Power Players in Arts & Culture

Matthew D. Loeb has served as International President of IATSE since July 2008. He devised the Union’s aggressive organizing and bargaining strategy, which helped tens of thousands of new members join IATSE’s ranks. Loeb believes that activism in the political arena is an essential component to improving the lives of the Union’s members.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
IATSE’s film and television negotiations with the AMPTP: https://iatse.net/week-one-iatse-amptp-hollywood-basic-agreement-general-negotiations-and-joint-mpi-benefits-update/

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Unionize.

Glenn D. Lowry is the sixth director of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). He leads a staff of over 800 people and directs MoMA’s active program of exhibitions, collection development, and publications that invite people around the world to connect with the art of our time. He is a strong advocate of contemporary art and has lectured and written extensively in support of contemporary art and artists and the role of museums in society.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
I’m energized by working with MoMA’s staff on the ambitious sustainability plan we launched in 2008. We attained LEED Platinum certification for our 2019 expansion and continue to transform operations to limit energy consumption and strive toward zero waste. In 2020, we created the Emilio Ambasz Institute to break new ground with research and programs that explore the relationship between architecture and ecology. By 2025, we will reduce our emissions by 30% and cut our waste in half. It is only the beginning.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Everyone wants, and expects, more from the world of arts and culture than ever before. Activists see it as a space of contention, employees want institutions to model their societal aspirations, and those who seek experiences with art want insights about the world. But cultural spaces do not provide certainty and clear answers; they are where you go to expand your horizons and discover questions. Centering inquiry and openness in your work makes it possible to create institutions that are open and welcoming — where we can collectively imagine and build a future in which arts and culture are relevant for generations to come.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
Arts and culture institutions have emerged over the last twenty-five years as some of our most important civic spaces and they were catalysts to the City’s recovery from the pandemic. They support community resiliency and economic growth across our five boroughs—strengthening quality of life, creating jobs and attracting and retaining top talent, driving tourism, and sparking innovation. Continued and increased investing in the field is crucial to our City’s success.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
There’s so much happening in the City right now that feels inspiring and important to experience—a few highlights for me include the new retrospective of Pacita Abad’s work at MoMA PS1, “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” at The Met Opera (credit to Terrance Blanchard, Charles M. Blow, and Kasi Lemmons), and the site-specific installation and performances by Shana Moulton for her project Meta/Physical Therapy here at MoMA.

Yue Ma is the director of collections and research at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). She oversees acquisition, preservation, conservation, research, and digitization of the museum’s collections. She assisted with the museum’s permanent exhibition “With a Single Step,” and co-curated the exhibition “Waves of Identity: 35 Years of Archiving.” Prior to MOCA, Ma received a bachelor’s of science from Jilin University and served as digital project manager and associate research archivist at Shenzhen Municipal Archives.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
On January 23, 2020, a fire destroyed MOCA’s Collections and Research Center at 70 Mulberry Street. MOCA was able to salvage 95% of our archives, but 73% of the collections will need restoration. Over the past four years, we’ve worked with professional conservators and university conservation students to rehouse and repair damaged collections. We document and post about these post-fire recovery efforts online to show how professionals would archivally preserve a range of materials long-term.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Philip Markle is the artistic director and founder of the Brooklyn Comedy Collective (BCC). Philip graduated from Northwestern University and trained in improv in Chicago before moving to NYC in 2013 to launch The Annoyance Theater NY, which he ran for four years. Philip has taught hundreds of students the art of comedy and regularly performs his queer variety show Sparkle Hour. You can listen to his comedy songs on your favorite streaming music platform.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
The Brooklyn Comedy Collective — the home of underground comedy in NYC and a place where thousands of young comedians are finding their voice.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Make your own opportunities – don’t wait around for someone to “choose” you. Empower yourself to create from a place of joy and fierceness and find your people, your collaborators, who respect you and challenge you as an artist.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
Continue to invest and direct attention toward the arts. The arts in this city and country have had to ‘go it alone’ for so long, scraping by without much public or government assistance. If anything, the city’s red tape gets in the way of new businesses and thriving nightlife (one of the greatest selling points of NYC). And stop letting individuals close businesses by anonymously abusing 311 to shut them down.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
Something underground, off-the-beaten path, weird and wonderful, and outside what I’ve seen before. I’m going to an experimental dance show I read about in the NYTimes even though I almost never go see dance shows cause the review delighted me and I want to be moved by art forms other than the one I inhabit (comedy).

