Midnight Moment: Ezra Wube, At the Same Moment; photo by Ka-Man Tse for @TSqArts.

Updates
Midnight Moment is the largest coordinated effort in history by the sign operators in Times Square to display synchronized, cutting-edge creative content on electronic billboards and newspaper kiosks throughout Times Square. Every night of the year, with the exception of New Year’s Eve, a three-minute short film plays on over 15 electronic billboards throughout Times Square from 11:57pm to midnight.

As we plan our 2014 season, we have reflected upon the power of our partnerships, public and private, across programming and performing platforms.  For Midnight Moment, we are extremely fortunate to have the continued support of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, who represents the owners of the electronic billboards.  In giving us a nightly slot in their lineup to showcase leading international art, animation and graphic design, they have bolstered our efforts by donating close to $1 million in valuable screen time each year.

When programming the works, it is important to consider the greater artistic and civic dialogue.  Through institutional partners, we bring attention to a single work by placing it within a broader context, while at the same time using the artwork to create a window into larger questions. The November, December and January films of Midnight Moment explore the ways in which different partnerships—from those with a fellow BID to a major cultural institution to a global NGO—can catalyze conversation at both local and global levels. Whereas Times Square’s billboards were previously uninterrupted displays of commercial advertising, Midnight Moment has transformed them into active platforms for exploring contemporary issues that speak to a more diverse audience made up of New Yorkers and foreigners alike.

Recent Wins
Ezra Wube, At the Same Moment
Partnership/Affiliation: Lower Manhattan Cultural Council "Swing Space" program

This November, we are showing Ezra Wube’s stop-action animation piece At the Same Moment. A native of Ethiopia who received his higher education in the U.S., Wube created the piece while in residence at the Swing Space program led by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, a major partner of the Alliance for Downtown New York. That Wube has received integral support from both Times Square and the Alliance for Downtown New York speaks to the powerful potential of BID-based organizations to complement each other’s resources rather than compete for them.

Isaac Julien, "PLAYTIME"
Partnership/Affiliation: Metro Pictures Gallery, MoMA

In December, we will showcase an edition of a new work from a seminal artist, created specifically for Times Square.  Isaac Julien is a master of high definition, lens-based work conceived for multiple screens and distributions.  The public display of Wube’s artwork on billboard screens will complement and add diversity to the simultaneous exhibition of his works throughout the city. As his short film PLAYTIME is featured in Times Square and at Metro Picture Galleries, his award-winning TEN THOUSAND WAVES will be presented on multiple screens in the MoMA atrium space. At the end of the month, MoMA will release RIOT, a book chronicling thirty years of Julien’s work. Throughout the month, Times Square will become a central place to highlight this important moment for the arts sector.

Laleh Khorrmian, "Water Panics in the Sea"
Partnership/Affiliation: United Nations Development Program, Water & Ocean Governance Programme

Laleh Khorrmian has created a short version of her film Water Panics in the Sea for January.  She takes us on a journey across fictional seascapes and landscapes, exploring the human relationship to water through her vast scale, vibrant colors, and use of collage animation. We have teamed with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the global development network of the UN, to publicize the work throughout their international networks. We will also collaborate with UNDP to host a public talk between the artist and Andrew Hudson, the Head of the UNDP Water & Ocean Governance Programme. Through our partnership with UNDP, the impact of Khorrmian’s artwork will extend beyond the immediate audience in Times Square to catalyze a truly global conversation.

Insight/Provocation
Diversity is our strength. We recognize that, with so much dividing their attention, our NYC audience is easily distracted. To keep our experimental platform alive, we regularly vary both our content and our partners. These changes help to inspire new programming, build new audiences and develop new press strategies.  These developments have also led to exceptional press impressions across a range of outlets. Press is all-important in amplifying our successes, and the additional coverage has reinforced our efforts to solidify our partnerships and encourage new signs to join the nightly display of Midnight Moment.

It’s clear that we should never underestimate the reach of the program. Midnight Moment is about much more than showcasing a single artwork—it’s also about the other players than can be involved in and affected by the program. Again and again, we learn and benefit from partnerships old and new. We are not afraid to think big, to maximize our resources, to consider the global implications that a Midnight Moment showing can have. Always respect the integrity of a single artwork and realize that, with support from the right partner, it can catalyze a conversation, an action, or even a movement.