C105 article

In the shadow of the World Trade Center

Liz Aders looks at the survival of art on Wall Street and thirty years of contribution by the LMCC.

While in New York during June this year, I discovered that Level 91 and some of Level 92 of Tower One of the World Trade Center had been used as artists' studios. The repercussions of the 11 September attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon brought tale after tragic tale of death. Somehow, the story that an artist, Michael Richards, had been killed had gone unnoticed. Richards was one of many artists who had been granted a studio in the World Trade Center as part of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's artist-in-residence programme. Furthermore, LMCC had been responsible for developing and supporting a flourishing arts scene in an area of New York more commonly known as the business epicentre of the USA, perhaps even the western world. Based in Lower Manhattan for more than ten of its thirty-year history, LMCC utilised the World Trade Center's temporarily unused space, a cultural haven in a building that was headquarters for many large and powerful corporations.

The LMCC was founded in 1973 by David Rockefeller and the Mayor's Office of Downtown Planning. The initial aim of the Council was to help revive the cultural life of the downtown area  - New York's financial Mecca. Wall Street was to come to represent the excesses and greed of the stock market in capitalistic America in the 1980s. The attacks of 11 September 2001 destablised the western world by targeting the pin-up of capitalism and corporate America. The loss of 2,795 lives was tragic and has been thoroughly documented; but on a different scale completely was the loss to the artworld as a result of the attack. LMCC alone lost 150 artworks from Level 91 and 92, valued well in excess of US $650,000.¹ Equipment and materials worth around $80,000 were destroyed plus the many artworks in progress. Rarely mentioned also was the loss of fine art collections from some of the corporate offices in the World Trade Center including a collection of August Rodin sculptures, a Roy Lichtenstein painting, Joan Miró's World Trade Center tapestry from 1974, as well as several sculptures and installations commissioned specifically for the foyer areas and the Center's surrounds.

The artist's residencies in the World Trade Center were initiated by LMCC in 1997 and gave 140 emerging and mid-career artists an opportunity to create work in painting, sculpture, installation, photography and new media, in an environment that gave spectacular aerial views of New York. It was a view most artists could not normally be able to afford. Residencies were available to fifteen artists in a six-month period, starting in May and November of each year. They each received 500 square feet of space, a stipend, plus twenty-four hour access. Many artists were so inspired by the views of New York that much of their work reflected the cityscape surrounding them. Upon completion of their residencies, the studios were opened for viewing to the public and were extremely popular events, drawing large crowd from the arts communities and general public. LMCC, however, catered not only to the visual artists; they sponsored regular events in the lobby of the World Trade Center, which included dance and music performances.

The months succeeding 9/11 saw a massive influx of funds for those affected by the disaster, and donations flooded in from across the world. LMCC administered over US $1 million in grants to artists over the following two years. They were mainly responsible for revitalising the culture of the area through grants for community arts, visual artists, dancers and filmmakers. A recent LMCC initiative saw the Future of War conference (May 2003), which looked at the areas of aesthetics, politics, architecture and new media technologies in the post-9/11 world. The artist's residency programme has been re-established in the famous Woolworth Building. Additionally, LMCC is currently looking at ways of utilising the substantial amount of unused space in the downtown area for artists. Their premises have moved to One Wall Street Court, just around the corner from the heavily guarded Stock Exchange, where massive security and a giant American flag constantly remind of the omnipresent threat of terrorism to New York's financial district.

It is interesting to see the determination with which LMCC continues to cater to the business community, who are not only their neighbors, but also the very group the council was initially established to service. Indeed, one of LMCC's main functions is to educate its members into the very real need to tap into businesses for funding. As donations dry up across the city as a result of the downturn in the economy, artists and art organisations are forced to chase the corporate and private dollar more and more. While the New York art scene has always developed its business relationships, this has never been more shamelessly obvious than it is today - capitalism and art are a real and heavily committed partnership. The arts need to continue their programmes; and corporations, while having to justify every cent they spend on sponsorship, still perceive the arts as a good way of building cultural creditability. This recently included the Deustche Bank Americas Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund, who offered funding of $150,000 to seven arts organisations, one of which was LMCC. The purpose of the grant was to "stimulate economic development in distressed New York City communities, by supporting and leveraging the arts."² Supported by real-estate companies, LMCC is consequently continuing to identify affordable space that might be suited to cultural activity.

LMCC has a fairly complicated framework of support. It receives public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Funding also comes from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature. LMCC is also supported by the New York Community Trust, plus foundations comprising the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, the Verizon Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Tax-deductible gifts are encouraged, and exist from in-kind sponsorship from 'Friends', $99 and higher; 'Associates', $100 and higher; 'Contributors', $1000 and higher; 'Supporters', $5,000 and higher; 'Donors', $10,000 and higher; Patrons', $15,000 and higher; 'Partners', $25,000 and higher; to 'Benefactors' forking out $50,000 and higher. Like many arts institutions, LMCC has a glamorous website, where these tax-free donations can easily be made.

Despite its history of serving the downtown community, it is interesting that LMCC still feels the need to quote a university study to prove the benefits of culture to the community.³ It would seem to make sense that art and cultural projects could only improve the community, if only by making the environment a prettier or more interesting place. I'm always struck by the sophisticated approach New Yorkers have to the arts, and in particular their awareness toward contemporary art. Yet many arts organisation across the country are suffering dramatically from funding cuts. Decline is evident on three levels: corporate support because of the weak economy; cuts in government support; and the decline in the value of endowments that are linked to investments in the embattled US stock market (ironically LMCC's next door neighbour).

As mentioned, one of the results of the weak US economy for arts organisations is a dramatic increase in the chase for the private endowment dollar. Tax incentives favour arts-related organisations, and trusts can pour money into the arts, while giving family board members a generous slice of the pie. The arts are traditionally the first sector to be cut in difficult times, and many arts organisations have decided to look for the private and corporate dollar to fund their programmes, rather than target the minuscule funding from the state and city government bodies. These organisations are developing numerous creative strategies to source possible funds. One of the outcomes is the dramatic rise in positions with title such as 'Director of Development' (LMCC is currently looking for a Director of Marketing and Communications). Directors of arts organisations spend nearly their entire day chasing sponsorship, rather than overseeing the arts events they produce. Subsequently, marketing and development departments take a newly found precedence over the curatorial teams, both in terms of earning power and pecking order within the organisation.

Yet New York still reigns as the world's powerhouse in the arts. Exhibition openings are well attended and many artists still manage to generate 'hype' about town. The city has suffered greatly, yet American patriotism has never been higher. New York continues to be, arguably, the city in which most artists would like to live and work. No doubt given the hurdles of the last two years, LMCC will continue to provide a much-required service to their artists and the business community of lower Manhattan.

Liz Aders works at CIRCA Art Magazine and is about go home to sunny Sydney for three weeks. Thank you to LMCC staff, particularly Wayne Ashley, Tricia Mire and Erin Donnelly.

¹Moakhtar Kcache, LMCC, art loss, damage and repercussions, Proceedings of an IFAR Symposium of 28 February 2002
²Keeping artists in the mix of cultural development downtown, press release by LMCC, 2002
³The University of Pennsylvania Social Impact of the Arts Project was initiated in 1994 and grew out of a concern that there was no clear method for studying the social impact of the arts. Established in Pennsylvania, the study addressed the lack of evidence on the impact of the arts and humanities on family life, community structure, and regional social development.

Article reproduced from CIRCA 105, Autumn 2003, pp. 60-63.

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