The covid-19 pandemic has an enormous impact worldwide on areas such as employment, health care, social services and the economy, both now and in the coming period. This program is the first in a series of programs about how different cities deal with the pandemic. As the coronavirus has began to hit urban areas, we see cities changing. During the series ‘Infected Cities’ we will have conversations with different experts about the state of being in the concerned city. Together with DutchCulture we will search for different so called ‘city makers’, think f.e. of artists, creatives and volunteers, in different cities. They can give us an insight into their daily works and explain how they commit to make an impact during this pandemic and support those who suffer the most. In this program we will talk more about the impact of the corona virus on one of the largest cities in the world: New York City.
Exposed
As the coronavirus begins to make large numbers of victims in New York City, we see the city changing from a vibrant area – the city that never sleeps – into the epicenter of the corona crisis. The inequality within the city that has existed for years is now clearly exposed. The corona virus has claimed both rich and poor in the city, but as the death toll has mounted, it is clear that the virus has a disproportionate impact on immigrant communities. While some New Yorkers have enough resources to stay home safely or flee the city to their country houses, others: the people with less resources, suffer tremendously. How does the pandemic reveal existing inequalities in New York City?
‘Changemakers’
During this program we will also talk with different change makers in New York City. There are a lot of creatives who use their work to support communities that are now affected by the coronavirus. The added value of arts and culture in a society is currently even more visible. Who are these people and which roles can creatives (designers, makers, writers, journalists and other storytellers) take to make cities more resilient?
DutchCulture and Pakhuis de Zwijger organize cross-cultural and cross-national conversations about art in corona times. Recap of the first edition, New York
The coronavirus has laid bare two societies divided on lines of class and race – a divide reflected in skewed death figures.
In a city ravaged by the coronavirus, few places have suffered as much as central Queens, where a seven-square-mile patch of densely packed immigrant enclaves recorded more than 7,000 cases in the first weeks of the outbreak.
Suzy Delvalle, the president of Creative Capital, urges us all to help artists hurt by the coronavirus pandemic
New York is een andere stad geworden. De levendigheid is weg. De arme wijken zijn het hardst getroffen. Centrum van het coronaverdriet is het ziekenhuis Elmhurst, waar verplegers moeten smeken om mondkapjes.
