Lincoln Center's 2016 Global Exchange to Showcase Art's Impact on Conflict, the Environment

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announced the return of its Lincoln Center Global Exchange, a seminal gathering of world leaders and influencers devoted to exploring the power of art and culture to address the world's most daunting problems.

To be held on September 15th and 16th at Alice Tully Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room, Time Warner Center in New York City, the second annual Global Exchange will focus on two themes: Art and Conflict and Art and the Environment.

Expected to draw more than 250 international thought leaders and change agents from business, government, education, media, science, and the arts, this invitation-only event will feature conversations and integrated live performances showcasing and generating arts-based solutions. Art and Conflict will examine how art can attempt to heal the wounds and divisions of conflict. Art and the Environment will investigate how art can affect the policies and practices that impact the world's most significant environmental challenges.

"The Lincoln Center Global Exchange seeks to return art and culture to the center of public discourse," said Katherine Farley, Chairman of Lincoln Center. "Last year's inaugural event catalyzed fresh conversations between leaders across disciplines and around the world, about art's capacity to propel innovative change. This year, we are eager to explore the new solutions that lie at art's intersection with social conflict, the environment, and education, and the importance of philanthropy in the arts when activating these solutions."

This year's Global Exchange features a distinguished program of speakers, including: U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power; President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband; Founder of Bloomberg L.P. & Bloomberg Philanthropies and the 108th Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg; The Carlyle Group Co-Founder and Co-CEO David Rubenstein; Pakistani journalist, two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker and activistSharmeen Obaid-Chinoy; Italian tenor and Founder of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation Andrea Bocelli, Rio de Janeiro MayorEduardo Paes; Yemen's first female rapper and women's rights activist Amani Yahya; Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan magazine Joanna Coles; British film, television, and theater director Stephen Daldry; National Public Radio Host Renée Montagne; MIT Media Lab's Director Joi Ito and professor and renowned composer Tod Machover; photographer, activist, and photojournalist Donna Ferrato; celebrated dancer and conflict resolution expert Dana Caspersen; Chicago Booth School of Business Visiting Artist and dancer John Michael Schert; and film and television producer and Founder of FilmAid InternationalCaroline Baron. Early workshop partners include: MIT Media Lab, National Endowment for the Arts, and 100 Resilient Cities-Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.

"Art is more than an escape from the horrors of war, it humanizes the 'other' and can spur the building of bridges and post-conflict healing. I look forward to exploring art's role in diplomacy and peacebuilding this September at the Lincoln Center Global Exchange," said Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

The Global Exchange is made possible by generous support from Founding Sponsor First Republic Bank.

On the evening of September 15th, the Global Exchange will commence with an extraordinary opening celebration of world-class performances at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, curated by Nigel Redden, Director of Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA, followed by a welcome reception with the artists. The program for the evening is slated to include performances by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and the Voices of Haiti children's choir, presented by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, British choreographer and dancer Aakash Odedra, The Whirling Dervishes of Damascus ensemble of Syria, and many more. Lincoln Center intends to make this performance available for free online to audiences around the world.

"Discovering harmony in a complex and heterogeneous world, Lincoln Center's Global Exchange enables people from across the globe to discover powerful links between the arts and their respective disciplines and to better understand the values of beauty, of hope and goodness," said Andrea Bocelli. "I am honored and excited to perform alongside the Voices of Haiti children's choir in their U.S. debut, helping to amplify the essential role of art and culture in social and economic development. Art and beauty can really unite the world, return trust in the future, and represent an extraordinary possibility to empower people and communities."

The conference program begins the morning of September 16th at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room, and is designed to help thought leaders make new connections and to activate meaningful change long after the event. The day will feature keynote remarks, plenary sessions, and a series of interactive, carefully crafted workshops. The program will also revisit the themes explored at last year's inaugural event: Art and Science, Art and Education, and Art and Cities.

The Global Exchange was created in 2015 and featured participants from more than 30 countries on six continents including: Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt; IAC Chairman and Senior Executive Barry Diller; conductor Gustavo Dudamel; journalist, author and CNN host Fareed Zakaria; actor and advocate Michael J. Fox; The Rockefeller University President Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne; National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu; The Rockefeller University neuroscientist and Torsten N. Wiesel Professor Dr. Cori Bargmann; Pandora's Chief Musical Architect Nolan Gasser, Ph.D.; Chief Executive Officer of Cinépolis Alejandro Ramírez Magaña; Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno; Founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast; Brazilian choreographer Deborah Colker; New York Times columnist and co-anchor of CNBC's "Squawk Box" Andrew Ross Sorkin; Nobel Prize winner and Columbia University Professor Dr. Eric Kandel; sociologist Richard Sennett, Director of the MIT Media Lab City Science Initiative Kent Larson; and Bosnian theater and film director Haris Pašovic.

"I believe in the power of the arts to change not just our hearts, but our world. Lincoln Center's Global Exchange was founded in the same conviction," said Michael J. Fox. "As an actor and advocate, I was gratified to take part in an inaugural-year panel about the power of dance to help Parkinson's patients live well with the disease -- a discussion unforgettably punctuated by a performance by the Mark Morris Dance for PD program."

Appearances and performances subject to change.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community engagement, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 16 series, festivals, and programs, including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Career Grants and Artist program, David Rubenstein Atrium programming, Great Performers, Legends at Lincoln Center: The Performing Arts Hall of Fame, Lincoln Center at the Movies, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS, and Lincoln Center Education, which is celebrating 40 years enriching the lives of students, educators, and lifelong learners. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, visit lincolncenter.org.