Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Founded as Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, LMCC serves, connects, and makes space for artists and community. Learn more at: www.lmcc.net.
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Since 1973, LMCC has been the champion for independent artists in New York City and the cultural life force of Lower Manhattan. Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) empowers artists by providing them with networks, resources, and support, to create vibrant, sustainable communities in Manhattan.

On August 8, Esperanza Spalding and Kayla Farrish brought something truly special to Wagner Park, an evening of dance an...
08/19/2026

On August 8, Esperanza Spalding and Kayla Farrish brought something truly special to Wagner Park, an evening of dance and music, composed live, and set against New York Harbor at sunset.

Joined by an incredibly talented ensemble — Jamal Abrams, Kar’mel Antonyo Wade Small, Justin Tyson, Dayna Stevens, and Taiya Cheng — these artists shared a connective, improvisational practice forged through their ongoing collaboration. It was an unforgettable night, where music and movement unfolded together in real time. They named it right: it was ceremonial grade creation.

We are so grateful to esperanza, Kayla, and the full ensemble for trusting LMCC with the first public presentation of this work. Thank you to everyone who joined us at Wagner Park to share this experience. And big thanks to our partners at Battery Park City Parks for helping bring this evening to life as part of the 2026 River To River Festival!

📸: Cole Witter

“In the beginning, jazz was dance music.”Read Brian Seibert’s NYT feature on esperanza spalding and Kayla Farrish’s coll...
08/07/2026

“In the beginning, jazz was dance music.”

Read Brian Seibert’s NYT feature on esperanza spalding and Kayla Farrish’s collaboration, debuting tomorrow at 7pm at Robert F. Wagner Jr Park!

Check it out: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/07/arts/dance/esperanza-spalding-kayla-farrish-jazz-dance.html

RSVP: https://lmcc.net/events/esperanza-spalding/

The one-night-only, free performance, “esperanza spalding in ceremonial grade creation with Kayla Farrish and friends,” fuses the relationship between dance – crafted live and in real time.

This Saturday ➡️ Hybrid Animal Encyclopedia, an All-Ages Climate Art Workshop with Nobuho Nagasawa at LMCC’s Arts Center...
07/31/2026

This Saturday ➡️ Hybrid Animal Encyclopedia, an All-Ages Climate Art Workshop with Nobuho Nagasawa at LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island.

Step into a space of imagination and invention, where new hybrid creatures begin to appear! Create collages that merge dinosaurs with present-day animals. Each creation becomes a page in this shifting Hybrid Animal Encyclopedia, a meeting point of memory and invention, nature and imagination, past and future.

The workshop will be ongoing from 1-3pm. Stay for the entire event or stop by for a few minutes.

LMCC’s 2026 Climate Art Workshops are FREE and open to all. RSVPs are encouraged. Drop-ins welcome. Can’t make it this time? Join us for the next installment of Hybrid Animal Encyclopedia on Saturday, August 15!

RSVP and learn more: https://lmcc.website/artmake81

Leslie Wayne featured in The Art Newspaper for her new exhibition, The Unintended Blues.To read the piece, click the lin...
07/30/2026

Leslie Wayne featured in The Art Newspaper for her new exhibition, The Unintended Blues.

To read the piece, click the link in our bio!

The Unintended Blues is on view Friday - Sunday, 12-5pm at LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island.

Last night, we hosted an opening reception for The Unintended Blues, a new exhibition at the Arts Center at Governors Is...
07/24/2026

Last night, we hosted an opening reception for The Unintended Blues, a new exhibition at the Arts Center at Governors Island by Leslie Wayne that captures the beauty of our natural environment and renders with graphic clarity the existential threat of rising sea levels.

The Unintended Blues is presented as part of LMCC’s River To River Festival and is made possible by The Deborah Buck Foundation, Morgan Stanley Blue Rider Group, and New York State Council on the Arts Support for Artists Grant. Special thanks to Anna Raginskaya and Jack Shainman Gallery.

Workshop, bus, artist activation, club, panel, exhibition, club, another activation….This weekend, join us for a busy da...
07/22/2026

Workshop, bus, artist activation, club, panel, exhibition, club, another activation….

This weekend, join us for a busy day at LMCC's Arts Center!

RSVP at the link in bio!

Five-time Grammy Winner Esperanza Spalding in collaboration with dancer, theater, and film maker Kayla Farrish, presents...
07/11/2026

Five-time Grammy Winner Esperanza Spalding in collaboration with dancer, theater, and film maker Kayla Farrish, presents the first public sharing of their creative collaboration –crafted live, in real time. Free | Book Now: https://lmcc.website/eskf

We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Manhattan Arts Grants Recipients! 🎉✨The 2026 Manhattan Arts Grants fund 222 Manhatt...
07/01/2026

We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Manhattan Arts Grants Recipients! 🎉✨

The 2026 Manhattan Arts Grants fund 222 Manhattan-based artists, groups, and non-profit organizations for the public presentation of arts activities in every neighborhood from Inwood to the Battery. Through the Creative Engagement, Creative Learning, and UMEZ Arts Engagement grant programs, LMCC helps sustain a vibrant arts ecosystem in Manhattan.

Check out the full list of grantees at the link in bio!

Support for Manhattan Arts Grants provided by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, New York State Council on the Arts, and Howard Gilman Foundation.

There’s no cause for concern, but yes, the Moon and Earth are drifting apart.Inspired by this astronomical shift, Nichol...
06/30/2026

There’s no cause for concern, but yes, the Moon and Earth are drifting apart.

Inspired by this astronomical shift, Nichole Canuso and Branching Paths reflected on how we move through care, loss and transformation in a work in progress showing of Lunar Retreat. The multi-sensory, immersive performance is set to premiere at later this year.

This showing is a culmination of Canuso’s Dance Residency, one of many ways LMCC supports NYC artists while activating the Arts Center at Governors Island.

Check out free events and programs at the Arts Center this summer at the link in bio!
�Photos by Emmett Levy.

“From an aerial view, you get to see what’s at stake in a way you don’t on the ground.”Accumulating source imagery from ...
05/20/2026

“From an aerial view, you get to see what’s at stake in a way you don’t on the ground.”

Accumulating source imagery from Google Earth, on expeditions with her pilot friend “who gamely flew along the coast of Texas to find [her] a captivating view” and image banks, Leslie Wayne’s large-scale paintings document views of vulnerable US shorelines and melting icebergs in the Arctic Circle.

With paintings shown alongside three multi-media works, Wayne grapples with how artists can reach, “the hearts and minds of viewers, not just with information but with the poetic force of their creativity.”

THE UNINTENDED BLUES will be on view at the Arts Center at Governors Island beginning July 24. The exhibition is FREE and open to the public Friday-Sunday, 12-5pm.
�Click the link in bio to learn more.

Photos by Don Porcaro

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125 Maiden Lane, Fl 2nd
New York, NY
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Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm

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