CAB MINUTES: MAY 2019

GUEST: Jennifer Sendrow,   Executive Produce, The Greene Space

 AGENDA ITEMS:

PRESENTATION FROM Jennifer Sendrow

Jennifer Sendrow began by sharing the Greene Space vision statement: To channels the collective genius in NYC to create forward-looking live art, theatre and journalism that sparks change. As the physical extension of NYPR, it shares the mission to make the mind more curious, the heart more open and the spirit more joyful. The Greene Space aims to change the world one person at a time, moving New Yorkers to the intersection of art and politics, leading courageous conversations and curating performances of intense beauty that is deeply rooted locally but relevant to audiences globally.

Over 10 years, The Greene Space has produced over 1000 events, sold more than 100,000 ticekets, produced 22 world premiere performances and has been featured in over 600 press clips. They have had all kinds of guests (i.e., Andre Agassi, Don Lemon, Sting, Yoko Ono, Alex Baldwin, etc.) They work in collaboration with individuals, teams and organizations whose mission and vision align with theirs.  The editorial criteria for creating programs considers the following:  Does the work spark curiosity, empathy and unexpected connections; speak truth;  amplify underrepresented perspectives;  level hierarchies among people, ideas and clutter;  look and sound like NYC;  and contribute to necessary civic and artistic dialogues in the city, the country and the world

To date in 2019, The Greene Space has produced 140 public programs, including weekly series, 5 monthly series and lots of short-run series, residencies and festival programs.  The series include 44 Charlton, Micropolis, and Podcast Mixtape. They also produce 25 events in partnership with WQXR, monthly WNYC broadcasts (i.e. Brian Lehrer Show) and WNYC studio podcast tapings. Events span all genres of live performances:  interviews, comedies, dance, debates, etc.  New this year is Art in the Lobby programming which features June Canedo, a first-time exhibitor of her photos. Anniversary programming includes the Artists-in Residence programs presenting original works of artists Arturo O’Farrill and Hilton Als. Other anniversary programs included 24-hours of live performances in April, and in July, featuring Artist Takeover, month-long pop-up exhibitions with performances, and in the Fall, the Very Biggest Questions series, featuring dialogues with scientists, artists and other innovative thinkers. The Green Space continues to host monthly series of concerts with Midday Masterpieces and WQXR’s Classic Beer Jam.

Sendrow noted that the plans for the next 5 years are to expand from a lab to experiments with new ideas to an incubator for bold new works that can be scaled out to other venues; from a  space for collaboration with other NYC institutions to a conduit to a new community and producing partners to expand NYPR reach; from  a commitment of amplifying underrepresented voices to becoming an effective development pipeline for new and diverse talent at NYPR ; from a living digital archive of work (new website launched this week and it is now easy to search for all archival performance videos) to an exciting hub for on-demand content and from a showplace of NYPR donors, to an entry point for new members-donors.

 Q & A with Jennifer Sendrow

  • One attendee wondered if The Greene Space would consider doing something in the visual arts. Sendrow noted that this was hard to do in the radio media, and other than art programs and exhibitions and artist interviews, visual arts do translate well on radio.
  • The audience was very interested in The Greene Space doing programs for middle school kids, engaging them earlier as a way of building in future listeners. CAB member Marlene Birnbaum was particularly interested in having middle school students attend the Midday Masterpiece performances. Sendrow noted that has been done before, but the paperwork and approvals for arranging public school trips was time consuming, and she would need to have someone work only on this, adding, that perhaps someone would volunteer for that role.
  • An attendee noted that The Pearl Catcher opera was performed in this space and asked if other partnerships with the Metropolitan Opera were planned. Sendrow noted that the Aria Code podcast was born out of this initial partnership. She also noted they continue to work with many NYC institutions on partnership programs.
  • When asked what was her biggest disappointed over the last 7 years as managing the Greene Space, Sendrow shared she was disappointed that they were unable to book Michelle Obama as a stop on her book tour for She also said she hoped that they eventually will be able to launch a mobile Greene Space, hosting performances all around the metropolitan area.
  • When asked about who attends performances, Sendrow noted that they have a mix of listeners and non-WNYC or WQXR listeners,. Many people sign up to hear about events, which can be done here. Signing up gives you advanced notice of the events and it is the best way to secure tickets before the event is a sellout. Other social media outreach is planned for the next marketing phase and engagement.
  • One attendee suggested that the Greene Space provide a space for local NYC musicians/players to congregat, jam together and create, noting that there are many local unsung artists living all round us. Their sounds could be recorded and archived.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Dr. Fred Friedland requested more transparency on fundraising revenues and how moneys are allocated to the various programming supported by NY Public Radio. In response to that question please look here for the 2018 annual review  and audited financial report.

