The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the importance of the arts in New York City. The premise is that the arts are related to every aspect of city life. The history of New York will be examined from an artistic standpoint, with the endpoint being the present-day belief that arts encourage economic development and greatly improve the quality of life in the city. The arts culture in the city will be examined from different organizational perspectives: business, government, and the nonprofit sector. The full panoply of arts will be covered: theater, literature, fashion, web design, painting, food, photography, music, film, dance, architecture, landscaping, public art, and urban planning. One of the important components of the course will be for you to think creatively about how the arts shape the character of the city’s neighborhoods. The overarching theme is that New York City is in itself a work of art.