“NY POPUPS” PERFORMANCE INITIATIVE BEGINS THIS WEEK

From now until Labour Day, there will be over 300 free pop-up performances around New York City. “NYPopUps”, an initiative by Gov. Andrew Cuomo who has been very vocal about the revival of arts and culture being pertinent in the “economic revival of the state”. This announcement comes hand in hand with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement of the Open Culture, which allows permits to be distributed for outdoor street performances this summer.

In an effort to try and keep crowds small, many events won’t be announced ahead of time, leaving being in attendance a game of change. In a recent interview, Cuomo has said that they are trying to “thread the needle”.

“We want the performances. We don’t want mass gatherings, we don’t want large crowds,” emphasized Cuomo, addressing the fear that events might draw an unsafe audience number.

The events are a part of a private-public partnership with New York Arts Revival and will feature music as well as comedy sets by performers such as Chris Rock and Mandy Patinkin.

According to the state, the events will take place in museums, parks, transit platforms, and parking lots. Many will also be streamed online, giving the events larger platforms, while limiting crowd numbers. By following the new @NYPopsUp accounts on Twitter and Instagram, people will be able to find performance details.

“New York leads”, said Cuomo, “and we are going to lead in bringing back the arts.”