The warmer weather, blossoming flowers, and giant disco ball on the horizon can only mean one thing: Summer for the City is on its way back to Lincoln Center. The summertime opposite number of the Times Square ball drop that heralds the new year, the hoisting of the 10-foot disco ball on the Manhattan cultural institution’s iconic plaza means New Yorkers of all stripes and visitors from beyond will soon be gathering for a kaleidoscopic lineup of events, almost all free.
A concert composed by the crowd. A mass wedding. Deaf Broadway. Classically trained drag queens. Afrofuturist art. Women at the top of the hip-hop game. More than 200 events crowd a calendar of events, just released by Lincoln Center, between June 12 and August 15.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is proud to support community programming at Summer for the City for this third iteration, as it has from the beginning.
“In reaching people from all five boroughs and beyond with its warm welcome, Summer for the City has established itself as a New York tradition, but—as this year’s lineup shows—it’s a tradition as dynamic and inclusive as the city itself,” said SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos. “When public space comes alive, it’s a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and we can’t wait to experience that anew this summer.”
This year’s program features collaborations with SNF partners including the city’s three public library systems, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and WNYC. The events they power, and others, relate to topics central to SNF’s grantmaking, including mental health, physical wellbeing, and civic participation.
Through a yearslong partnership and landmark grants, SNF has been proud to support Lincoln Center’s work to expand its welcome to its New York neighbors, including those to the west, and visitors from around the world while reimagining what public space can do. This endeavor involves both physical transformations of the space to open up access and programming that creates a sense of belonging for all.