2025 Power Players in Arts & Culture

Ben Garcia (he/him) has worked for 20 years to help museums become places of welcome and belonging for all people. He started as a gallery guide and educator, moved on to exhibition development, and then served in middle- and upper-management administrative roles, before joining the American LGBTQ+ Museum as executive director. He presents and publishes regularly on creating structural equity in museums through transparency, accountability, fair labor practices, and by adding missing voices and perspectives.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city this month, what would it be and why?
I am looking forward to visiting both the “ficciones patógenas” exhibition at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Art in Soho and the Marlene McCarty and Donald Moffett exhibition at the Alice Austin House on Staten Island. Alyssa Nitchun (executive director at Leslie Lohman), Victoria Monroe (executive director at Alice Austin), and their incredible teams have transformed both museums into essential centers for queer cultural production.

How can policymakers and everyday New Yorkers support arts and culture within the city?
Cultural and arts organizations provide enormous public value and New York City recognizes this by being a leader in arts and culture funding. All New Yorkers can support arts and culture by showing up for performances and exhibitions. And by joining their favorite organizations as members. However, philanthropy and earned revenue will never cover the costs of running our organizations. So policymakers need to continue to push for greater public funding for our sector.

New York has historically been considered the culture capital of the world. How do you feel the city upholds this legacy in 2025?
Culture isn’t one thing – it is a river fed by millions of different tributaries. New York City is the nation’s cultural capital because of a thousand traditions that comingle and coexist from Indigenous, settler, enslaved, refugee, and immigrant sources. We uphold this legacy in 2025 by embracing the fluid beauty and power of our many cultural headwaters.

President and CEO David Garza joined Henry Street Settlement in 2001. A graduate of Harvard and the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management at Columbia Business School, David serves on the board of NYCETC, the external advisory board of the Dalio Center for Health Justice of New York-Presbyterian, the boards of the Betances Health Center and Citizens Committee for Children; and is a member of NYC REDC and of the Trinity Church Wall Street Neighborhood Council. Like Henry Street Settlement’s founder, Lillian Wald, David believes that the arts are essential to community members’ ability to express themselves and meet their full potential. Under his leadership, Henry Street has worked to make our Abrons Arts Center accessible to the surrounding community and to expand the arts throughout our programming, from preschoolers to youth to older adults, in public schools and throughout the neighborhood.

Jenny Gibbs is the executive director of the IFPDA, IFPDA Foundation, and IFPDA Print Fair. Her expertise spans fundraising, board development, and innovative program creation, drawing from her experiences as a museum director and academic leader. Jenny served as a director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, dean of graduate programs at Massachusetts College of Art & Design, executive director of the Lacoste School of the Arts in France, and executive director of Elmhurst Art Museum.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city this month, what would it be and why?
I am excited about the reopening of the Frick Collection. Giovanni Bellini’s “Ecstasy of St. Francis” is one of my favorite paintings. The azure blue sky, the wind in the trees, his lavish attention to the stones beneath Frankis’s feet, that enigmatic mule – this picture contains worlds. I’m also ridiculously excited to go upstairs into the formerly off-limits Boucher room.

How can policymakers and everyday New Yorkers support arts and culture within the city?
I hope that the policymakers of New York and my fellow New Yorkers will stand their ground against defunding the arts and culture. We need the continued generosity of New York’s amazing philanthropists. I think even Henry Clay Frick would agree that public support for the arts and culture is an important part of civil society. They are not incidental to New York, they are why we are here.

New York has historically been considered the culture capital of the world. How do you feel the city upholds this legacy in 2025?
New York is the heart of the art world. The New York Department of Cultural Affairs plays no small part in that with a budget bigger than the NEA (even before the cuts). We just hosted the IFDPA Print Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, and the turnout was incredible, with artists, curators, and collectors from around the world lining up around the block. It was a testament to how New Yorkers support the arts.

As Carnegie Hall’s executive and artistic director since 2005, Clive Gillinson leads the Hall’s artistic programming team: engaging the world’s leading artists and developing major citywide festivals; creating innovative music education and digital initiatives that serve audiences worldwide; and managing all aspects of the Hall’s operations. He performed as a London Symphony Orchestra cellist for 14 years and was appointed as its manager for 21 years before taking up his position at Carnegie Hall.

Anna Glass has been involved in the performing arts as both an artist and arts administrator for over 25 years. She currently serves as the chief executive officer of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, named an “American Cultural Treasure” by the Ford Foundation and recent recipient of $18.5 million combined gifts from the Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott – the largest gift amounts in DTH’s history. Together with Artistic Director Emerita Virginia Johnson, Anna co-launched a collaborative initiative addressing racial inequity in ballet – The Equity Project. In May 2013, she began her own endeavor dedicated to preserving and documenting the legacies of prominent Black artists and cultural institutions, and reinterpreting those legacies onto multiple platforms, including live performance. She recently produced Carmen de Lavallade’s newest solo show Carmen de Lavallade: Life of a Legend for Jazz at Lincoln Center and prior to that As I Remember It– an intimate portrait of this legendary artist, which toured across the country.

Adam Greenfield is artistic director of Playwrights Horizons, having previously served as director of play development and associate artistic director. At Playwrights Horizons, Greenfield has shepherded over 100 premieres, including David Adjmi’s Stereophonic, Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop, Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Sam Hunter’s The Whale, Danai Gurira’s Familiar, and Larissa FastHorse’s Thanksgiving Play.

