Brooklyn resident Shanta Thake named as Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer

August 3, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Shanta Thake, Lincoln Center’s Ehrenkranz chief artistic officer. Photo by Gregory Kramer

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Lincoln Center has named Brooklyn resident Shanta Thake, formerly the associate artistic director of the Public Theater, as the institution’s Ehrenkranz chief artistic officer, charged with spearheading Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ artistic strategy, Lincoln Center President and CEO Henry Timms and the board of directors announced on Tuesday.

Thake, who lives in the Park Slope-Windsor Terrace area, joins Lincoln Center at a pivotal time in its history and will build upon its efforts to complement the work of its world-class constituent organizations, activate its full 16-acres to serve more New Yorkers than ever before, and support art forms underrepresented on campus.

She will build upon recent endeavors to help instill the arts as core to daily life in the city and beyond — from initiatives like Restart Stages and The GREEN, which activate the campus in new and innovative ways, collaborating with organizations from across the city to introduce New Yorkers to the arts. She also has headed civic activations like blood drives and vaccinations and commissioned important works like “The Baptism” by Carl Hancock Rux and directed by Carrie Mae Weems.

Having overseen the growth and development of The Public Theater’s initiatives such as Public Works, Mobile Unit, Under the Radar, Joe’s Pub, the Public Shakespeare Initiative and Public Forum, Thake brings experience cultivating talent across genres and managing diverse teams to deliver on this strategy in new and bold ways.

In addition, she is the co-director of GlobalFEST, North America’s world music festival, whose mission is to foster cultural exchange and to increase the presence of world music in communities nationwide. In this role, she received the William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence.

This new position replaces Lincoln Center’s artistic director role, which Jane Moss filled for 26 years before stepping down in 2020. Thake will lead programming decisions alongside staff and guest curators, helping to ensure a diversity of perspectives is woven throughout artistic endeavors— fostering openness, access, and building inclusive excellence into the heart of the institution’s programming. She will also help to launch the accelerated opening of David Geffen Hall in the fall of 2022, a project key to these goals.

“As co-chair of the search team for our chief artistic officer, I was so impressed with Shanta’s focus on the plurality and democracy of art—her wide and deep understanding of genres and styles, and her profound knowledge and respect for artists across traditions and backgrounds,” said Clara Wu Tsai, founder of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation and co-chair of the search committee.

“Shanta Thake has made an extraordinary career celebrating and cultivating diverse talent from across the city and the world, and we are so pleased to count her as our chief artistic officer,” said Henry Timms, president & CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

“I’m so grateful to the board of directors and leadership for their support as I enter this role,” said Ms. Thake. “I moved to New York almost twenty years ago to the day, with big ideas about what was possible—this is really the culmination of a lifetime of deep love of New York’s cultural diversity, the palpable excitement and critical importance of sharing a cultural experience together.

“I look forward to building upon the tremendous legacy of Jane Moss, while undergoing a period of listening and discovery. I’m confident that together we can help elevate all the greatest parts of this institution and build upon them even further—growing a Lincoln Center where all New Yorkers feel welcome no matter your background and where artists can shine and develop their craft in innovative and exciting new directions,” she added.

Shanta Thake was previously the associate artistic director, meaning the director of artistic programs, at The Public Theater. Before that role, she spent 10 years as the director of Joe’s Pub, the intimate cabaret venue which hosts more than 700 shows annually and is consistently hailed as one of New York City’s most prestigious venues for both emerging and established artists.

Thake has served as the co-chair for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference in 2019 and 2020. She received a BA in theater as well as a degree in management from Indiana University and currently lives in Brooklyn with her family.

“Shanta Thake is a bold advocate for artists and the power of art to transform our lives. As one of our city’s most innovative creative minds, she will be a strong voice to help lead the ongoing transformation of Lincoln Center,” said Audra McDonald, singer, actor, alumna of the Juilliard School and member of the Lincoln Center Board of Directors.