Anthony W. Marx is president of The New York Public Library, the nation’s largest library system, with over 90 locations that includes neighborhood libraries and research centers. Since joining NYPL in 2011, Marx has strengthened the library’s role as an essential provider of educational opportunities for all ages. Under his leadership, the library has enhanced and expanded early literacy and after-school programs for children and teens and improved services for students. Under Marx, the library has also become a national leader in bridging the digital divide. 

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
Many don’t realize how much young people love and use libraries. We see it at our teen centers, but there’s also data from the American Library Association (ALA). ALA just released a report that found Gen Z and millennials use libraries at higher rates than older generations, both digitally and in person. Libraries build community, which is why we are so happy young people are taking advantage of what we offer. 

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Come to NYPL for inspiration and guidance. The Library for the Performing Arts has an extensive collection of theater, film, dance and sound. The Schomburg Center is the world’s leading cultural institution devoted to materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences. And our flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building houses literally millions of reference materials, including the most accessible print room in NYC with over 200,000 prints. All of it free!

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city? 
Baseline funding! We are grateful for the support we received from our elected officials last year, but then we were cut four months after our funding was “restored.” Our funding is always uncertain, which means we don’t know what programs and services we can continue. Libraries want full restoration of our $58.3M to bring back Sunday service and continue universal six day service, and we want that funding baselined. 

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
I am biased, but the Library recently opened “The Awe Of The Arctic: A Visual History” at our flagship Stephen A. Schwartzman building, included in our new and breathtaking Ispahani-Bartos gallery, and it is fascinating. The Arctic is a huge region that very few have visited, and this exhibit takes us through 500 years through the eyes of artists and explorers. Highly recommended and free to all.

Born in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Patricia McGregor is the artistic director of New York Theatre Workshop. An award-winning director/writer across disciplines, McGregor is known for directing world premieres, co-authoring musicals including “Lights Out: Nat King Cole,” tour consulting for artists including J-Cole and Raphael Saadiq, and directing film. McGregor was co-founder of Angela’s Pulse Performance Projects, an Old Globe Resident Artist, and a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow at Yale School of Drama.

John Mhiripiri is the director of Anthology Film Archives, a New York City home for preservation, study and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema. Anthology screens more than 900 programs annually, preserves an average of 25 films per year (with 900 works preserved to date), publishes books and DVDs, and hosts numerous scholars and researchers. As director, Mhiripiri is responsible for the overall operations and development of this nonprofit cinema, film archive, and research library. His dedication to the medium of film has led him to present public programs at film festivals and other venues throughout the U.S., and has screened his own work in Super-8mm since the mid-1990s.

Andrea Miller is a choreographer, artistic director, and founder of GALLIM, NYC-based dance company dedicated to art, education, and community building. A creator and collaborator for dance, film, fashion and visual arts. Her works are performed worldwide. Her commissions include Metropolitan Museum of Art, English National Ballet, NYCB, Martha Graham and Lincoln Center. Miller is a Guggenheim, Sadler’s Wells, New York City Council, and Princess Grace Fellow. Her repertory, creative methodology, and dance training are taught through GALLIM’s School of Movement.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
I am beginning a new work – an interactive dance-theater piece for children titled “The Day that Dance Fell in Love with Music”. Dance and Music are animated into two characters and we travel with them across cultures, continents and centuries and learn about their epic love story. The project explores our inherent drive to dance, how we’re called by music, and the traditions and rituals that help us process and celebrate our human story.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
When we see how hard the work might be ahead it prevents us from enjoying the path. There is fear of the work. There’s fear of doing it alone and without recognition. Creativity requires joy. It’s a dilemma. Finding joy is cherishing what you do, finding the meaning of what you do AND having the stamina to ask that question “why am I doing this” again and again. Love the process, love the effort.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
Be outspoken advocates for the arts and culture, speak of its benefits to community, security, education, tourism, business, the identity of our city. Then back it up with money. Don’t cut the arts budgets, double down! Make sure that every student has access to dance, music, and visual arts education from K-12. Give more training and support to dance, music and art teachers – that’s where it all begins!!

