Grantee Profile
HERE Arts Center
Acclaimed for developing works including Eve Ensler's “The Vagina Monologues,” Basil Twist's “Symphonie Fantastique,” and Hazelle Goodman's “On Edge,” HERE Arts Center has always relished breaking new ground.
The Rockefeller Foundation rewards and spurs creative endeavors like these. The annual New York City Cultural Innovation Fund competition is one of the ways the Foundation does this, by promoting fresh perspectives to help enrich the fabric of our city. HERE Arts Center, a recent winner, received a two-year grant for an interactive video, blog, and podcast series examining the real-life survival challenges of New York City performing artists.
From personal finance and family demands to artistic collaboration and project development, “Portrait of a New York Artist” will explore critical issues facing performing artists in the city. Founded in 1993, HERE is proud of its experimental, multidisciplinary work. This center attempts to integrate art into daily life by engaging community needs and interests. Its unconventional approach has helped it develop a coveted core annual audience of some 50,000 ethnically diverse, urban 20- to 30-somethings.
HERE supports artists at all stages in their careers, through fully-produced works, commissions and subsidized performance and rehearsal space. It also provides marketing, technical and administrative support.
The HERE “Portrait of a New York Artist” series will be available through an interactive online platform and will be screened in partnership with colleges, universities and arts organizations. By profiling models of success, this project seeks to retain members of the creative sector in New York and attract others to the city, thus maintaining a strong and renewable base of innovative artistic talent.
