Hello there, dear reader! It certainly has been a while.
Please allow me to wish you, before anything else, a happy and prosperous 2021. We all know the various adjectives used to describe 2020 — and they’ve put an incredible amount of pressure on the number 1, but here’s hoping this train we’re on will really will be a better one for all of us.
I started this newsletter at the beginning of the New York Pause, when we weren’t quite sure how long Broadway would be shut down for or how many concerts would be cancelled or when we’d be back to watching films in cinemas. I wanted to give you a rundown of your entertainment and cultural options during the pandemic and help share what artists were doing to keep us — and themselves — going.
While we still don’t have clear answers, we have, somehow, found a way to live with this. For now, at least, as we have to. So while I won’t be offering you online entertainment options, per se, I will still be sharing things to watch, read and listen to, from the interviews I do and stories I write, as well as some of the little NY adventures I still manage to take.
The other day, in an unusual turn of events where I was being interviewed and not doing the interviewing, I was asked what keeps me motivated. I’ve asked the question of others — in various ways, like ‘What fills your cup?’ or ‘Where do you draw inspiration from?’ — but I’d hardly ever thought of my own answer. Before I knew it, I heard myself replying. Knowing, every day, that there is something new to discover — a song being released or being heard for the first time or a film or a play, or a deeper level of understanding being experienced — keeps me going. I used to worry that I hadn’t watched enough classic films or listened to all the great musicians of our time, that time was running out for me to experience all the great works of art I should be experiencing. But we find out about things when we’re meant to. That discovery is a gift, and it comes when it needs to.
So, at the risk of being too earnest, I hope you may discover something within this newsletter that brings some joy or ignites a smidgeon of interest within you. If you have anything you’d like to share with me, please do drop me a line back or leave a comment. And if you’d rather not hear from me, you’re free to unsubscribe too. No hard feelings.
Before I go, a few pics from a run I did to the new part of Penn Station, the Moynihan Train Hall. Unlike Penn Station, it’s a much lighter, brighter and infinitely more beautiful space (although that wasn’t hard to top, given how much of a treacherous dungeon Penn has become). More importantly, there are a few pieces of striking art to take in while one is there.
The first is from Kehinde Wiley, titled Go, which is a hand-painted, stained-glass ceiling triptych that depicts young breakdancers. The second is The Hive, an installation by Elmgreen & Dragset, that’s composed of 100 upside-down futuristic buildings hanging like stalactites. With so many places having closed during this time, it’s quite a sight to see something new open. It makes me look forward to the day I’ll be dashing off to catch a train departing or arriving back into New York, and be greeted by the sight of these superb permanent art pieces.
Thank you for reading.
Your neighbour, still
Nadia
*Today’s edition of In a New York Mile brought to you by The Impressions.*
Thank you for the words of inspiration Nadia. It's refreshing to see these beautiful pictures.