by Elhadji Mare

New York billionaire, Ronald Perelman, donates $75 million towards creating an arts complex at the newly developed World Trade Center. Perelman, Chairman and CEO of MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, believes that installing an arts hub in the new World Trade Center area is something of a necessity. In a recent article posted by the New York Times, the MacAndrews and Forbes CEO can be found saying that “this is a project that must happen… It is more than just a pure artistic center to serve a community. It is that, but at the same time it’s much more than that.”

Being named after Perelman, the newest instillation to the constantly evolving World Trade Center is meant to bring more culture to the vicinity, which was an end goal of the center when planning and development started in 2003. Supporters of the new art center see it as a great platform for artists that experiment with many different artistic mediums. The new center will be able to hold around 500 people, exposing the work of current and upcoming artists to the New York City community and the world.

The space will present “dance, concerts, new or early chamber opera, and theater, and to become the main venue of the Tribeca Film Festival each April.” An avid supporter of pop culture, Perelman hopes that the new center will become “the first venue of choice for the Bruce Springsteens and the Bon Jovis and the Yo-Yo Mas and the Lang Langs, and at the same time it’s a place where we could have produced a “Hamilton” project or where we could produce a new ballet.” With his donation, his aspirations are becoming more and more of a reality, pushing the project closer to its price point of $240 million. 

Thanks to the help of art supporters like businessman Ronald Perelman, more artists will have a place to showcase their new work and will also present the city with another hub for New York City’s ever-evolving culture.