New Yorkers for Culture and Arts is proud to honor and celebrate cultural activists Ted Berger* of NYCreate and Catherine MBali Green-Johnson of Arts East NY for their tireless work on behalf of arts and culture in every neighborhood of our city.
A reception will be held at the Urban Justice Center on Thursday, June 20th at 5:30pm, hosted by the cultural advocacy group New Yorkers for Culture & Arts (NY4CA). The reception will include drinks, bites, performances and presentations. Guests will also be able to take in the powerful photo exhibit SHOT by Kathy Shorr, which is part of Art@UJC, an initiative that promotes social justice based art. We hope you'll join us!
New Yorkers for Culture & Arts Honor Cultural Activists Ted Berger and Catherine MBali Green-Johnson Thursday, June 20th @ 5:30pm Urban Justice Center 40 Rector Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY, 10006 RSVP HERE
Ted Berger is Executive Director Emeritus of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) where he began in 1973 as the country’s first statewide Artists-in-Schools Coordinator, becoming Executive Director in 1980 until retiring in 2005.
Ted helped to create many national and local initiatives, including ArtsConnection, Studio in a School, the NYC CETA Artists Project, the Montauk /Orcas Conferences for Support for Individual Artists. ArtsWire, National Campaign for Freedom of Expression, Urban Artist Initiative/NYC- part of LINC (Leveraging Investment in Creativity), Grantmakers in the Arts ‘Individual Artist Committee, and NYCreates.
A Trustee of the Joan Mitchell Foundation, he serves on other boards and committees, currently including: ArtsConnection, Center for West Park, CUE Art Foundation, Cathy Weis Projects, Design Trust for Public Space, HB Studio/Playwrights’ Foundation, and the National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness and Emergency Response (NCAPER.) Considered one of the country’s foremost advisors on living artist support, Ted consults, writes, and speaks extensively on artists and arts/cultural policy.
Ted is also a board member of New Yorkers for Culture and the Arts (NY4CA.) As one of the founders of one of its predecessors, the NYC Arts Coalition, he is grateful for the seminal influences of many colleagues, friends, and artists who shaped, prodded, and challenge him - and us all - to keep pushing, especially Bill Aguado, Holly Block, Randy Bourscheidt, Cornelia Carey, Kinshasha Conwill, Anne Dennin, Jane Delgado, Jenny Dixon, Carol Fineberg, Sara Garretson, Agnes Gund, Linda Janklow, Trudy Kramer, Arnold Lehman, Ginny Louloudes, Nathan Lyons. Wai Look, Diane Mataraza, David Mendoza, Greg Millard, Fran Richard, Norma Munn, Jane Remer, Cynthia Ries, Amy Schwartzman, Shelly Slovin, Steve Tennen. Charlene Victor, Patrice Walker Powell, Martha Wilson.
Their spirit and commitment – with so many others - past, present, and future - make a major difference to free expression, arts and cultural advocacy, and greater social and economic justice in ever-challenging, crazy times.