But the park had to undergo its own transformation away from its era-defining period of grit, grime and crime. In 1990 alone, according to NYPD data, there were 368 serious crimes reported in Central Park. Across a seven-year period, several of the pervasive crimes became best known by their tabloid nicknames (the Preppie Killer, the Zodiac Killer, the now-exonerated “Central Park Five”) and contributed to a general sense of unease that kept many people from engaging in city life.
4 comments:
And yet its repeated over and over that art will not change the world. Not at once, not immediately, But this is a clear example on how art can help shape and rebuild spaces in the community that might not have been the safest. In order for Central Park to BE central park, it had to displace a lot of people, especially brown people who lived in that neighborhood. But Art saved it from it’s dark decades full or grime and crime. Now we have to make sure, when we do this again, that the art we’re making embraces the current population of the space. Rather than taking a space and making art for people to come see, not including the people that was there before. Making neighborhoods expensive for the sake of ‘betterment’ and leaving its folks out on the streets because they cant pay rent. We have to make sure when we’re trying to make better spaces, we don’t gentrify
Central Park SummerStage was a huge part of Central Park and New York City’s revitalization in the 1980s and 1990s. Before Central Park SummerStage, New York had a terrifying crime rate and one of the hot spots of crime was Central Park. There were several major crimes in the media in the 80s and 90s that took place in Central Park. It’s really inspiring that Joe Killian, the founder of SummerStage, wanted to bring culture and the arts to Central Park as a way of allowing people to enjoy the park in a safe way. Since then the park has become a lot safer and they no longer have to start shows at 3pm in order to get people out of the park before nightfall. This shows just how important it is for people to have access to the performing arts and entertainment! Central Park SummerStage is still thriving over 20 years later!
Art has so much power. It is so endlessly beautiful. It truly has transformative properties. It builds a community that brings people together, by presenting relatable situations that prove to people that no one is alone in this world. We are a collective system, as long as we open our hearts to each other. This article works to prove that art is for EVERYONE. Everyone needs art. From those living in the Upper East Side to those who make a bed of the benches in Central Park, everyone needs art to create a supportive community around them and allow them to either open up to the emotions they are trying to process or simply escape those difficult emotions for a few moments. I hope this works to serve as an example for similar communities to bring the arts into these natural community centers, and expand the accessibility to the arts throughout the nation and around the world.
This is a great example of the power of the arts. One of the other articles that I commented on this week was about how artists are losing faith in the power of their art, but this is a prime example of how music and entertainment are changing society in a positive way. Just this weekend, the Global Citizen Festival took place in Central Park. This organization spreads awareness about global issues such as climate change. It’s a time to peacefully come together in the park and celebrate something everyone can connect with: music. When artists lose hope in their work being able to make change, it becomes dangerous. Without art we are nothing and no change will ever happen. We see with Central Park just how much the environment transformed. It used to be a place of crime and destruction, but is now a place where families and other people come together to spend some peaceful time. Events like SummerStage and Shakespeare in the Park bring people together and help us to celebrate each other and the art being performed.
Post a Comment