Turnout NYC is a community-oriented initiative that will provide infrastructure support for New York City-based arts and cultural organizations while expanding access to the arts across the city. The venture will create flexible and semi-permanent outdoor venues—one in each borough— in collaboration with cultural partners from within each community. 

By hosting 150-200 events and featuring up to 1,500 artists from throughout the city upon the completion of its 2022 season, Turnout NYC will affect long-term change and advance a new model of community-driven cultural production. Beyond hosting a summer of creative events for New Yorkers, the five sites will support equitable access to the arts and provide infrastructure for artists, especially Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized peoples. The initiative will purposefully seek to advance these venues as part of a larger effort to distribute open-source design knowledge, advocate for structural changes in the city’s cultural policies, and to build a connected cohort of emerging arts and design professionals.

Watch the Turnout NYC video series, documenting how our collaborative model is leveraging public spaces as accessible venues for arts and culture! 

Turnout NYC is led by the Design Trust and SITU, with our Public Space Design Advisor and member of the core design team, J. Ember Design. Guided by an Advisory Committee of NYC cultural leaders, such as National Black Theatre CEO Sade Lythcott, Queens Theatre Executive Director Taryn Sacramone, and other New York based creatives, Turnout NYC recognizes that arts organizations and artists are critical anchors in the city’s recovery and long-term health. In each borough, Turnout NYC works with a local Community Cultural Partner to connect local cultural practices and lift up community networks.