FY21 ANNUAL REPORT Photo: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company by Stephanie Berger
Afterwardsness at the Park Avenue Armory Photo by Stephanie Berger
CONTENTS TOGETHER APART/THANK YOU ALL! .............. pg 6 STOREFRONT STAGE/PUBLIC SIDEWALK ....... pg 8 AFTERWARDSNESS .................................................... pg 10 CONTINUOUS REPLAY: COME TOGETHER ...... pg 13 THE INTERNET IS A PLACE/INTERSPACE ....... pg 14 LIVE IDEAS: ALTERED WORLDS ........................... pg 16 LIVE IDEAS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TIME SQUARE ALLIANCE ........................................ pg 18 LIVE ARTS PRIDE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CREATIVE TIME ........................................................... pg 20 OUR LABYRINTH IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MET ............................................................. pg 22 RANDJELOVIĆ/STRYKER RESIDENT COMMISSIONED ARTIST ......................................... pg 24 VISUAL ARTS ................................................................. pg 26 THE WORK CONTINUES ............................................ pg 28 AT OUR CORE ................................................................. pg 30 FINANCES ....................................................................... pg 31 NEW YORK LIVE ARTS TEAM ................................. pg 32 SUPPORT ........................................................................ pg 33 TAKE THE LEAD .......................................................... pg 34
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 3
STAND WITH US It is always a privilege penning the Artistic Director’s letter for the Annual Report. My Associate, Janet Wong, joins me in writing to you at this time when we are reflecting on a year that forced us to change the course of how we experience arts and culture, and will hereafter influence our modus operandi in this small, yet mighty, industry. Last winter marked New York Live Arts’ return to the theater after the Company’s fall 2020 premiere of Afterwardsness at the Park Avenue Armory, bringing audiences together to see live performance, many for the very first time since the global shut down. Through Afterwardsness and in welcoming artists and audiences back to our physical space, we reaffirmed what we already knew–that there’s nothing like the transformative experience of live performance. Even as our era remains as fractious and uncertain as ever, this experience is worth fighting for. As we look toward the future, New York Live Arts’ Season of Anniversaries–10th for Live Arts and 40th for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company–will be an opportunity to shine a light on our combined histories and sustain our promise to support the artists whose work was postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic. We will welcome Live Feed Artists Milka Djordjevich, Raphael Xavier, and Abby Zbikowski, as well as new works by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, and a new group of Fresh Tracks artists. Other highlights of our anniversary season will include Live Artery, Bill Chats with Yvonne Rainer, exhibitions in the Ford Foundation Live Gallery, the annual Live Arts Pride celebration, and more.
4 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
It was forty years ago when Arnie and I formed a company. The little community looked like a cross section of the world we wanted to live in, not the world as it was in 1982. The company was our child when we were not allowed to have children. Always needing to be fed and nurtured, it has been a raft and a burden, a source of happiness and doubt, capable of beauty and terror. Against all odds, this child survived pandemics, culture wars, financial crises, even the loss of one of its founders. There were times when I as the remaining founder questioned if maintaining a company was possible. Well, we continue to climb and strive together during the hardest of times, and the story of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company goes on… Onward,
Bill T. Jones Artistic Director
ONWARD Dear Friends, Over the summer, while meditating, the question came to me, “what sustains New York Live Arts and the performing art world as a whole?” When I was done meditating, I wrote this letter, and now I share it with you. What sustains us at New York Live Arts and in the performing art world as a whole? It is, of course, our donors who make what we do possible. However, what sustains our desire and determination to continue the work and to strive for equity and beauty? Why is performing art like a religion to some of us? Why does it feed our spirits in a way that nothing else does? Is it the exchange of energy that takes place between the performers themselves and hence between the performers and audience; the intangible yet palpable waves of empathy, love, sadness, anger, joy, tension and release, acknowledgement of our human condition with all it’s struggles and foibles, that we recognize, feel and are somehow changed by when we are witness to catharsis on the stage? Is it the difficult questions that performing artists ask, and then call on us to consider in a way we may not have before? Do these artists ask the questions we are too afraid to ask? We (and I include you in this “We”) have long believed that performing art changes us. We know this to be true even though it is difficult to measure. We who work in and support the performing arts understand that the world would not be worth living in without them–without movement, theater, music, film, spoken word poetry, and everything in between. Why? Because within these forms, life is captured and reflected back to us and we see meaning, beauty, pain, we recognize ourselves and others and we become enlightened.
