"For the last month or so, every time I've left my apartment in Astoria I've cut through an aisle of Christmas trees, some festooned with bright red bows, some bare. Around me are those cutting wreaths down to size, taking selfies, begging their parents for a bigger tree, and lugging them away. Despite the cold, the uncertainty, the relentlessness of the news cycle, it makes me feel grounded, in community - which is what the holiday season is about."
"It's the season for gratitude, but if I know anything about New York, it's that it always looks forward. In that spirit, I beseech you to read Sami Abu Shumays's open letter to the next mayoral administration. One stat I simply can't get over: The city currently gives The Met more money each year than every single institution in Queens and Staten Island combined."
Residents in Astoria walk through aisles of Christmas trees, engaging in communal holiday rituals that provide grounding amid cold and relentless news cycles. The city is between mayoral administrations, creating an in-between moment of gratitude and forward-looking expectations. Sami Abu Shumays urges the incoming mayor to fund culture more equitably, framing cultural funding as integral to broader affordability reforms rather than special carve-outs for artists. The city currently gives The Met more money annually than every single institution in Queens and Staten Island combined. The Met's Divine Egypt exhibition presents visceral deity imagery and transformative mythic scenes. Warm holiday wishes close the note.
#arts-funding-inequity #mayoral-transition #metropolitan-museum-of-art #queens-cultural-institutions
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