• Teen Producers: The first arts fellowship of its kind

  92Y’s Center for Education Outreach, which brings the arts into the lives of 16,000 NYC public schoolchildren and teachers each year, launched a groundbreaking career exploration and mentorship program for NYC public high school juniors introducing them to careers in the arts and providing a path to the job of their dreams in a field they’d never dreamed existed.

  “I now know that having a career on the business side of the arts is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

  Rebecca Dhala, 92Y Teen Producer

• Meet Teen Producer Rebecca Dhala and learn about her story!

• 92Y expands artist residency initiative with first jeweler in residence

  Continuing our tradition of championing emerging creators who become the next extraordinary artists, 92Y selected 29-year-old Swedish goldsmith Göran Kling for the first-of-its-kind program.

  Read more about 92Y’s jeweler in residence

• Meet Göran and see his street-smart, hip-hop-inspired work.

• 30 years of changing lives through literary arts education

  What began with a visit to 92Y by Maya Angelou in 1988 to talk with NYC public high school students about writing launched the program now called the Christopher Lightfoot Walker Literature Project.

  30 years of changing lives through literary arts education

  A visit to 92Y by iconic poet Maya Angelou in 1988 to talk with NYC public high school students about writing launched the program now called the Christopher Lightfoot Walker Literature Project. The years since have included free workshops and pizza dinners for students with literary masters ranging from Poet Laureates to Pulitzer Prize winners, including Junot Díaz, Tony Kushner, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith and more, introducing them to a broader world through the power of words. Among the participating students is Rebecca Pawel, who attended the program’s workshops in the early 1990s. The experience made its mark — Rebecca became a writer of mystery novels set during the Spanish Civil War, with her first book, Death of a Nationalist, winning the 2004 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. After four years at Columbia University, she returned to NYC’s public schools as a high school English teacher. Rebecca is currently in Madrid on a Fulbright scholarship, while pursuing her PhD. In the 2017/18 season, approximately 450 students will attend 92Y events, with 1,300 participating from their classrooms. The project also sponsors writing contests in poetry and prose for high school seniors, with cash prizes helping to ease the path to college. Literary arts education changes lives.

  Learn how 92Y is introducing thousands of students every year to a broader world through the power of words.

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#GivingTuesday: Philanthropy reimagined

In 2017, the global movement founded by 92Y six years ago inspired more acts of kindness and generosity than ever. In a world where so many things divide us, #GivingTuesday offers the opportunity to reaffirm the things that connect us. The initiative not only draws us together across physical, cultural and ideological divides, but invites us to celebrate our shared humanity.

• Innovating how the world connects with Jewish life

  92Y’s 2017/5778 High Holiday celebration inspired communities around the world to share powerful messages of reflection, hope and unity — reaching a record six million people.

  Watch highlights from 92Y’s High Holiday celebration

  “In focusing on the next vibrant iteration of Jewish community, we embrace innovations for today which will become the traditions of tomorrow. In that way, we walk proudly in the footsteps of our forebears.”

  Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein, director of Jewish community and Bronfman Center for Jewish Life

• View 92Y’s New Year video featuring dancers from 12 companies around the world

• An Ancient Art Form Goes Digital: Connecting the global ceramics community for the 21st century

  Leveraging the power of technology and social media, 92Y initiated a global conversation about ceramics — engaging more than one million ceramicists, artists, academics and everyday pottery lovers worldwide in countries ranging from Canada to the UK, India, Sweden, Spain, Italy and Guatemala.

  Learn more about #GlobalDayofClay.

• Empowering extraordinary women

  In 2016, 92Y launched the Extraordinary Women Awards to shine a spotlight on the remarkable women in our community who personify 92Y’s values of learning, self-improvement and repairing the world. Thanks to the highly successful 2016 event, we were thrilled to present our 2017 awards luncheon, which inspired an audience of 300 guests with powerful stories of resilience, strength and hope.

• Meet some of the extraordinary women in 92Y’s community

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• A new way of thinking about corporate collaboration to engender exceptional works of art

  What happens when a renowned 143-year-old institution with a celebrated Poetry Center gets together with a famous 111-year old technology brand? Literary magic. In 2017, 92Y and Xerox collaborated to create Speaking of Work, a captivating book that tells the story of the modern workplace in the words of 14 award-winning writers and thinkers, from Lee Child to Roxane Gay and Aimee Mann.