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
“The Effect” at the Shed. Jamie Lloyd is my favorite contemporary director. I’m in awe of his agility with text, the inherent physicality of his works, and the economy of the production. This work is especially fascinating, featuring just four actors pulling off such a wild journey. I think it will feel especially stunning in the edgy vibe of the Shed.

Louise Mirrer joined the New-York Historical Society as president and CEO in June 2004. Under her leadership, the institution has reinvigorated its commitment to greater public understanding of history and its relevance today, the support and encouragement of historical scholarship, and the education of young people. Mirrer holds a double Ph.D. from Stanford, a graduate diploma from Cambridge, and a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
New-York Historical is breaking ground on a new, 70,000 square foot “Democracy Wing.” Adjoining our landmark headquarters, the wing will feature classrooms to enable a dramatic increase in the number of students served by our Tang Academy for American Democracy and teachers in our Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy. It will also feature new galleries, terraces, a state-of-the-art conservation lab, library storage, and the first home for the American LGBTQ+ Museum.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
The next generation of leaders in arts and culture must think carefully about the mission of the organization they seek to be a part of, and make sure they believe in it. Once committed, they should resist the temptation to forsake the organization’s mission, just to be a part of the crowd. Also, they should always remember that history will judge their success by what they actually accomplished, and not their rhetoric.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
New York’s policymakers have recognized, since 1869, the importance of cultural institutions in securing New York’s place of privilege as a “world city”. Sustaining this reputation is critical for the city’s economic and social wellbeing, hence keeping cultural institutions as a priority at budget-making time is paramount.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
Our exhibit, “New York Before New York,” commemorating Dutch arrival 400 years ago, features a letter from a Dutch West India Company administrator, announcing the “purchase” of Manhattan from Native Americans for 60 guilders — an amount translated in the 19th century to the infamous “$24.” Next to it is a statement signed by three contemporary Lenape chiefs, refuting the sale. For anyone seeking to understand New York’s history, this show is a must.

Yasufumi has lived and worked in Japan, the U.S. and the U.K., first as a corporate lawyer and later as a museum curator and director. Experiencing the September 11, 2011, terrorist attacks near Ground Zero prompted him to leave law to pursue his passion – art history. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including the award winning Zanele Muholi (Tate, 2020/21). Asia Society exhibitions will demonstrate the diversity and complexity of Asian and Asian diaspora art.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
We are creating new exhibitions and programs that will appeal to young people, including art by groundbreaking Asian American artists. We produce performing art programs (including concerts and literary arts events), films, artist talks, and family programs. In our beautiful garden court Leo Café, we offer lunch and coffee, and organize monthly Leo Bar Happy Hours. Admission to the museum is free to all visitors on Fridays and to Hunter and Columbia students every day.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Identify a special field you have a passion for; see, hear, feel and experience the field as much as you can; and find an internship and a mentor in the field.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
They can provide funds for all NYC museums to offer free admission to all visitors every day.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
I would go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and explore galleries. On Friday and Saturday the museum is open till 9 PM, and I love exploring the photography, Asian art, and African and Oceanian art collections. They are among the best in the world. Plus, if you are a NYS resident or a student in NY/NJ/CT, you could pay what you wish.