Celebrate Together: Creating Festivals for New York City

Bringing people together for a shared experience of the city is a powerful act.

Festivals—whether citywide, neighborhood-focused, or hyperlocal block parties—are at their core expressions of community and culture. As New York City has undergone times of major crisis—like a near-bankruptcy of the 1970s, 9/11, or the COVID pandemic—festivals become a way for the city and its people to come together and rejuvenate collectively. Celebration in the wake of devastation embodies the resilience that defines New York City.

Join BRIC, the West Side Culture Network, and Open House New York to learn about how festivals come together to bring people together. They will discuss the process and considerations for organizing large-scale, free public events, garnering support and addressing challenges, and what it means to create a collective experience for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors.

This program is produced in partnership with Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. Download Bloomberg Connects to access free guides to the events and exhibitions at BRIC, the Whitney Museum and other West Side Cultural Network partners, and Open House New York, as well as numerous sites in NYC and around the world.

SPEAKERS

Jane Carey is the Director of Community and Government Affairs at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she leads strategies that strengthen civic partnerships and expand cultural access for New Yorkers. She founded the West Side Cultural Network, a coalition of nearly twenty cultural organizations collaborating to build community through culture on Manhattan's West Side and advance collective impact in support of audiences, staff, and artists. Under her leadership, the Network has become a model for cross‑institutional partnership, producing large‑scale public events and programs that continue to grow and attract diverse audiences. Jane brings experience in city and state government, having served as Chief of Staff to both a New York City Council Member and a New York State Assembly Member.

Deron Johnston leads the integration of BRIC’s platforms and programming, aligning them with the organization’s mission to support creatives and serve the broader community. As part of the executive leadership team, he oversees BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, BRIC JazzFest, Contemporary Art, Media Education, Community Engagement, BRIClab Residencies, BRIC TV, Studio BK, and Brooklyn Free Speech. A nonprofit executive and accomplished musician/producer (collaborating with artists like SZA, El Da Sensei, and Tame One), Johnston brings a unique blend of creative and strategic expertise. Previously, he served as Director of Community Development, Strategy & Innovation at the Center for Justice Innovation, advancing fundraising efforts and championing underrepresented communities.

Elis Shin is Deputy Director at Open House New York and an Advisor at Open House Worldwide. She first joined OHNY as a volunteer, inspired by its mission to help New Yorkers understand why the city looks and works the way it does. She has contributed to eleven editions of OHNY Weekend, the annual festival that opens more than 300 places not usually open to the public, and helped expand OHNY into a year round organization.

Moderator: Eli Dvorkin, Editorial & Policy Director, Center for an Urban Future

Eli Dvorkin is the Editorial & Policy Director at the Center for an Urban Future (CUF), where he leads research and policy development on New York’s most pressing economic and civic challenges. He is the author of numerous reports, including CUF’s 2025 Creative New York report, and his policy ideas have inspired initiatives from city and state leaders. His research spans the arts and cultural sector, economic mobility, and public spaces—including parks—with a longstanding focus on expanding cultural opportunity. Eli’s work has been featured in outlets including the New York Times, WNYC/Gothamist, City & State, and Crain’s New York Business. A longtime arts organizer and founding member of Silent Barn, he brings both policy expertise and lived experience to conversations about the future of New York City’s arts ecosystem.

Photo: Kelela performance at Celebrate Brooklyn. Credit: Edwina Hay.

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