Fifty years ago the School of the Arts at NYU was founded during a cultural explosion in the United States and around the word. The school’s first dean, Robert Corrigan, was concerned about creating a school that would remain revolutionary. He asked, “How can that force be harnessed and redirected?"
This year, we celebrate our students, faculty, staff, alumni, supporters, and deans, who have been forces to create change not just in the school, but also in communities around the globe. I hope you will join us as we not only celebrate our past, but as we contemplate how we can harness our collective forces for creating a bright vision for the next 50 years.
Celebrating the Past
Oct. 2-5, 2015
We kick off our anniversary year with a weekend of community activities next week. I am asking ALL of you to take part in the festivities, adding your stories and photos from our history, and reflecting upon the ways in which we take our work out into the community.
Friday, Oct. 2
There are events happening all throughout our spaces to kick off our Days of Community celebration. In your classes, rehearsals and work that day, please take time to reflect upon what it means to be an arts citizen of the Tisch community.
Come share a memory or story that you might have from the history of Tisch in our Memory Video Booth on the 9th floor. If you can’t be here on Friday, share a story or upload a photo.
Interact with Ghost Game: Spiritu Chronomatix, a game of the history of 721 Broadway, and join in some interesting talks and panels. In the morning and at lunch there will be treats in the lobby and Riese Lounge. There will be a ticket lottery for students to see performances of Hamilton, Dames at Sea, and a comedy festival event with Billy Crystal. Freshmen students will attend a talk by the extraordinary poet Claudia Rankine at 6 p.m. at the Skirball Center (and must be released from classes to attend).
Saturday, Oct. 3
We will continue to run the Share A Memory Video Booth and Ghost Game: Spiritu Chronomatix through out the day. We will feature two Tisch History Storytelling Panels in the Riese Student Lounge, where we can all hear memories of the early history of our school. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., there will be a panel on the early days of film and Haig Manoogian, and from 1to 2:30 p.m., there will be a panel on the early days of the performing arts. Come listen and share your own memories!
Sunday, Oct. 4
Please participate in your own way with a day of personal reflection & community engagement. Take five or 50 minutes (or more) to volunteer your time, to engage with others, or to mentor and learn. It is up to you. After 50 remarkable years, let’s pay it forward in gratitude.
Monday, Oct. 5
There will be a student colloquium with Claudia Rankine, and I will participate in a town hall on leadership that is open to all students.
Please continue to read more about our 50th Anniversary Celebration. You will be hearing more from us!
This is the first of many celebrations this year. There are more announcements to come about our artist and scholars in residence, and an exciting opportunity for our students. We will gather again in February for another weekend of festivities ending on Leap Year (towards the future!), in April for our gala, and in May we will plant a time capsule of student work to be opened 50 years from now.
In a world that needs more creation and less destruction, I am grateful to all of you for the work that you do to make Tisch such a vibrant and important center of learning. Let’s kick off our 50th year with a community-focused celebration.
With appreciation and joy,
Allyson
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Allyson Green
Dean