  Download Speaking of Work for FREE.

• Watch a preview of Set the Page Free

• A New Colossus: New voices at the vanguard of literature

  The words inscribed in the base of the Statue of Liberty welcoming “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” were written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 — the year she was teaching English to Russian-Jewish immigrants at 92Y. In commemoration of Lazarus’ 168th birthday, 92Y’s Poetry Center invited 19 of the nation’s top emerging poets to offer new reflections on the themes that run through the enduring sonnet.

• Meet the New Colossus poets and listen to their work

• Jerusalem: Exploring our shared humanity through the transformative power of art

  92Y’s Weill Art Gallery has showcased a remarkable range of work by both new and prominent visual artists since the 1930s — often with themes that support 92Y’s social consciousness. In fall 2017, the space became home to a world-class exhibit by Belfast artist Colin Davidson, revered for his portraits capturing extraordinary people with extraordinary lives, and ordinary people with extraordinary lives, all with equal nobility.

  “Presenting an international artist whose work celebrates humanity and diversity and provides pathways to conversation is everything we strive for.”

  Allison Valchuis Chapman, director, 92Y Art Center

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• Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica: Music shines a light on social justice

  An unforgettable concert and international cultural event were one when revered Latvian-born violinist Gidon Kremer brought his acclaimed chamber orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, and the work of Russian painter, writer and philosopher Maxim Kantor to 92Y. The multimedia event reinforced 92Y’s commitment to presenting programming that provokes thought, promotes tolerance and celebrates the human spirit.

  “For me, it’s important to play music … that broadens one’s emotional horizons and ways of looking at the world, and that (just maybe) helps someone to reach new conclusions.”

  Gidon Kremer

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• A new community for grandparents: Deepening our support of family at every age and stage

  Established in 1978, 92Y’s Parenting Center was the first in the nation and remains a paragon. Building on this strong foundation, in 2017 we launched the Grandparents Center, strengthening a vital intergenerational bond.

  A NEW COMMUNITY FOR GRANDPARENTS: Deepening our support of family at every age and stage

  They’re historians and playmates, caretakers and teachers. And whether it’s Nana or Nonna, Opa or Poppa, they are among the most important people in a child’s life. 92Y has a history of deep commitment to family — our Parenting Center was the nation’s first. This year we launched the Grandparents Center, furthering our commitment to supporting New York City families through every age and stage. The center offers classes, workshops and activities — developed and run by the team that has led the Parenting Center for nearly 40 years — all designed to strengthen a vital intergenerational bond. The team includes Gaby Greenberg, a woman who personifies “92Y family.” Gaby brought her first child, Peter, to 92Y for a children’s art class in 1970, prior to the founding of the Parenting Center. In 1986, she joined the center’s faculty, and she’s been leading classes here for the last 32 years, continuing to teach Parkbench programs, and contributing to the early parenting experience for hundreds of NYC families. A mother of two young adults when she began teaching, Gaby also made time to volunteer at a homeless shelter, where she began a second chapter in her own parenting, meeting and becoming a foster mom to 19-month-old Jeremy, whom she later adopted. She went on to adopt Zoe, a 6-year-old girl from China. Both children became part of the 92Y family themselves — Jeremy attended Camp Tova, and later became a Camp Yomi counselor. Zoe was a longtime Yomi camper, and is now director of Camp Kesher. “92Y family,” indeed. Gaby’s family grew to include three grandchildren. Reflecting on the new Grandparents Center, and why it is so meaningful for today’s families, Gaby says, ”The world has changed dramatically, and grandparents often feel a bit isolated. We’re creating a community where grandparents can meet, share, learn new skills and gain valuable support.” Gaby will be leading the “Family Quilt” class, teaching quilting that incorporates photographic images, written notes, bits of fabric and other mementos. “What a wonderful way to communicate a family’s history,” she says, adding, “Grandparents can often be childrens’ best storytellers, because they have lived the most life and have the most to share.”

  Read the full story.

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• The Himan Brown Knitting Circle: Enriching the lives of seniors with pastimes and purpose

  The Himan Brown Senior Program knitting circle was born of a desire to engage members in a creative activity, while making a meaningful impact. The 5,000+ hats they’ve knitted have been donated to neonatal intensive care units and to cancer patients of all ages, helping both those who knit and those in need.

• Meet the Himan Brown knitters