It’s common for us to relate our lives to theater, ourselves to actors or directors. We see our lives through theater and know that we leave each live performance somehow changed, more prepared, more energized to live in such a way that we recognize each day as precious and singular–the same way each rendition of a theatrical event is and always will be. We in this industry of performance art making and presenting–and please make no mistake it is an industry–believe in this phenomenon with all our hearts. This belief, this knowledge, sustains us and gives us the energy to keep pushing, to keep making, to support one more artist, to open one more show. And though we were likely not on stage, or even directly behind the scenes, we have done our jobs. We have played a role, a part in making space for a more empathetic world, and that is what drives us to continue to support live theater in whatever way we do. To play our part in this beautiful, ephemeral world, we create together. To create the world we want to live in, day by day, rehearsal by rehearsal, performance by performance. And for that we are extremely grateful to you, our supporters. And so, as we dip our toes back into the life-giving waters of live gathering, I thank you. What we do would not be possible without you–you are essential players with starring roles. Please take the lead. With gratitude,
Kim Cullen Executive Director & CEO
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 5
TOGETHER APART
Emily Olivera Gallery Opening Photo by Maria Baranova
6 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
THANK YOU ALL! Though the pandemic forced us APART this year, we ALL stayed committed to providing the resources needed for artists to make, build community, and ask difficult questions To come TOGETHER in whatever form and space we were able For that we THANK YOU!
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 7
STOREFRONT STAGE/ During the FY21 Season we activated our lobby and sidewalk presenting artists in the lobby with video installation, in our vestibule and in front of the building on 19th Street. We have been brainstorming about lobby and street activation for a number of years, and with necessity being the mother of invention, the ban on indoor gathering led us to accelerate the idea with adaptive practices. The duration of the presentations variedfrom 10 minutes to 12 hours and were open to thepublic to view in person from the sidewalk, through Live Arts’ lobby windows, or through our online streaming site
“In the past year, theaters and other performing arts institutions in New York have turned to creative means to bring works to the public, sometimes also injecting a bit of life into otherwise shuttered facades. The panes of glass...have provided a safe space.” - The New York Times
Christopher Williams
A Glimpse Into the World of NARCISSUS Narcissus—set to Nikolai Tcherepnin’s 1911 score Narcisse et Echo written for the Ballets Russes, reappropriates themes of the eponymous Greek myth while re-envisioning the original ballet through a contemporary queer lens.
A Glimpse Into the World of NARCISSUS, Christopher Williams Photo by New York Live Arts
Holly Bass
MONEYMAKER
Over the course of 12 hours, Bass danced to a soundtrack of songs and speeches spanning the last century, including excerpts of speeches from Shirley Chisolm, Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X as well as family members’ stories of politics, voting and their own artistic ambitions. As part of For Freedoms’ 2020 Awakening campaign and RuckUS’ day of action, this socially-distanced performance served as an activation site of civic engagement. Attendees were encouraged to drop completed, New York absentee ballots off at Live Arts, which were promptly delivered to the County Board of Elections Office. Moneymaker, Holly Bass Photo by Maria Baranova
8 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
PUBLIC SIDEWALK “an extravagant solo…” - The New York Times
Watch: HYSTERIA Trailer Hysteria, Raja Feather Kelly Photo by Kate Enman
Raja Feather Kelly
HYSTERIA continued Kelly’s study of pop culture and its displacement of queer Black subjectivity. Picking up where his 2018 performance, UGLY, left off, Kelly resituated himself as a glamourous, extraterrestrial entity—both alien to the world and wholly consuming its pop cultural byproducts. HYSTERIA was presented both live and on film online. Live Arts presented HYSTERIA in our lobby vestibule in December and then again in March for the Summer 2021 PINK AMBITION International Tour. Commissioned by Live Arts to keep artists working during the pandemic, HYSTERIA reached 7 cities in 7 months, live or on film. Co-presenters and tour locations include: On the Boards in Seattle, WA, Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH, Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, ME, ImPulsTanz - Vienna International Dance Festival in Vienna, Austria, and The Time-Based Art Festival at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art in Portland, OR, and more.
