SundayArts, the Tri-State Area's Premier Arts Showcase, to Relaunch in Primetime as NYC-ARTS Beginning Thursday, February 2 at 8 p.m. on THIRTEEN

Newly expanded Web sites, mobile apps, and social media components to provide unprecedented arts coverage on multiple platforms

2011 New York Emmy winners Paula Zahn and Philippe de Montebello continue as co-hosts

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SundayArts, THIRTEEN's weekly arts and culture showcase for the tri-state area, will be relaunched as a primetime series—now with multiple digital platforms—called NYC-ARTS, airing Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on THIRTEEN, beginning February 2, 2012. Encore presentations will follow on Sundays in SundayArts'  former timeslot of 12 noon on THIRTEEN; Fridays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. on WLIW; and Sundays at 8:30 p.m. on NJTV. New episodes will also be available on NYC-ARTS.org every Thursday at 8:30 pm.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120126/DC42638)

Since it premiered in 2008, SundayArts has provided arts lovers in the tri-state area with an all-access pass to the New York City area's myriad cultural offerings: from music and dance concerts, to the theater, museums and galleries—from the classic to the contemporary.

New York Emmy winners Philippe de Montebello and Paula Zahn will continue to co-host the revamped series.  The program will now originate from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center.

The popular Feature/Profiles and Curator's Choice segments seen each week on SundayArts will continue on NYC-ARTS, along with the events around town reported by News Correspondent Christina Ha.

The NYC-ARTS digital platforms were developed by the Alliance for the Arts. This partnership between NYC-ARTS and WNET began in March 2011, when the SundayArts site began including the NYC ARTS Top Five events each week on its blog, and continued in the summer when the new ThirteenArts mobile app launched with event listings provided by NYC-ARTS.org. NYC-ARTS digital is now under the management of WNET.

"We're tremendously excited about the opportunity to relaunch SundayArts as NYC-ARTS," said Executive Producer David Horn. "Our commitment to bring viewers the best in the world of arts and culture from the tri-state area is stronger than ever, and with the move to primetime, the newly expanded Web site, we're able to connect more New Yorkers to the arts in more ways while broadening our reach in the community."

With this relaunch, NYC-ARTS will be the single most comprehensive resource about the arts in New York City. NYC-ARTS.org and its mobile apps include thousands of New York City arts and cultural organizations and their events, programs and services.  NYCkidsARTS.org provides parents and teachers with the resources they need to connect kids with the arts. NYC-ARTS is also a daily communicator of arts news and discourse via its weekly emails and robust social media presence. (The present SundayArts Web site will continue to be active for the time being.)

"WNET understands that New York's arts scene is one of the reasons people fall in love with this vibrant and exciting city of ours," said Daniel Greenberg, General Manager of the Interactive Engagement Group. "The new NYC-ARTS offers New Yorkers and tourists alike an accessible way to engage with the arts whenever, and wherever they are."

There are free NYC-ARTS Smartphone apps which can be found by searching NYC ARTS in the iTunes App store and Android marketplace. These will offer up-to-the-minute listings in your immediate area and video features about many of the city's cultural gems. A podcast of NYC-ARTS is also available on iTunes.

On the NYC-ARTS premiere show on February 2nd, the Feature/Profile focuses on the Morrison Hotel Gallery on Prince Street in Soho.  Here the art of photography merges with the world of pop/rock music, preserving remarkable moments in time.

The Curator's Choice is part of an initiative by the National Endowment for the Humanities called Picturing America on Screen.  It takes a look at the work of artist Romare Bearden, one of the most original American artists of the 20th century.  Christina Ha reports on events around town from the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture, including the current exhibition there: "Staging Fashion, 1880 – 1920: Jane Hading, Lily Elsie, Billie Burke."

NYC-ARTS is a production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers.  For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

Executive Producer: David Horn. Editorial Director: Joan Hershey. Supervising Producer: Mitch Owgang. Senior Producer: Bob Morris. For the digital platforms, General Manager: Dan Greenberg. Director of Product Management: Joe Harrell.

NYC-ARTS is made possible in part by First Republic Bank.  Funding for NYC-ARTS is also made possible by Rosalind P. Walter, The Paul and Irma Milstein Foundation, Elise Jaffe and Jeffrey Brown, Jody and John Arnhold, and The Lemberg Foundation. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional funding provided by members of THIRTEEN.

Visit the NYC-ARTS Web site at NYC-ARTS.org for additional information.

About WNET
New York's WNET is America's flagship public media outlet, bringing quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. The parent company of public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Need to Know, Charlie Rose, Tavis Smiley and a range of documentaries,  children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online.  Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Noah Comprende and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJ Today and the new online newsmagazine MetroFocus.

About NYC-ARTS
NYC-ARTS aims to increase awareness of New York City's nonprofit cultural organizations, whose offerings greatly benefit residents and visitors—from children to adults, and teenagers to senior citizens. NYC-ARTS promotes cultural groups' activities and events to tri-state, national and international audiences through nonprint media, using new technologies as they develop. Through television, Web sites, mobile applications and social media, NYC-ARTS nurtures New York City's position as a thriving cultural capital of the world, one that has both world-renowned institutions and those that are focused on local communities.

SOURCE Thirteen WNET New York