Restart Stages at Lincoln Center

We’re thrilled to invite you to Restart Stages at Lincoln Center—an outdoor performing arts center with 10 outdoor performance and rehearsal spaces—to help kickstart the performing arts sector and New York City’s revival. Fostering a dynamic environment for artists, community organizations, and audiences, Restart Stages is a welcoming and safe place for live performances, family activities, and civic engagement. Restart Stages is part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation-Lincoln Center Agora Initiative, a collaboration that reimagines and reactivates public space for a new era.

Offering an array of vibrant programming that represents the rich tapestry of the city, Restart Stages will feature events by organizations from across the five boroughs, including Lincoln Center’s resident companies. Audience members can expect free and low-cost events, an outdoor reading room from The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and a wealth of dedicated family programming. Enjoy a concert and cabaret series by Lincoln Center Theater, film screenings from Film at Lincoln Center, summer concerts from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, dance workshops from New York City Ballet, and 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 many more. New Yorkers can also participate in a range of civic and community service events. These include blood drives in partnership with the New York Blood Center and food distributions in partnership with Food Bank For New York City. Lincoln Center will also serve as a designated primary election polling place in partnership with the Board of Elections.

Celebrated set designer and MacArthur Genius grantee Mimi Lien will also transform our iconic Josie Robertson Plaza with “The GREEN,” re-envisioning the approximately 14,000 square feet of open, concrete expanse into an environment that invites New Yorkers to relax and enjoy the open, park-like space. The installation opens on May 10.

All offerings will occur outdoors with safety protocols in place for artists, audiences, and staff. Click here to learn more about our visitor guidelines »

Additional programmatic details will be announced in the coming weeks. Please check this webpage and sign up for our email list for updates.  To get on the email notification list CLICK HERE