COMMUNITY BOARD BUSINESS:

Chair Barba Gerolimatos asked CAB members for specific feedback they wanted to share with NYPR.  None was offered at this meeting.  Nancy Walcott, Chair of the Nominations/Recruitment Committee provided an update of the recruitment process for 2018.  There are seven open seats on the CAB, with one more just becoming available at this meeting due to Adam Wasserman’s resignation. (A second round of interviews will be held in September to replace this CAB position.) Walcott noted that 82 people submitted applications and 17 were selected for interviews.  The initial selection committee consisted of Walcott, Donna Blake, Marlene Birnbaum, Alex Hu, Erica Johnson and Chair Barbara Gerolimatos. The interviews were conducted on two nights in the NYPR conference room, thanks to the CAB liaisons, Sofia Edmundson’s coordination and support. The following applicants were nominated:  Valerie Cent, Lauren Filler, Emily Hacker, Marie Nachsin, Devorah Ruffins, Maggie Stapleton and Sinduja Srinivason. The CAB voted and approved sending the nominations to the Board of Trustees for approval for CAB Membership for three-year terms (2018-21).  The names of three current CAB members, Liz Buffa, Lisa Nearier, and Stan Ince, will also forwarded to the BoT for renewing their memberships for a second three-year term .

 New CAB officers were also selected as current Chair, Barbara Gerolimatos and Vice-chair, Jake Wojnas, must step down.  The Recording Secretary position also is now open due to a resignation.  Nancy Walcott and Lisa Nearier made statements as to why they want to assume the roles of Chair and Vice-chair, respectively.  The current Vice-chairs, Erica Johnson and Kathryn Tornelli also made statements about their interest in continuing in this position for another session.  Grace Clarke and Michael Brown agreed to share the Recording Secretary position. The CAB voted and approved the new slate of officers, which will also be forwarded to the BoT for final approval.

 A discussion on how the CAB might provide better feedback to the BoT and NYPR other than how it is currently done through the open forum CAB meetings.  This question will continue to be explored through a subgroup of CAB members by using the SLACK app.

 

NEXT MEETING DETAILS:

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Panel Discussion:  Framing of Labor Unions in the Media

Meeting: 6:30 PM, The Greene Space, 44 Charlton Street, New York (Google map)

 

CAB MEMBERS (ALPHABETICAL)

 

Adam Wasserman (excused)

Alex Hu

Anita Aboulafia (excused)

Barbara Gerolimatos, Chair

Carole Chervin (excused)

Chad Bascombe (resigned)

Curry Sloan 

David N. Sztyk (resigned)

Donna Blank

Erica Johnson, Vice-chair

Grace Clarke

Jacob Wojnas, Vice-chair

Julia D. Fields

 

 

 

OTHERS

●        25 members of the public

●        Mary White, BOT Liaison (excused)

 

 

 

 

Jane Tillman Irving

Kathryn Tornelli, Vice-chair

Lisa Nearier

Liz Buffa (excused)

Marlene Birnbaum

Michael Brown (excused)  

Michaela Balderston (resigned)

Nancy Walcott

Peter Kentros (excused)

Samantha "Sam" Pedreiro (resigned)

Stan Ince

 

 

italics = not present