Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the New York Philharmonic have announced a $50 million gift from Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai in support of construction of the new David Geffen Hall.

While recently announced, the commitment was made at the end of 2020 and enabled the project to be accelerated within two years. In recognition of the gift, the theater in the new David Geffen Hall will be named the Wu Tsai Theater. In addition, the gift will support the launch of an annual Wu Tsai Series, featuring performances that celebrate interdisciplinary works from diverse voices to showcase the flexibility of the theater, including Etienne Charles’ San Juan Hill: A New York Story, which will share the history of the San Juan Hill neighborhood and the Indigenous and immigrant communities that populated the land on which Lincoln Center resides; Afropunk’s first-ever Winter Afropunk: BLACK HERSTORY LIVE; and Julia Wolfe’s unEarth, an immersive, multimedia oratorio.

“Joe and I are ardent lovers of the arts, and passionate about the role they play in our civic well-being,” said Clara Wu Tsai, founder of the Joe and Clara Wu Tsai Foundation and a member of Lincoln Center’s board of directors. “We are particularly passionate about Lincoln Center’s commitment to broadening the voices represented on stage and reaching new audiences, to help create a more equitable and dynamic future in the arts. We could not be more pleased to support this amazing project for New York City.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/cyano66)