Eduardo Guzmán, Veshonte Brown, and Randi Berry at the Big Give. (Photo by Brandon Morris)
NEW YORK CITY: IndieSpace has released their annual report for 2023, detailing activities which awarded more than $415,000 to artists, companies, and venues citywide. The organization also worked with more than 20 indie theatres to ensure they could keep their doors open, providing an artistic home for performing artists in New York City.
“The past 18 months have been challenging for theatre as our industry has tried to regain our footing post-COVID,” said founder and executive director Randi Berry in a statement. “While ticket sales seem to be up, inflation has meant that earned income increases have not kept pace with the cost of business. While things remain uncertain, IndieSpace has continued to provide an anchor to the New York City indie theatre community.”
2023 represented a year of responsive giving, as IndieSpace sought to provide support targeted to the pain points the indie theatre community shared. The Little Venue That Could program, supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation, provided 13 indie venues with annual $10,000 grants for two years, enabling these venues to combat rising rent prices and operating costs. As inflation has made living in New York more difficult, Milk and Eggs grants provided cash for indie theatre artists to cover living expenses. Additionally, monthly Mental Health Microgrants helped artists pay for mental healthcare as they navigated the unpredictable job market and the general turbulence of 2023.
“IndieSpace is exactly what we need to fix the broken landscape of traditional theatre,” said Amanda Chin, executive director of AfterWork Theater, in a statement. “I’m so grateful to be a recipient of the Pay Your People Grant so that we can continue to hire leaders and creatives who represent marginalized communities. It’s important to tell diverse stories that represent the world at large, and it’s comforting to know there is a community of artists who share this vision.”
IndieSpace was established in 2016 to disrupt the ongoing displacement of small theatres and to address systemic inequities in NYC real estate. In 2022, it merged with Indie Theater Fund, an organization focused on a new model for equitable funding for the indie theatre community. By contributing a nickel per ticket from their shows to a pot of money for funding, the indie theatre community was able to create a method of self-sustainability and rethink philanthropy and the process of grant making.
“The unrestricted funding from the Little Venue That Could grant has been a crucial lifeline for us during an incredibly challenging period,” said Winston Estevez, executive artistic director of IATI Theater, in a statement. “Following a prolonged closure due to the pandemic, we were further delayed by unexpected construction. These funds have been vital in maintaining our staff payroll, ensuring we retain the dedicated team that forms the backbone of our operations.”
The mission of IndieSpace is to provide radically transparent, responsive, and equity-focused funding real estate programs, professional development, and advocacy to individual artists, theater companies, and indie venues. Since its founding, IndieSpace has consulted with over 90 companies and venues making real estate decisions, including the Tank, FRIGID New York, the Chain, the Wild Project, Wooster Group, and Classical Theatre of Harlem. They have helped 18 organizations sign new leases, saved seven theatres from being closed or repurposed, created four real estate operation partnership, and walked two venues through the purchase of their permanent homes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, IndieSpace supported over 50 venues navigating their leases by helping them stay open and provided over $1.7 million in relief grants to the indie theatre community. In 2023 IndieSpace opened the West Village Rehearsal Co-Op with HERE Arts Center, New Ohio and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. This 99-year lease for $1 per year will serve over 1,500 artists per year.
The full report can be accessed here.
