Deeksha Gaur testifies on TDF's Tickets for Teens and arts access
Deeksha Gaur, executive director of TDF, says TDF served 1.3 million audience members, partnered on Tickets for Teens giving 2,000 free tickets, and urges the next plan to prioritize affordability and access for audiences.
Thank you, Deputy Speaker Williams.
My name is Biksha Gore, and I'm the executive director
Director of TDF.
I'm proud to be here on behalf of the 1.3 million audience members TDF served last year, including New Yorkers from all 51 council districts.
TDF's work is driven by a core belief that when people experience art, they and their communities are better for it.
Arts participation reduces loneliness and depression, and it increases civic-mindedness, including our propensity to vote, volunteer, and donate.
That's why our programs connect communities to the theater at every level, through the TKTS booth and our membership programs, through our education programs and community partnerships, and through our physical accessibility work.
In August of this year, TDF partnered with city and cultural institutions, including the Department of Cultural Affairs, on Tickets for Teens, giving away 2,000 free theater tickets to New York City's high schoolers, along with a free
TDF membership, unlocking deeply discounted access to the arts.
Over 23,000 students signed up in five days and purchased or unlocked over 5,000 admissions, highlighting our community's appetite for arts and culture.
As you consider the next steps for Create NYC and the city's cultural agenda, I urge you to continue to prioritize affordable...
Affordability and access to the arts for the arts.
audience.
Many New Yorkers today believe that the arts are not for them.
The city has the opportunity in its next plan to dispel that myth.
By making the arts affordable, accessible, and welcoming for all New Yorkers, we are investing in the artists and audiences of our future.
And most importantly, we're building a more connected, more engaged, and healthier community for us all.
As Tickets for Teens taught us, we have the best chance of success when we all bring our strengths to the table.
TDF stands ready to contribute.
We sit at the center of a robust ecosystem of producers, cultural institutions, 150 neighborhood community organizations, schools, audiences, and government agencies.
Together, we hope to lay the foundation for a joyful, healthy, and thriving future for New York and our cultural community.