Andrew D. Hamingson, late of St. Ann’s Warehouse and the Public Theater, will take over as president of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), beginning February 1st.
Founded in 1973 to ‘add some humanity’ to the nascent Downtown community after the completion of the World Trade Center, LMCC began with lunchtime concerts and evening performances on the plaza between the Twin Towers. Today, the not-for-profit organization fulfills that mission by offering grants and residencies to artists living in New York City, and organizing a range of cultural programming that includes performances, exhibitions, studio visits, and readings across Lower Manhattan.
Since 2011, the organization has also taken the lead in producing the River To River Festival, Lower Manhattan’s annual, free summer arts celebration. More recently, LMCC began planning the development of a 40,000 square-foot Arts Center on Governors Island. The construction of the facility, which is slated to break ground in late 2016, will be a priority for Mr. Hamingson as he takes the helm at LMCC work next month.
Mr. Hamingson is coming to LMCC from the Brooklyn-based theater company, St. Ann’s Warehouse, where he has served as executive director since 2012. During his time at St. Ann’s, Mr. Hamingson managed the company’s relocation to the newly-renovated Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park, just up the East River from Governors Island. The new headquarters for St. Ann’s Warehouse includes a “multi-use studio, dedicated to local artists and community groups,” an amenity that echoes the projects that have been spearheaded by the LMCC for decades in Downtown Manhattan. He previously held the same position at the Public Theater in Manhattan, where he oversaw that organization’s $35-million building campaign and renovation project. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hamingson served as director of development for the Manhattan Theatre Club, where was in charge of a $40-million campaign to renovate and restore the historic Biltmore Theater. He is also a lecturer at the Yale School of Drama.
“It is a great honor to lead LMCC into this new and exciting time. I feel my 25 years in the arts has been preparing me to lead an organization that is committed to serving artists and providing conditions for the development and presentation of their work,” Mr. Hamingson said. “New York City is our home, and is a global example for how urban, waterfront cities can invest in artists for the benefit of all.”
With the opening of the LMCC’s new arts center on Governors Island, scheduled for May 2017, the group will continue as one of the multiple organizations that have begun in recent years to provide cultural programming on Governors Island.
Since its opening to the public in 2003, the former Coast Guard base in New York Harbor has hosted concerts, theater and dance performances, cultural festivals, art installations, and educational exhibitions. LMCC has been a frequent participant, hosting artist residencies, open studio days, and exhibitions out of their current facility at Building 110, a former Army munitions building constructed in the 1870’s.
The expanded LMCC Governors Island facility will house, “a publicly accessible incubator for large-scale performance, design, new media, and community development projects,” with a “flexible-use, open plan environment,” according to LMCC.
The project is the result of a $3-million capital campaign, supported by the Booth Ferris Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Mr. Hamingson will be replacing Sam Miller, under whose leadership the LMCC expanded its role in the River to River festival, and set in motion the Governors Island project.
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