Milka Djordjevich
CORPS, a procession, was an outdoor ambulatory in-process rendering of choreographer Milka Djordjevich’s soon-to-premiere project, CORPS on our sidewalk with audience members in the round. CORPS explores how labor and gender are addressed under the lens of regimented movement. The work is a continuation of Djordjevich’s ongoing questioning of dance practices preoccupied with producing neutrality and anonymity. CORPS aims to unravel and disorient the militaristic conditioning of groups keeping together in time. The work reveals similarities across traditional, militaristic, ritualistic, athletic, and folk movement forms.
CORPS, a procession, Milka Djordjevich Photo by Maria Baranova
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 9
AFTERWARDSNESS “In a new production for the vast Drill Hall at the Armory, the idea is to let the trauma of a strange and unsettling year sink in: for better or worse.” - Gia Kourlas, The New York Times
Afterwardsness at Park Avenue Armory Photos by Maria Baranova
10 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
· New York Times Critics Pick/SOLD OUT · 8 Performances · 900 Audience Members
Watch: Afterwardsness Trailer
In the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, afterwardsness is “a mode of belated understanding or retroactive attribution of sexual or traumatic meaning to earlier events... “ Jettisoning the sexual component and emphasizing the notion of “trauma”, this awkward though evocative term comes very close to describing Jones’ state of mind when offered a commission to create a socially distanced work at this particular moment of our collective lives. In some ways, the title parodies Jones (and many others) desire to have reached an end point to our twin pandemics: The COVID-19 pandemic and the calling out of systemic racism in the wake of high profile abuses by the police. The piece was constructed quickly and within the constraints and uncertainty of social distancing. There is a retrospective dimension to Afterwardsness as much of its choreography comes out of assignments given to the dancers during their isolation requiring them to learn from archival videos phrase materials no longer in the repertory stretching back 40 years.
“The music is live and largely elegiac, the dancing, virtuosic and mostly abstract though flecked with gestures of vulnerability, pain and anger” - Brian Seibert, The New York Times
Jones invited Pauline Kim to be Musical Director in collaboration with composer/vocalist/ instrumentalist Holland Andrews. They’ve created a composite score that includes Kim’s original work Homage to George Floyd as well as compositions by Andrews and company alumnus, Vinson Fraley, Jr. and Chanel Howard. Following the work’s retroactive logic, we are consciously excerpting Messaien’s great wartime composition Quartet for the End of Time. Afterwardsness was commissioned by Park Avenue Armory, first performed at the Park Avenue Armory on October 16, 2020.
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 11
CONTINUOUS REPLAY:
Anthony D. Romero
Bill T. Jones
Patrisse Cullors
· 44 current and former company members · $18,000 raised for 3 organizations New York Live Arts presented Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in a global, virtual recreation of Arnie Zane’s Continuous Replay, encouraging individuals to support Black Strategy Fund, The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (BroSis), and Buy From A Black Woman. Bill T. Jones was joined in conversation with Anthony D. Romero, executive director of The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Patrisse Cullors, Black Strategy Fund, Nikki Porcher, Buy from a Black Woman, and Khary Lazarre-White, The Brotherhood Sister Sol (Bro/Sis). We then streamed the premiere of Continuous Replay: Come Together, featuring a diverse cast of current company performers and alumni spanning four decades— including Arthur Aviles, Sean Curran, Odile Reine-Adelaide, Stefanie Batten Bland, Rosalynde LeBlanc, Heidi Latsky, Jenna Riegel, and many more.
