New 42 Partners With the New York City Housing Authority to Provide Free Tickets to Families in NYCHA Housing

New 42 and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced a partnership in which families living in NYCHA housing can receive up to four free tickets per family to shows of their choice at the New Victory Theater each season. The program, which initially launched in fall of 2022, has already provided more than 1,000 free tickets to over 200 families living in NYCHA developments across all five boroughs.

As part of this ongoing partnership, residents are able to apply a code included in the NYCHA newsletter to unlock free tickets to shows of their choice at the New Victory Theater. NYCHA residents can also participate online any time in New Victory Arts Breaks, which are free activities for families to incorporate performing arts into their learning that are guided by New Victory Teaching Artists.

"We are so pleased to be working with New 42 to provide NYCHA families with a direct pipeline to the arts," said NYCHA CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt. "It is critical that the NYCHA community, especially the youth in particular, be exposed to a variety of art forms to instill an appreciation for expression, culture, and the vibrant connectivity that thrives within the arts community."

New 42 and NYCHA continue to explore ways to expand accessibility to the arts for families living in public housing, including bringing New Victory family engagement activities to NYCHA events, working with NYCHA cornerstone organizations on site, and the possibility of moving select performances from the New Victory Theater into NYCHA communities in the future. New 42 and NYCHA’s shared goal through this partnership is not only to provide limited-means and under-exposed families with access to the arts, but also to deliver the opportunity to actively participate in various art forms, thereby instilling the idea of potential futures, even careers, for NYCHA youth in the arts.

“We are thrilled to partner with NYCHA to provide access to our programming at the New Victory,” said Russell Granet, President & CEO of New 42. “We know the critical role the arts can play in community development and how exposing kids to theatrical experiences in early childhood can foster a sense of belonging in arts spaces, continuing to build future generations of artists and audiences. Access has always been at the forefront of our work here at New 42, and we hope this partnership with NYCHA can continue to grow and develop for years to come.”

New 42’s mission is to make extraordinary performing arts a vital part of everyone’s life, from the earliest years onward. As a part of this mission, New 42 powers the New Victory Theater, which presents high-quality, low-cost children and family programming, including theater, dance, circus, puppetry, opera and music from around the world in its historic home in Times Square. Since 1995, more than 7,000 artists in 350 shows from 35 countries and the U.S. have performed on the New Victory stage for audiences of all ages.

In a recently conducted research study in partnership with WolfBrown, New 42 learned that the more opportunities young people have to experience the performing arts, the more their interest increases. Survey participants who were able to attend theatrical experiences during childhood were much more likely to say that they belong at the theater and are more likely to return. This shift in perspective - changing the performing arts from an elite experience to a welcoming space - is the way to develop a theatergoing habit for audiences of the future and is key to New 42’s work.

The New Victory’s upcoming 2023-24 season, beginning in October, will feature 11 shows from all around the world, including performers from Cambodia, Ireland, Australia, and more. To learn more about the upcoming season, please visit NewVictory.org. 

Their work with NYCHA is one of many ways New 42 works to provide greater access to the arts for kids and families in New York City. To learn more about the organization’s work, please visit New42.org.