Lower Manhattan Cultural Council provides valuable workspace for local artists

This week, 30 visual and performing artists in New York City will have the opportunity to move to Governor’s Island, an area in lower Manhattan, where they will begin a year-round artist studio program hosted by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC). Since 1997, the Artist Residencies department of LMCC has partnered with real estate owners in lower Manhattan to address the critical needs of local artists for studio, rehearsal and presentation space. The LMCC has worked to secure donations of temporarily vacant spaces to transform them into art studios. Artists in this year’s program will live in the newly renovated Building 110, where they will have access to 20 studios, two rehearsal areas and a large exhibition space with views of lower Manhattan and New York Harbor. Artist residencies will run from March to July and from August to December. Space is granted through open applications. The LMCC feels that placing artists into the lower Manhattan landscape serves the art community at large and enhances downtown Manhattan’s cultural environment. The LMCC works to invigorate the arts in the local community by selecting and commissioning works of art, producing and presenting performances, all the while working to maintain a vibrant arts community.