“Lincoln Center is multiple stages. I think probably over three dozen stages across 16 acres. It is a vast canvas in and of itself. And then we have this beautiful plaza that leads to this beautiful campus, and that’s the visual I think that most people have when they think of Lincoln Center is this beautiful fountain in the center and these three gorgeous buildings.It’s New York’s biggest plaza, and it feels very vibrant and beautiful. In the summer, we really take that plaza and we transform it into a dance floor. So this idea of also interrupting what people’s notion of Lincoln Center is because it’s a space that is very aspirational, which is a great thing.”
Shanta Thake is the Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts—the nation's largest performing arts complex. Before stepping into this role, she spent sixteen years at The Public Theater, shaping the city's cultural landscape through Joe's Pub and expansive community initiatives. Today, she is tearing down walls—both the literal barriers separating Lincoln Center from its neighbors, and the figurative ones that dictate who belongs in our cultural spaces. She views the arts not as a luxury, but as essential civic infrastructure. We are pleased to have Shanta Thake to discuss her journey, the power of radical curation, and the future of public performance.
(0:00) Reimagining Lincoln Center
(2:27) Art and the Human Experience
(4:40) The Curiosity of Childhood
(5:44) Alvin Ailey and the Pivot
(8:29) The Invisible Arts
(9:06) The Power of Public Theater
(17:03) Curation, Programming and the Art of Listening
(23:42) San Juan Hill and The Wall
(31:23) Art as the Oldest Technology
(35:02) globalFEST: Music and Connection
(38:20) Finding Universal Belonging
(41:20) The Gift of Pause
(54:27) A Collective Caretaking
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