We’ve all had those moments when we just don’t know what to do. I felt that way on the morning of November 6th. Then I read the quote above on Leta McCollough Seletzky’s Threads feed, and it really struck me.
This is what I know how to do:
Be curious
Listen
Synthesize and weave together information
Tell stories
Nurture myself and others
It’s no wonder when the reality of the election results set it, these are the exact things I began to do. Now that we’re preparing for a future that’s so uncertain, consider what you know how to do, what you like to do, what you’re good at, and what motivates you to keep going. Do those things where you are with what you have right now.
There will be no shortage of those who need help and no shortage of the things they’ll need help doing. What you know how to do will be needed by someone somewhere. We’re all in this movement together. More tomorrow…
The Beatles statue. Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool. Photo by Christa Avampato.
I love a gritty city – one peppered with history, music, art, and salt-of-the-earth people. I fell for Liverpool as soon as I arrived. I walked out of the train station and into the cool morning light. I immediately felt at home. The food is delicious, the people are kind, and the city is thriving with art and music everywhere. It’s also very affordable. I could easily live there and be very happy!
Some highlights:
As a port city, Liverpool has an extensive dock area. It’s been refurbished as the Royal Albert Dock, filled with restaurants, cafes, bakeries, pubs, and art. It’s a fun area to spend an afternoon. (Rough Handmade is one of the greatest bakeries I’ve ever been to anywhere!)
Bold Street is one of the main commercial areas filled with shops, food, and bookstores. Open early to late, there’s something for everyone there. I spent an event there at Mowgli, enjoying some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had. There are a few Mowgli locations in Liverpool and each of them is beautiful, buzzy, and relaxed.
Seeing the Beatles childhood homes and the Cavern Club was the main reason I went to Liverpool. I love their story and music. My old neighborhood on the Upper West Side has the Dakota, the last home of John Lennon, and Strawberry Fields in Central Park where the “Imagine” sundial honors John’s legacy. The two childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in Liverpool are very different from one another. They’re time capsules that tell their story of friendship and happenstance in the wake of WWII. No pictures are allowed inside the houses, but you can get excellent indoor tours with the National Trust. The tour picks up at Speke Hall, another great National Trust home (that’s 400 years old!) and grounds that I highly recommend seeing. Become a member of the National Trust and this tour (as well as Speke Hall), along with many other UK sites, are deeply discounted or free.
Liverpool is home to many museums, my favorite being the Maritime Museum. It pays homage to the Titanic because the White Star Line, the ship’s owner, was based there. The museum also exposes the city’s horrific role in the transatlantic slave trade. While many cities and countries attempt to sweep tragedy under the rug, Liverpool addresses directly and honestly in this museum and throughout the city.
The Resident is a fantastic boutique hotel that emphasizes sustainability and is a repurposed factory. Incredible service and great accommodations, it’s located very close to Bold Street and within walking distance of all the great sites of the city.
While Liverpool isn’t as flashy as some other European destination, it’s filled with heart and soul. It’s well worth a visit. I’m already looking forward to visiting again.
The collage below are my favorite photos from Liverpool, all taken by me.
I’m flying back to the U.S. now after a week at University of Cambridge / Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) with passionate, intelligent, and inspiring classmates, presenters, professors, and the CISL team. This time I grew as much personally as professionally. I was able to ask questions, have discussions, and voice ideas I’ve previously struggled to articulate. I couldn’t have done that without my classmates and friends who listened, provided kind and constructive feedback, and offered their ideas, perspectives, and experiences. This is a gift I carry with me now. I’m so grateful for all of it.
Humour, play, creativity, and imagination played a role in many of our classes and social activities, and they helped bring joy, light, hope, and optimism into this challenging field. The work we do, on this course and in our lives as we attempt to tackle climate change issues from many different angles, is intense. It can also be intensely fun.
On a personal note, I began the week thinking of my stepfather who was my Dad-by-choice. My family lost him a year ago exactly on the day this workshop at Cambridge began. I honoured him in my pecha kucha presentation by sharing the last words he ever said to me in-person. I went to see my family right before our first workshop in September 2022. He said to me, “Hey, I know you’ll work hard at Cambridge, but please try to have some fun over there, too.”
My Dad knew me well, and it’s been difficult to lose someone who was always in my corner and read every piece of writing I’ve ever published. I could feel his spirit with me all week, encouraging me to embrace laughter and love whenever possible, especially during challenging times. Love and laughter serve as resources to help us stay with the trouble. They make us resilient. When we lead with love, we can open people up so that we deeply connect, collaborate, and create to tackle the most serious challenges together.
These photos show our formal dinner together at Selwyn College, my view from the train leaving Cambridge, and my Pops. As I go back to my New York life, I will do my best to put into action everything I learned in this beautiful, inspiring sanctuary with these beautiful, inspiring people. I’m already looking forward to July when we’ll be together again in Cambridge. I’m the luckiest person to be a part of this.