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Khary Lazarre-White
Nikki Porcher
Continuous Replay is a pioneering work that began as a duet and solo in 1977 choreographed by Arnie Zane. In 1991, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, Jones made the piece into a full company work— just three years after Zane’s passing. Continuous Replay has connected generations of company members and was, for most of them, the only way to “know” Zane. Amidst the racial uprisings in the early summer of 2020 and as the COVID-19 pandemic continued its spread, forty-four current and former company members came together across four continents and in isolation to create Continuous Replay: Come Together in support of the movement for racial justice. Special thanks to our partners on this project: American Dance Festival, ASU Gammage, Bates Dance Festival, Berkshire Theatre Group, Dancers’ Workshop, Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, Indiana University Auditorium, The University of the Arts, and UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance.
COME TOGETHER
Continuous Replay/Come Together Video still by Janet Wong
Partners
Benefit Organizations Watch: Continuous Replay: Come Together
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 13
THE INTERNET IS A PLACE
Live Artery Interspace Designed by CRUX
Live Artery @ Interspace
Live Ideas @ Interspace
· 5 Days
· 55 Artists
· 19 Artists
· 3 Virtual Performances
· 115 Presenters
· 12 Virtual Conversations
Live Artery is New York Live Arts’ annual dynamic platform of new and recent works by resident commissioned artists and curated guests. Presented in conjunction with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference that takes place in NYC every year attracting presenters and arts professionals from all over the world, Live Artery featured excerpts of recently premiered works and work-in-progress presentations.
Interspace designed by CRUX
· 3 Online Exhibitions Live Ideas is Live Arts’ annual interdisciplinary series, exploring the intersections of live performance with other spheres of inquiry. Live Ideas manifests Jones’ vision for Live Arts as a haven for multidisciplinary activity investigating the cultural and intellectual currents of our times. The festival featured a variety of talks, lectures, dance, video, opera, theater, film, and music, fully enveloping a theme or idea.
Interspace is an immersive environment in the spatial audio platform High Fidelity that allowed for audience interaction and the display of digital art including streaming of videos. Founded in 2017, Crux is a Black-led, worker-owned cooperative focusing solely on bringing immersive storytelling and content from Black creators to mainstream users and audiences. 14 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
INTERSPACE
Colleen Thomas - still from Live Artery presentation
Afrofuturist VR Demo by Micheline Hess
Ari Melenciano - still from Live Artery presentation
Insighting and Foresighting Conversation at Live Ideas
The Future is Present - still from Live Artery presentation
Interspace virtual exhibition at Live Ideas New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 15
LIVE IDEAS:
Freeing Yourself was one thing..., Jasmine Murrell Photo by Liliana Dirks-Goodman
Altered-Worlds: Black Utopia and The Age of Acceleration “The past is done, the present is contested, but the future is unwritten. Afrofuturists, Black Speculative designers and thinkers, have the ability to locate us in time and space, to create, innovate, catalog, and archive our destinies to reclaim the right to chart the future for ourselves.” - Reynaldo Anderson, Festival Co-Curator
· 55 Artists · 6 In-person Performances at Live Arts · 2 Art Installations in 3 building locations · 131 Audience Members 16 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
Contemporary Afrofuturism may be defined as an emerging social philosophy of the African diaspora and Africa. Today, partly because of a crisis in globalization, social media and other technological advances, second wave Afrofuturism is emerging as the High Culture of the African diaspora and is the cultural vibranium of a rising virtual African civilization. Co-curated by scholar and author Dr. Reynaldo Anderson, highlights from the festival’s illustrious group of artists, writers, thinkers, and activists, include Tiffany E. Barber, adrienne maree brown, d. Sabela grimes, Ayana Jamieson, John Jennings, Ari Melenciano, Jasmine Murrell, Qudus Onikeku, Rasheedah Phillips, Marjani Forté-Saunders, Sheree Renée Thomas, tobias c. van Veen, Saul Williams, André Zachery, and many more.
New York Live Arts welcomes audiences inside!
First time the audience graces the inside of our building since forced building closure on March 13, 2020
ALTERED-WORLDS...
