"Summer for the City" at Lincoln Center

Photos by Lauren Smith

As the temperatures rise and we all daydream of escaping our routine for the great outdoors, Lincoln Center is once again inviting us to the second annual “Summer for the City”, where vanguard artist Clint Ramos, has ensured every inch of the campus has been transformed and delights the senses. Mr. Ramos, a TONY Award Winning artist who was born and raised in the Philippines, is a creative force who has graced over two hundred theater, opera, and dance productions with his vision. With Mr. Ramos’ eye catching designs as the backdrop, ongoing concerts and dances complete with a mega disco ball, Lincoln Center welcomes us all to “come together, see yourselves, and find your home away from home.” 

As summer gets under way, we will be taking a holiday from our regular postings for summer until Labor Day, but please check in with us for any significant immigration developments. Wishing you a splendid summer!

“Your Voices” by Es Devlin

With more than 700 languages spoken in a mere 300 square miles of land, New York City is the most linguistically diverse place in the world, and a new moving sculpture in Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza pays homage to that diversity in a unique visual and auditory way. “Your Voices” by artist Es Devlin features 700 glowing cords to represent each of those 700 languages, positioned between glowing arcs which rotate while a multinational soundscape plays, adding to the Holiday landscape currently adorning Lincoln Center. Made in association with the Endangered Language Alliance, which has created an interactive map showing the locations across the city where each of the 700 languages are spoken, the piece intends to “evoke the way our perspectives are enriched and shaped by experiencing the linguistic structures and identities of others” while a soundscape composed by contemporary composers Polyphonia plays text from EM Forster’s 1910 novel Howards End in multiple overlaid languages, stating: “Only connect, and live in fragments no longer.”  

Summer for the City at Lincoln Center

As summer starts, Lincoln Center, the world-famous performing arts complex, is bringing music, dancing, and celebration to New Yorkers with a slate of over 300 events lined up through August, including social dances on “New York City’s largest outdoor dance floor” under an enormous disco ball, a group wedding celebration for “folks whose weddings were canceled or diminished because of the pandemic,” and performances of live music, poetry, theatre, and dance. Throughout June, Lincoln Center is also celebrating Pride month, coloring the iconic plaza steps and fountain the rainbow colors of the Pride flag. They are also hosting series of free events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. Pride is a time for celebration, and this year is especially celebratory, as communities begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The “symbolic Pride colors flying high up in the sky and boldly sprawling across the main stairs” make a beautiful image of solidarity and support at one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks.