Another City: New Meanings in New York’s Public Spaces

Moderated by New Yorker writer Vinson Cunningham, join our four-part virtual symposium featuring intimate discussions with leading writers and observers of the New York scene. Together, we’ll explore how the unprecedented events of 2020—a global pandemic, an ensuing economic collapse, a righteous anti-racist uprising—have impacted the city as well as our ideas about the urban landscape. Paying close attention to the visual representations of the pandemic and protests, these lively, in-depth conversations will consider how some of the city’s iconic spaces have been transformed, experienced, and documented during this moment. From sites like City Hall, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Barclays Center filled with protestors, to the eerily empty streets of Midtown and the transformed rituals of daily life across the five boroughs, Cunningham and his guests will consider how this unpredictable new cityscape connects to our collective urban past—and points to a possible future.