Last spring, we partied with LMCC and celebrated 50 years
of building creative communities.
We celebrated LMCC’s 50th anniversary as Manhattan’s Arts Council and our legacy of fostering vibrant creative communities! Everyone was invited to Party as Performance, a series of special gatherings at The Arts Center at Governors Island, which took place in March, May, and June.
Each event was hosted by LMCC alumni artists and offered a unique atmosphere, energy, and community, all delving into themes of Practice, Process, and Participation. We kicked off the series on March 28 with Party as Process, a listening and dance party with YiuYiu 瑶瑶 of Chinatown Records. Then, on May 18, attendees immersed themselves in Party as Practice with host Yackez (Larissa & Jon Velez-Jackson) during our Arts Center Residency Open Studios. Finally, everyone joined us for Party as Participation in June, hosted by Elisabeth Smolarz, as we marked the conclusion of the 2024 River To River Festival and our Extended Life residency program.
Party as Performance Past Events
Party as Participation
Hosted by Elizabeth Smolarz (Larissa & John Velez-Jackson)
Saturday, June 22, 1-3pm at The Arts Center at Governors Island
To celebrate LMCC’s 50th anniversary, Elisabeth Smolarz presented ice cream flavors inspired by her experiences during her 2012 artist residency at Governors Island.
Party as Practice
Hosted by Yackez (Larissa & John Velez-Jackson)
Saturday, May 18, 1-3pm at The Arts Center at Governors Island
Is sitting together a party? Is dancing? Is hot tub? Is drum circle? Talking? Imbibing while vibing? Can party transform itself? Can we rest together? Yackez is throwing a party. They’ll coax a party into being. A matinee party. A laugh out loud party. A party with beverages. Swaying in the corners party. Come join them on the island known as Paggank by the Lenape.
Party as Performance
The Downtown Dinner
Monday, April 15, 6pm at the Conrad New York Downtown
Join us in celebrating LMCC's Golden Anniversary as Manhattan's Arts Council! LMCC’s annual gala, The Downtown Dinner supports LMCC's efforts to serve, connect, and make space for artists and community in Manhattan and beyond.
The Downtown Dinner returns at The Conrad Hotel on April 15, 2024, honoring Bill T. Jones with the Liberty Award for Artistic Leadership, Miguel Gutierrez with the Sam Miller Award for Performing Arts, and Baseera Khan with the Michael Richards Award for Visual Art.
Together we'll toast to 50 years of leadership in artist services and 50 more to come! Stay tuned for ticket sales, program announcements, and further details.
Party as Process
Hosted by YiuYiu 瑶瑶 of Chinatown Records
Thursday, March 28, 6-8pm at The Arts Center at Governors Island
Pulling from the ever-growing archive of her Chinatown Records 華埠錄音 family history project, YiuYiu 瑶瑶 lovingly invites us into her living room dancefloor with a selection of favorite Chinese albums inherited from family and neighbors.
With music dating from the present day and all the way back to the 1920s, YiuYiu 瑶瑶 sets the stage for a time-traveling deep dive into vast vinyl collections that have soundtracked Chinatown living rooms, dancefloors, and countless beloved memories with our loved ones.
Party as Performance Artists
YiuYiu 瑶瑶
YiuYiu 瑶瑶 (aka Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan) is a cultural organizer, artist, and oral history educator based on Lenape land in NYC's Manhattan Chinatown. She takes on her childhood name YiuYiu 瑶瑶 as a researcher and DJ for Chinatown Records 華埠錄音, a community effort to celebrate the richness of music, memory, and history that comes with inherited family collections.
Larissa & Jon Velez-Jackson
Formed in 2010, Yackez is the World’s Most Lovable Art-Pop duo of married couple Jon & Larissa Velez-Jackson. Jon is a songwriter, writer, and musician. Larissa is a choreographer, interdisciplinary artist, movement educator and a Foundation for Contemporary Art’s grant awardee in 2016 and 2022.
Elisabeth Smolarz
Elisabet Smolarz is a conceptual artist and curator living and working in Queens. She utilizes photography and video to demonstrate how consciousness and perception are formed as a result of larger social structures. Smolarz is founder/director of Spectral Lines. Spectral Lines is an artist-run salon in Ridgewood, NY. Additionally, Smolarz operates a small ice cream window at the same location, adding a delicious dimension to the community she fosters.