My view from the train – Cambridge to London. Photo by Christa Avampato.
On the terrace in front of the library, pictures of JAY-Z with people such as President Barack Obama and performing on stage rotate on over-sized screens. The front facade of the library is wrapped in lyrics from his music. It brought me so much joy to see so many people — every age, race, and creed — enjoying the library. This is exactly why JAY-Z and his Roc Nation team decided to stage his exhibit here: to have it be free and within walking distance to the Marcy Houses, the public housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up, so everyone could be part of it.
Inside, there are photos of JAY-Z, examples of the many products he’s created, collaborations he’s forged, and awards he’s won. Visitors can play his records on turntables, look at his original masters (which he now owns after making a deal with Def Jam — he agreed to be President of Def Jam for 3 years provided that his masters would then be returned to him), sit inside a re-creation of the main room of his Baseline Recording Studios, walk through an immersive experience celebrating his achievements, and marvel at the array of memorabilia that commemorate his many accomplishments.
As amazing as all of this is, what absolutely stunned me and what I can’t stop thinking about is how JAY-Z has used his fame and fortune more than any other artist to make the world a better place by standing up for those who could not stand up for themselves. He and his team at Roc Nation were unrelenting in their demands for justice for inmates at Parchman Farm, a maximum-security prison in the Mississippi Delta. They fight rampant racism that runs through businesses and organizations around the world. They hold a social justice summit in New York City. They make documentaries including Time: The Kalief Browder Story and Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story. They stand against hate crimes, gun violence, and police brutality, not only with their words but with funds to provide pro-bono legal support and with their time to walk with the people they’re helping on their journeys. They champion artists, athletes, and Black-owned businesses. The list goes on and on.
Sometimes celebrities sit back after they leave the stage. They enjoy their retirement, and I don’t begrudge them for that. We all have a right to decide how to live our lives and spend our time. What I find so impressive and admirable about JAY-Z is that he looked at his celebrity and fortune, and rather than take a well-deserved rest, he accelerated. He’s done even more off the stage than he did as a performer. And for someone as prolific and influential in entertainment, that is a feat maybe he didn’t even foresee.
I’m a fan of JAY-Z’s music, but to be honest, I’m even more of a fan of who he is as a human and what he’s done to further humanity as a whole. He’s still got a long runway ahead and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Riccardo Muti with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on opening night 10/4/23. Photo by Christa Avampato.
Last night I went to Carnegie Hall’s opening night gala with one of my best friends and my many talented colleagues. It was thrilling to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the expert baton of Riccardo Muti with the incomparable violin soloist Leonidas Kavakos, and to experience this gorgeous music with a packed house of nearly 3,000 people in this historic venue. The program included Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 and Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition orchestrated by Ravel. As an encore, Muti chose the brief and beautiful aria Amor ti vieta (Love forbids you) that appears in Intermezzo from Fedora by Giordano and Colautti.
Happy to be at Carnegie Hall’s opening night. Photos by Christa Avampato.
A performance at Carnegie Hall is a must-do for New Yorkers and visitors. This year’s season features Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams, Mitsuko Uchida, The Vienna Philharmonic, Jason Moran, The Hot Sardines with Alan Cumming, Lea Michele, Sutton Foster, Kelli O’Hara, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Norm Lewis, Bryan Terrel Clark and Valisia LaKae with The New York Pops, Meow Meow, Patti Lupone, Emanuel Ax, Yuja Wang, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Met Orchestra, Tania León, and many, many more.
At 132 years old, Carnegie Hall is a stunning space in midtown Manhattan and the heart of its mission is to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience. It’s a privilege to work with them and contribute to this organization’s legacy in my extraordinary city.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra warms up for opening night. Photo by Christa Avampato.
One of my main projects at Carnegie is the subscription streaming channel Carnegie Hall+. We curate concerts, music festivals, dance, opera, and music documentaries from around the globe and deliver them to music lovers in the U.S. and 20 other countries. We have a lot of exciting developments underway for the year ahead. If you’d like to learn more, I’m always happy to chat about it. You can also find more details here: https://www.carnegiehallplus.com/
Happy opening, Carnegie Hall. I look forward to making more music available to more people in more places this season.
If you want to really know me, listen to this interview. The big question for me in this lifetime is, “Does everything matter or does nothing matter?” A few months ago, I gave the most personal interview I’ve ever done. My friend, mentor, and storytelling hero, John Bucher, introduced me to Josh Chambers and Leiv Parton, hosts and producer of the podcast, How Humans Change. My interview is now live. our wide-ranging conversation includes career, science, sustainability, the health of the planet, biomimicry, dinosaurs, product development, therapy, curiosity, change, the economy and capitalism, time, technology, work, culture, implicit bias, life-changing moments, storytelling, writing, poverty, trauma, writing, my book, mental health, strength, resilience, therapy, fear, courage, my apartment building fire, how my plane got struck by lightning, and so much more. Despite these dark topics, there is a lot of light, fun, laughter, and healing in this interview. It’s the most personal interview I’ve ever given, and some of the details I reveal about my personal path and past I have never discussed publicly before now. I hope you enjoy the podcast episode and that it inspires you to live the best life you can imagine.
