THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

May 2022 NEWSLETTER

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Broadway Grand Gallery Unveiled in Times Square

On April 6, Mayor Eric Adams, members of the Times Square Alliance and the Broadway League unveiled the Broadway Grand Gallery exhibition in Times Square. This exhibit, featuring 21 large Playbill monoliths of current Broadway shows, is meant to encourage audiences to return to the theater, and is on display on the Broadway Plaza through June 15. The event kicked of a surge of Broadway show reopenings in April.

For more information, please check out this Playbill.com article.

Commissioner Anne del Castillo Included in Various Industry Lists in Recognition of Agency’s Work

Alongside Academy Award-winner Ariana deBose, ABC News President Kimberly Godwin and Show Creator Shonda Rhimes, MOME Commissioner Anne del Castillo has been included, for the second year in a row, in Variety’s New York Women’s Impact Report, an annual list that highlights the women who made an impact on the media landscape in the past year. For her interview, del Castillo spoke of MOME’s role during the pandemic, providing resources and advocating for everyone in the entertainment economy. The article call be found here.

Additionally, Commissioner del Castillo was identified as one of the leading members of the Asian American community in New York on City & State’s The Power of Diversity: Asian 100 list. Compiled by City & State, the list recognizes the most notable Asian American individuals in the state who are making a difference in government and politics. Del Castillo’s inclusion highlighted pandemic initiatives such as the Broadway Vaccination Site, Curtain Up NYC and Fair Share NYC: Restaurants, all which aided the entertainment sector towards recovery. The full article can be read here.

2022 Tony Awards Nominations Are Here!

On May 9, the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League announced the nominees for the 75th Annual Tony Awards, set to be held on June 12, 2022 at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall. A total of 34 shows were vying for awards in 26 categories this year. The nominations honored work from Broadway’s comeback season, after the long coronavirus shutdown. Nominee highlights include:

• “A Strange Loop” leads the Tony nominations with 11, including Best Musical, for which it will compete against “MJ,” “Paradise Square,” “Six,” “Girl from the North County,” and “Mr. Saturday Night.”

• Prior to his passing, the late Stephen Sondheim composed a gender-swapped revival of “Company,” which racked up nine Tony nominations on Monday, more than its competitors in the race for Best Musical Revival, “The Music Man” and “Caroline, or Change.”

• “The Lehman Trilogy,” a play that explores the rise and fall of the Lehman Brothers financial empire, scored eight Tony nominations, making it the show to beat in the race for Best Play.

NYXL, NY’s Premiere Esports Organization, Announces their Young Creator Project

Announced on May 2, the Young Creator Project, known as YXL, is a year-long annual incubator program that will discover, support and promote the next generation of New York digital content creators.

Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer was proud to support the announcement, saying “Congratulations to NYXL on the launch of their Young Creator Project, a program very much in line with the city's goals to develop pathways for New Yorkers to high-paying creative tech jobs. As outlined in our Economic Recovery Blueprint, this administration is writing the next chapter for New York City's tech sector by investing and driving inclusivity in the Digital Games Industry and we are thrilled to see a NYC based company providing this kind of opportunity for our youth."

For more information, please visit nyxl.com/yxl/.

Industry City announced as the New Headquarters for the Freelancers Union

On April 26, Industry City announced that Freelancers Union, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing benefits, resources, and education to more than 500,000 independent workers, has joined the six million-square-foot creative campus located on the Sunset Park, Brooklyn waterfront. The organization will utilize its new 4,413-square-foot headquarters for the Freelancers Hub, a free members-only coworking and networking space supported by MOME that offers services such as workshops, tax and legal assistance, and more.

Mayor Adams commented: “Freelancers are some of our most essential, creative, and dedicated workers, but too often, they have fallen through the cracks when it comes to critical services. As borough president and now as mayor, I have supported the Freelancers Hub, and I am proud to see our freelancers make Industry City their home. My administration will continue to find ways to support this vital community.”

For more information, read the Industry City announcement here.

NYC Hospitality Alliance’s State of the Industry Conference Highlights Resiliency of Restaurant and Nightlife Communities During Pandemic

On April 11, Office of Nightlife (ONL) Executive Director Ariel Palitz attended and spoke at the NYC Hospitality Alliance’s 2022 State of the Industry Conference. The conference gathered 250 hospitality industry professionals for a half-day of engaging panel discussions and presentations about the hottest issues impacting restaurants and nightlife establishments. The panel, The Future of Restaurant and Nightlife Advocacy, spoke to the challenges the nightlife community faced during the pandemic, and how, alongside city government, it proactively advocated for itself like never before to secure resources and help, such as the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the Save our Stages Act.

COVID Safety De-Escalation Training Offers Vendor Operators Tips for Conflict Resolution

On April 21, MOME, ONL, and the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) partnered with the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) to host a webinar in COVID safety de-escalation training. The training offered pragmatic and mindful tactics for public engagement in light of the suspensions of the Key to NYC vaccine mandate and the Star’s mask rules.

Watch the webinar here.

UPCOMING

Join us May 11–14 for the 2022 PEN America World Voices Festival. Over four days, 70+ writers from 20+ countries will be featured in engaging talks, panels, readings, and performances in New York City’s Village and greater Los Angeles. From lively debates that delve into the most pressing issues of our time to intimate conversations on the beauty and power of stories, the 2022 World Voices Festival convenes voices from around the globe to help bring about new understandings to this moment of uncertainty.

The 29th New York African Film Festival (AFF) kicks off with a Town Hall at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30pm, featuring African and diaspora artists displaying and discussing work that explores the festival’s theme, and continues with Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) from Thursday, May 12 to Tuesday, May 17. From FLC, the festival will continue at Maysles Cinema in Harlem from Thursday, May 19 to Sunday, May 22, and will conclude at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s (BAM) Rose Cinemas from Friday, May 27 to Thursday, June 2, in conjunction with the annual DanceAfrica celebration. The festival is presented under the banner Visions of Freedom: tuning into diverse and interconnected notions of freedom pertinent to Africa, the diaspora, and the world at large. This year’s festival presents programs that recall activisms past and usher in new anthems of the future to embrace a united front for liberation and expression.

The 10th Annual TEDXBroadway conference, officially known as TEDxBroadway TEN!, will be hosted live at New World Stages on Tuesday, May 17th, from 1-6 PM and streamed virtually. Attendees and viewers will experience a gathering of the entire Broadway ecosystem to discuss and help steer the future of Broadway, dedicated to the central mission question, “What’s the BEST Broadway can be?

The 2nd edition of NewFest Pride will take place both in-person and virtually from June 2nd – June 6th, including six new feature films, episodic content, social events, and filmmaker Q&As. In-person screenings will take place at SVA Theatre in New York City. Select films will also stream virtually throughout the United States. NewFest has announced Andrew Ahn’s hotly anticipated FIRE ISLAND, starring Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster, as its opening night feature. Set in the iconic Pines, FIRE ISLAND is an unapologetic, modern day rom-com showcasing a diverse, multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Tickets to the Opening Night + Party for FIRE ISLAND are sold out, but tickets for the FIRE ISLAND 10PM Late Night Encore are still available at newfest.org. The full lineup for NewFest Pride will be announced in the coming weeks.

Follow the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment on social media for the latest on our upcoming events, initiatives, and programs: Twitter: @MadeinNY, Facebook: @MadeinNY, and Instagram: @Madein_NY.

Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment

nyc.gov/mome

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