Michael Bloomberg Gives $75 Million To New Manhattan Arts Center
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Talya Zax May 24, 2017
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is still helping shape the city, most recently in the form of a $75 million gift to the Shed Arts Center.
The cultural hub, currently under construction in Hudson Yards, is intended to open in the spring of 2019, featuring a range of performance and gallery spaces, as well as a “lab” for emerging artists.
In advance of its opening, the Shed is sponsoring artistic events in other city venues, beginning, according to its website, with the three-year-long “citywide dance activism program” FlexNYC. Bronx-born conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner is under commission to create a new work that will debut when the complex opens.
“I’ve always believed the arts have a unique ability to benefit cities by attracting creative individuals of every kind, strengthening communities, and driving economic growth,” The New York Times quoted Bloomberg as remarking in a statement. “The Shed will help New York achieve all three goals.”
In addition to its arts programming, the Shed’s architectural ingenuity should prove a draw. Covered by a mobile shell, the building can be fronted either by a public plaza when the shell is retracted, or a large, multi-function performance hall when the shell is extended.
As The New York Times reported, with Bloomberg’s gift, conducted through his charity Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Shed will have raised $421 million of the $500 million it is attempting to secure through a capital campaign. Bloomberg’s gift has taken two parts, first an undisclosed 2012 donation of $15 million, and now an additional $60 million.
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