Stamatina Gregory is a curator, art historian, and NYC native engaging with queer and radical pasts, presents, and futures. They have organized exhibitions for many institutions in the US and abroad with artists including Tavares Strachan, Carlos Motta, Odili Odita, Andrea Geyer, and Justin Vivian Bond. Their exhibitions, ficciones patógenas (organized with George Sanchez) and Young Joon Kwak: RESISTERHOOD, are currently on view at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in SoHo.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city this month, what would it be and why?
You’ll probably find me at Giorno Poetry Systems, where the iconic poet Pamela Sneed will be reading, along with Aviva Silverman, and where generally interesting excavations of New York’s downtown underground past are magically still happening.

How can policymakers and everyday New Yorkers support arts and culture within the city?
Policymakers: find ways to lower commercial rent and disincentivize empty storefronts. There are many ways to do this through tax codes and task forces, and it would free artists, fledgling restauranteurs, and creative retailers to thrive here again. New York has too much energy to keep ossifying into vacant blight and vacuous chains. Everyday New Yorkers: keep your eyes open and protect one another. All our freedoms are on the line.

New York has historically been considered the culture capital of the world. How do you feel the city upholds this legacy in 2025?
I have long maintained that NYC is more provincial than we think, on the international stage. But our unparalleled strength has always been our diversity of ways of living and being, and our radical welcoming of those who make their home and their art here. We uphold this legacy when we resist authoritarianism. Don’t tell us how to live.

Lisa Gugenheim is the president and CEO of The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI). Lisa joined NYSCI from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) where she served as Director and introduced major new programs and facilities – helping raise a record-breaking $1.2 billion. Lisa brings a lifelong passion for STEM, education, and learning to her career. She is a lifelong New Yorker and a graduate of Oberlin College. 

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city this month, what would it be and why?
NYSCI’s newest exhibit CityWorks! The exhibit focuses on five different aspects of city infrastructure, exploring how each system has traditionally functioned and evolved over time as well as potential future challenges as cities continue to adapt. Cities are the heart and pulse of our country and CityWorks takes visitors deep into the built environment – challenging them to engage with the materials and ideas that keep our cities thriving.

How can policymakers and everyday New Yorkers support arts and culture within the city?
By recognizing creativity, innovation is essential to the city’s vitality – whether it’s on a stage, in a museum, classroom, or park. Policymakers can champion policies that nurture artists and the thousands of people who work in the sector, while New Yorkers can support by showing up, sharing resources, and valuing artistic expression in all its forms.

New York has historically been considered the culture capital of the world. How do you feel the city upholds this legacy in 2025?
In 2025, the city’s cultural edge depends on bold public investment, space for experimentation, and supporting the next generation. We uphold the legacy not by preserving what was, but by fueling what’s next – supporting the artists, educators, and innovators shaping the city’s future in real time.

Since 2022, Evie Hantzopoulos has led Queens Botanical Garden, a jewel of the “World’s Borough” that grew out of an exhibition during the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Previously, she was the executive director at Global Kids, a youth development nonprofit. Evie chairs Community Board 1 in Queens and serves on the boards of Western Queens Community Land Trust, Connected Chef, and 31st Ave Open Street Collective.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city this month, what would it be and why?
It’s hard to choose but I have two exhibits on my list. First is Songs of New York at the Museum of the City of New York which looks at music genres and artists across all five boroughs over 100 years. Second is Billion Dollar Dream at the Queens Museum which is all about the 1964/65 World’s Fair. I love history, politics, music, and New York City so these two exhibits really speak to me!

How can policymakers and everyday New Yorkers support arts and culture within the city?
Policymakers should ensure that arts and culture are fully funded and that they are accessible to all! On a practical level, arts and culture are economic drivers for NYC, generating over $110 billion or 13% of the City’s economic activity. On a human level, arts and culture bring us joy, healing, inspiration, and opportunities to think critically about our world. Everyday New Yorkers can advocate for more funding and of course, get out and enjoy!

New York has historically been considered the culture capital of the world. How do you feel the city upholds this legacy in 2025?
I believe we are at a critical point where it’s harder and harder to survive as an artist or cultural institution due to inadequate public funding and investment, increased costs, and lack of affordable space or housing. Many of us are raising our budgets as we go and lack consistent resources for long-term stability. To uphold the legacy, we also need to be sure that emerging artists or smaller organizations have support.

David Hatkoff has been executive director of NewFest, New York’s leading LGBTQ+ film and media organization, since 2019. Under his leadership, NewFest has added two new flagship festivals and several artist development programs, and the NY LGBTQ+ Film Festival has become the largest queer film festival in the country. David has spent his career amplifying the work of nonprofit arts organizations, serving for 11 years in a senior role at NYC’s Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city this month, what would it be and why?
NewFest Pride is a can’t-miss event! Kicking off LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the festival is five days of film premieres, parties, and panel conversations, as well as outdoor screenings. Last year we presented the filmed version of Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball in the Meatpacking District’s Gansevoort Plaza. It was incredible to see 1,000 Little Monsters out in the streets of NYC – that’s the power of queer community that NewFest creates.

How can policymakers and everyday New Yorkers support arts and culture within the city?
Organizations like NewFest serving marginalized communities are facing very real challenges – corporate sponsorship is on shaky ground, and the administration’s efforts to eliminate DEI initiatives are jeopardizing federal funding. Nonprofit organizations creating platforms for arts and culture desperately need support. Whether buying a ticket, making a donation, or helping secure institutional funding, folks need to really show up for organizations that create the kind of work and community spaces that are meaningful to them.

New York has historically been considered the culture capital of the world. How do you feel the city upholds this legacy in 2025?
It has been such a gift to spend my career amplifying the mission and programming efforts of cultural organizations in the most vibrant and vital city in the world. However, we can’t take this for granted. Most of the organizations that do this work have shoestring budgets and are one step away from financial jeopardy. To keep NYC the cultural capital of the world means investing in these organizations’ growth and sustainability.