Lincoln Center has announced the “Restart Stages,” an outdoor performing arts center featuring 10 performance and rehearsal spaces with an aim to help kickstart the arts sector in the wake of COVID. Part of Governor Cuomo’s NY PopsUp program, “Restart Stages” worked with medical and health officials to create “a safe, welcoming, accessible, and dynamic environment for arts and community organizations from across New York City, including Lincoln Center resident companies.” Those stages include:

• A cabaret-style stage on Hearst Plaza
• Dedicated family and kids’ areas with arts activities for young people
• Venues for rehearsals, opening up the artistic process to visitors
• Space for public school graduations, recognizing the extraordinary achievements of students under difficult circumstances
• An outdoor reading room, created in partnership with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Programming will include the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s annual Summer Evenings concerts, film screenings from Film at Lincoln Center, a concert and cabaret series by Lincoln Center Theater, dance workshops from New York City Ballet, performances by the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!), Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, Harlem Week and the Harlem Arts Alliance, Korean Cultural Center New York, Weeksville Heritage Center, and more.

“Restart Stages” will launch on World Health Day, April 7, with a performance for healthcare workers. Details are still TBA. Head to Lincoln Center’s Restart Stages website for more information.