In my early 20s while I was working in theater management, I had the great privilege to travel all over the U.S. and Canada with different tours. I was always amazed by the beauty, history, and culture of the restored spaces where we played, and those experiences began my interest in historic preservation. Now whenever I travel to a new city (or even around cities I know well), you can find me looking up and building facades and examining the internal architecture that makes buildings so unique. It’s one of the things I love so much about New York City; the variation in architecture there is endless!
I decided to get a little bit more serious about this interest and enrolled in an online class called The Architectural Imagination. It’s being offered on the edX platform by four professors of architecture at Harvard and it’s free. If architecture and historic preservation is something you’re interested in, too, sign up and we can go through it together!
“Why would you do that? You’re not black.” This is what someone said to me when I told them I made a donation to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thanks to Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the museum, I had an answer. I made a donation because the history that it commemorates and celebrates is America’s story.In history, we are all united, and that’s how I’d like us to be in the world, too. If you make a donation of any size today, Hyundai will match your donation dollar for dollar up to $500,000 as part of the museum’s campaign called Giving Day.
The museum’s stories can teach something to everyone who takes the time to listen to them. Some of the lessons are horrible and painful, and some of them are joyful and inspiring. That’s life—it’s beautiful and terrible in equal amounts. I am humbled by what the staff members of the museum, and so many others who came before them, have done to assemble this treasure of a museum in the city that I now proudly call home. I can’t wait to see it and I’m so glad to be able to support its message of hope. It’s a message we all need. #GiveNMAAHC
On a crowded corner of Plaza Vieja in Old Havana, you’ll find the best ice cream you’ve ever had. Coco Glace is nothing more than coconut milk, coconut water, and pieces of coconut served in a half coconut shell and it’s incredible. I devoured it with my new friends on our last day in Cuba under a brutal sun and sky-high humidity.
Alex, the maker of Coco Glace, is pleased to tell you that he loves Madonna and Beyoncé, hates Taylor Swift, loves America, hates Chris Brown, loves being gay, and will see you on Broadway as soon as he sells enough Coco Glace to get himself out of Cuba. He calls himself the Beyoncé of ice cream, and in my humble opinion he isn’t exaggerating. Coco Glace is incredible. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since eating that first marvelous spoonful.
Cuba was full of simple pleasures like Coco Glace. Nothing there is extravagant, but it’s honest, pure, and real. There are no additives – in the food, in the people, or in their way of life. There are no pretenses. People and things are exactly what they appear to be, and in this day and age that is a triumph.
After finishing my ice cream, I made my way back to Alex and told him how amazing his ice cream is.
“Mami, ju don’t know how happy you just made me,” said Alex. I love ju. I love America. I’ll see you there soon! Look for me. Tell Beyoncé!” I just smiled and said I would. So Beyoncé, consider yourself told that you have a Cuban compatriot who puts on a show for all his customers and he is fabulous.
I hope someday I’m strolling down the Great White Way and that I look up and see Alex’s joyful smile and unapologetic moxie plastered all over a giant marquee. And I hope Coco Glace is one of the many things we exchange with our Cuban neighbors. Maybe Beyoncé could make both those dreams come true.
(From left to right): Leyla McCalla, Rhiannon Giddens, and Bhi Bhiman at Lisner Auditorium
“If you want to understand what’s happening today, find out what happened 150 years ago. If people had the courage to live that history, the least I can do is read about it.” ~Rhiannon Giddens
Last night I went to see and hear Rhiannon Giddens, Layla McCalla, and Bhi Bhiman perform at Lisner Auditorium in a performance they called Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience. While work songs and spirituals have been songs of protest and freedom, Rhiannon explained that they wanted to travel a different musical road last night. They wanted to use a mashup of folk, classical, and pop to tell a story of struggle, personal power, love, change, and hope. It was an incredibly powerful performance. Their voices, music, and message were so concentrated that they pierced the hearts and minds of the packed house.
All of the songs were rooted in culture, history, and art, and for me that was the message I needed. History is a potent tool. It can help us make sense of what’s happening around us now, and inform the decisions we make going forward. I left the concert feeling both whole and heartbroken, sad and joyful, determined and dreamy. And that’s the magic of music – it can make us feel so much all at once and then help us to reconcile the internal and external difference.
If you want to really know me, listen to this interview. The big question for me in this lifetime is, “Does everything matter or does nothing matter?” A few months ago, I gave the most personal interview I’ve ever done. My friend, mentor, and storytelling hero, John Bucher, introduced me to Josh Chambers and Leiv Parton, hosts and producer of the podcast, 
Christa Avampato 