Dance/NYC Hosts Facebook Live Series as Part of #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers Campaign

New York - Dance/NYC will host a twelve-week Facebook Live Series of transparent conversations with arts workers These discussions will highlight the importance of the arts ecology, point to current challenges and offer considerations on our way forward as a field. Beginning May 21, 2020, this series is a part of #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers, a new online and social media campaign dedicated to the acknowledgement, representation and integration of dance and arts workers into the decision-making processes that will envision the future for New York City post-pandemic.

Following the series launch on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 5:30pm, the series will take place every Tuesday from 5:30 - 7pm ET from May 26 through August 4, 2020 on Dance/NYC's Facebook Page.

May 21 - #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers: A Call to Action

May 26 - #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers: Arts Educators Leading the Charge

#ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers: A Call to Action | May 21, 2020, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Join Dance/NYC in a discussion on the #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers campaign and the importance of arts workers in the future of New York City with Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director, Dance/NYC; Lucy Sexton, Executive Director, New Yorkers For Culture & Arts; Sade Lythcott, CEO, National Black Theatre; and Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Artistic Director, Elisa Monte Dance.

Arts Educators Leading the Charge | May 26, 2020, 5:30pm-7:00pm
Join Dance/NYC in a discussion with arts educators as they highlight their vital relationships with student populations and advocate for their continued role in education and the arts ecology with Ana Nery Fragoso, Director of Dance Director of Dance, Office of Arts and Special Projects, NYC Department of Education;Kimberly Olsen, Managing Director, NYC Arts in Education Roundtable; Michelle Manzanales, Director, School of Dance, Ballet Hispánico; and Traci Lester,Executive Director, National Dance Institute.

"Dance/NYC believes dance and arts workers will be critical to New York City's ability to thrive as a cultural capital post-pandemic." said Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, executive director of Dance/NYC. "Through these series of Facebook Live conversations, we aim to highlight the = labor that dance and arts workers have been doing, and how they are positioning us for a thriving future."

More than 150 videos were received from a cross-section of dance workers in all disciplines from choreographer to educator to administrator to fundraiser to be used in the campaign, including Alice Sheppard, Andrea Miller, Donald Borror, Eduardo Vilaro, Ephrat Asherie, Herman Cornejo, Josh Prince, Lane Harwell, Maleek Washington, Marjani Forté-Saunders, Mark Morris, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, among many others. Full list available here.

And Dance/NYC rolls out a new Facebook Live Series featuring conversations with arts workers, beginning May 21.