It’s been nearly a year since New York City first went into lockdown, and the last movie I went out to see was Dolittle, so…
Shakespeare in the Parking Spot: Cultural Venues Can Now Take to the Streets
For performance artists across New York City, today is a turning point in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Cultural institutions and entertainment venues can now…
Queens Drive-In Joins Indoor Theaters in Making a Return
Just last week, New York’s cinema scene looked like, well, something out of a horror movie. Movie theaters had been dark since March, and– even…
‘Kids’ Star Leo Fitzpatrick: Opening a Gallery Is Like Building a Skateboarding Team
The pandemic has been rough for museums and art galleries. The Met is on the brink of selling masterpieces to keep the lights on, and…
Lunar New Year Kicks Off in Chinatown Without Quite as Much of a Bang
The Lunar New Year usually draws thousands to Manhattan’s Chinatown to watch the annual parade and partake in cultural festivities. Participants and spectators questioned whether…
Manhattan’s Last Home For Artists Weathers Another Storm
In the middle of the night in early November 2012, Karen Santry dressed in a wetsuit and skulked down the stairs of her West Village…
During Hard Times, a Jazz Dynamo Has a Lot of Playin’ to Do
On the eve of his 30th birthday, Benny Benack III, a Pittsburgh-born, New York City-based trumpet player, jazz singer, pianist and charismatic bon vivant played…
I Took a Double-Decker Tour of NYC During a Raging Pandemic
When I plugged in disposable red earbuds to a headphone jack on TopView’s double-decker bus on a recent Tuesday, Frank Sinatra greeted me with a…
Will Covid Be the ‘Final Nail in the Coffin’ for Independent Theater?
When the pandemic started in March, performing arts venues all over the country closed. In June, Off-Broadway fixture The Playroom Theatre shuttered permanently, and many…
Meet Azikiwe Mohammed, the Artist Opening a Black Painters Academy
A native New Yorker, Azikiwe Mohammed has always envisioned a space where Black and brown people can feel safe expressing themselves.