giant step for­ward in achiev­ing our organization’s found­ing vision of Gov­er­nors Island as a place for pub­lic enrich­ment and enjoy­ment.” said Mer­ritt Birn­baum, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. ​“LMCC’s pro­grams are breath­ing new life into a his­toric build­ing, offer­ing New York­ers a chance to dis­cov­er new per­spec­tives on arts and cul­ture in their city, and fos­ter­ing a year-round com­mu­ni­ty that will help shape the Island’s future. We look for­ward to work­ing close­ly with the Trust and LMCC to con­tin­ue enhanc­ing the vis­i­tor expe­ri­ence on Gov­er­nors Island.”

Since 1973, Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC) has served tens of thou­sands of artists and arts groups in New York City with crit­i­cal finan­cial sup­port, train­ing, net­work­ing and long-term stu­dio res­i­den­cy pro­grams. As a cham­pi­on of inde­pen­dent artists and a vital cul­tur­al force in city arts, LMCC con­nects audi­ences with pub­lic pre­sen­ta­tions of artists’ work (includ­ing its flag­ship Riv­er To Riv­er Fes­ti­val), cre­at­ing innu­mer­able cul­tur­al expe­ri­ences and pro­grams across Man­hat­tan, free of charge and wel­come to all.

VIS­I­TOR INFORMATION

Begin­ning Sep­tem­ber 19, LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island is open to the pub­lic Thurs­day-Sun­day from 12PM-5PM. LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter is acces­si­ble by fer­ries to Gov­er­nors Island oper­at­ing to and from Low­er Man­hat­tan and Brook­lyn. The Arts Cen­ter is a 2‑minute walk from the Sois­sons Land­ing pier. For the Gov­er­nors Island fer­ry sched­ule, please vis­it gov​is​land​.org