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Jean Cooney Is Back at Creative Time and Ready to Take New Risks

In conversation with Observer, the org's new executive director reflects on what she learned at Times Square Arts and why she believes letting artists lead is the only way forward.

About a month ago, the beloved New York nonprofit Creative Time announced that Jean Cooney would serve as its new executive director. Cooney replaces Justine Ludwig, who served as Creative Time’s executive director since her appointment in 2018, and arrives from the Times Square Alliance, another major institution that stages ambitious public art in the city. Cooney worked at Creative Time before Times Square Arts, and we caught up to hear more about her new job and thoughts on public art in general.

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You’re returning to Creative Time after nearly seven years at Times Square Arts. I can see the ways in which the two jobs are similar, in that they both program ambitious public art, but what would you point to as the major differences between the two organizations?

Creative Time and Times Square Arts are each iconic in their own right! Both programs are built around inviting artists to think big, push the boundaries of their practices and respond to the landscape of our city as well as the contemporary cultural moment. I feel grateful that across these very different organizations, I’ve been able to work with artists and champion the realization of bold, ambitious and timely projects for the broad and diverse publics of New York City.

Times Square is an extraordinary place that sees on average 250,000 people in one day, where you truly can make no assumptions about anyone’s interest in art, which really inspired me to expand my thinking around audience and accessibility. Alternatively, Creative Time follows artists, moving throughout the city and occasionally beyond (and in one case, even into outer space), to bring their visions to life—a practice that I’m excited to dig back into, push even further and interweave with my learnings from........

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