Episode summary
NYC's Lincoln Center Aims To Bring World Class Art To Everyone | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 11 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec, Alexis Christoforous, Jess Mention · Guests: Shanta Thake
Summary
Lincoln Center is using its fall season to push a broader access strategy: free and choose-what-you-pay tickets, special open-house programming, and events designed to attract first-time visitors. Shanta Thake said the institution has welcomed over 600,000 new people in the past five years and wants live performance to feel like part of everyday life rather than an elite outing.
The season opens with Shuffle Along, a two-night revival tied to Broadway’s first all-Black cast, and continues with the fifth annual Festival of Firsts in October. Thake said the festival is built around artists trying something new, from U.S. debuts to opera singers doing comedy, and around the idea of opening Lincoln Center to people who may have assumed it was off limits.
She also argued that live performance is more urgent now because of rising isolation. In her view, getting out of the house for art improves mental, physical, and social well-being, and the organization’s donor base has remained supportive because New Yorkers see the arts ecosystem as essential to the city.
Key takeaways
- Shanta Thake said Lincoln Center has welcomed over 600,000 new people in five years after changing to free and choose-what-you-pay pricing.
- The fall season opens with Shuffle Along, a two-night reimagining of the 1921 musical at the Rose Theater on September 27.
- Festival of Firsts returns in October to showcase artists doing something new, including U.S. debuts and first-time experiments.
- Thake said Lincoln Center’s mission now is to counter isolation by making live performance part of a healthy daily routine.
- The October 25 open house is free and includes performances, puppets, dance classes, and access to multiple Lincoln Center spaces.
Notable quotes
“we changed our entire ticket model to be free and choose what you pay so all these barriers to entry for a lot of folks have really come down”
“We've welcomed over 600,000 new people to”
“the mission in this time is to make sure people understand that live performance, being out, getting out of your home leads to better health outcomes”
“Festival First was really created by my colleague Paloma Estz and it's around this idea of turning that idea on its head”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts, radio news. — You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. — We are so blessed here in New York City to have Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. It's really fantastic. And we were just talking about how especially in the summertime they have those silent discos. You can see everyone with their headphones and their dance center. It looks pretty incredible. and the disco ball, the whole vibe. I know. Well, you know what? Summer is almost I know we're technically still in summer,
But we're already talking about our fall programming uh for for Lincoln Center. And here to walk us through it is Shantaa Th. She is Lincoln Center's chief artistic officer joining us here in studio. Great to see you, Shantaa. So, tell us what what sort of the highlights are for for fall programming at Lincoln Center.
Yeah, we are off and running. We just finished the summer, but you know, Lincoln Center is a huge campus, 16 acres in the middle of Manhattan, and we really have the best from around the world. We're kicking it off with Shuffle Along, which is this incredible capture of this beautiful musical that was first it launched in 1921 with Broadway's first all black cast.
We are bringing back this reimagining of it for two nights only at the Rose Theater and it's going to be an incredible night.
This is a reunion. Audrey McDonald, right? — Yeah. Roger McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Savon Glover. So many amazing faces and names. — What are some of the bigger seasonal highlights as far as those milestones that y'all have accomplished recently? — Oh, well, you know, I've been at Lincoln Center now for 5 years.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- art accessibility
- lincoln center programming
- festival of firsts
- performing arts
- new york city arts
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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