This month, we sit down with Nancy La Lanne to discuss her 25+ year work history in Tribeca at BMCC, along with her advocacy for Professional Women Photographers.
CFDC: What is your connection to Tribeca?
NL: I’ve been a staff member at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center (PAC) for 26 years. In 2000, I came to help with a show cancellation, and they hired me on to be in the box office part-time. When the office manager left in 2001, she suggested that I take her position. I’ve also been a board member of Professional Women Photographers since 2022. It’s a nonprofit that’s been dedicated to empowering women and non-binary photographers for over 50 years. PWP and BMCC share deep roots in the Tribeca community.
CFDC: What memories do you have of those early days working in Tribeca?
NL: One of the amazing things about working here was that the executive director, the operations director, the technical director and the box office manager were all women. I had not seen women in these kinds of positions in my life. So that was super inspiring. At the time, I didn’t understand or embrace fully that I was an artist. So I got the chance to mold into my expression, being inspired by folks here and all the various shows that we would have.
CFDC: How has Tribeca changed over the years?
NL: A lot changed after 9/11. That day, I was coming to work for a staff meeting. When I came out of the subway at the Chambers Street station, there was a crowd on the corner of Greenwich Street across from McDonald’s. A plane had just crashed into the towers, and you could see all the flames. When I stepped off the curb, the first building started falling. I ran north and only stopped running when the second building began to fall. On October 1, we returned to the building for work as a skeleton staff. No one was coming downtown for shows, and our theater had to crawl back. We struggled for a couple of years before getting a grant that helped restore Tribeca PAC. The Tribeca Film Festival began at that time to generate traffic and business to Tribeca. I’ve been working with the TFF ever since, and we continue to be one of the red carpet venues.
CFDC: How would you describe the Tribeca community?
NL: Well, now I feel a bit disconnected, because I’m not navigating the neighborhood as much. I used to go to all the different openings. I hung out at Black Lily where new women artists were showcased by The Roots at Wetland Preserve on Laight Street. I loved photographing around the neighborhood. But all that changed when I had an accident in 2019. Now, as a woman with limited mobility who is a photographer, I had to pivot to studio portraiture. One of the wonderful things about working here at BMCC is that I’m supported as an artist. Many people on the team are also artists. We are always encouraging one another and, on occasion, have created projects together.
CFDC: What are your thoughts on super tall tower developments in the neighborhood?
NL: If you’re going to bring it in, bring something of quality to the neighborhood, not just an eyesore for money’s sake. Consider affordable housing. Bring architecture that you expect to last and change with the neighborhood. These Independence Plaza buildings were the first that I knew of with low income or affordable housing in this area.
CFDC: Can you tell us about the work that you’re doing between PWP and BMCC?
NL: As a PWP board member, I launched a fundraiser through a public PWP photography exhibition sponsored by Tribeca PAC at BMCC. We had 92 participants and 108 images, and it was fantastic! Now it’s building nonprofit funds through the sales of those images. The upcoming PWP documentary is my baby, and it’s premiering later this month. This is not just a film. It’s 50 years of women showing up for each other, a documentary featuring interviews with more than 15 former PWP members. We talk about how it was for the women who held this group together and how they became the successes they are today. This is a wonderful way to celebrate female pioneers, review the history, and inspire future female artists.
Women of Vision: 50 Years of Empowering Women in Photography will premiere on June 27 at SVA Theatre. You can purchase tickets starting May 27 here, visit PWP here, and help fund the film here.
Interview and photo by Linda Buongermino