Freeing Yourself was one thing..., Jasmine Murrell
Andre Zachary, Drexciya
The Motherboard Suite, cast with Bill T. Jones
The Motherboard Suite, Maria Bowman & Samantha Spies
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 17
LIVE IDEAS IN PARTNERSHIP
The Motherboard Suite, dancer name Photo by T Turner
Saul Williams The Motherboard Suite Directed by Bill T. Jones · Thousands attend in Times Square! ♪ Child of the diaspora ♪ ♪ I don’t know what tribe I’m from ♪ ♪ But I’m fighting for freedom ♪ ♪ Don’t believe in tribe no more ♪ ♪ Child of the messiah’s whore ♪ ♪ And I’m fighting for freedom ♪ ♪ justice, and then some ♪ - Lyrics to THESE MTHRFKERS performed by Saul Williams in Times Square 18 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
Festival headliner Saul Williams presented and performed new music featuring direction by Bill T. Jones and world premiere choreography from Maria Bauman, Kayla Farrish, Marjani Forté-Saunders, d. Sabela Grimes, Jasmine Hearn, and Shamel Pitts for thousands of audience viewers in Times Square. This marked the first New York Live Arts partnership withTimes Square Alliance as part of the FY21 Live Ideas Festival: Altered Worlds: Black Utopia and The Age of Acceleration. Immediately following the performance, CosPlay invited guests to come in their most imaginative Afrofuturistic Cosplay outfit while the Lot Radio broadcasted a DJ set of up-tempo dance music. In partnership with BSAM, Times Square Arts, Clairesa Clay/ Blerd City Con, Deirdre Hollman/The Black Comics Collective, and The Lot Radio.
WITH TIME SQUARE ALLIANCE
Cosplay
Photo by T Turner
The Motherboard Suite, Maria Bowman & Samantha Spies Photo by T Turner
The Motherboard Suite, Artist? Photo by T Turner
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 19
LIVE ARTS PRIDE IN PARTNERSHIP
Switch ‘n Play artist Illustrious Pearl Photo by Maria Baranova
The House Party 5 individually curated performance concerts commissioned by Live Arts on Creative Time’s Rashid Johnson Red Stage · 5 Houses · 62 Artists · 550 Audience Members The 4th annual Live Arts Pride 2021: THE HOUSE PARTY, celebrated the LGBTQIA community with a 4-day festival featuring a queer marketplace with popup DJ sets, performances and a commissioned installation in Live Arts’ public and open air lobby. Finished with a curated performance concert on Creative Time’s Rashid Johnson Red Stage at Astor Place. 20 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
The Line Up
Co-curated by Tyler Ashley, The Dauphine, and artist, drag queen, community organizer, and designer, Untitled Queen. Participating artists: Bill T. Jones; Bubble_T; Linda La with The Perfect Poison, and guests; OOPS!; RAGGA; Switch n’ Play; and DJ THELIMITDOESNOTEXIST; at the House Party: interdisciplinary artist Emily Oliveira, pop-up DJ sets from Boston Chery, Luis Fernando, JCLEF, and DJ JLMR and performances from B. Hawk Snipes representing Black Trans Femmes in the Arts (BTFA) , ne0_huxtable, Charlene Incarnate, Miz Jade; and shops featuring local queer designers: Valentine Amartey, BoiPKG, Discwoman, Claire Fleury, Jos Hurt, Voxigma Lo, Moon Mother Apothecary, OkBleepShop, and Prince Peacock, and Malika Lee Whitney/ Stay Woke. Lead support from Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
WITH CREATIVE TIME
Pride curators and hosts Untitled Queen and Tyler J. Ashley, The Dauphine
DJ JLMR @ Live Arts
OOPS! artists Chiquitita and West Dakota
Pop up performance @ Live Arts by Neo Huxtable
Ragga NYC artist Viva Ruiz
The Queer Marketplace @ Live Arts
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 21
OUR LABYRINTH IN PARTNERSHIP
Lee Mingwei
Photo courtesy of ....
Lee Mingwei and Bill T. Jones in partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art · 14 Artists · 30,000 Audience Views OUR LABYRINTH was a live performance for an online audience, streamed over 3 weeks from three Met galleries while the Museum was closed. Each performance featured a different cast member, a single dancer using a stylized broom to sweep a mound of rice along a labyrinthine path of their choosing. Performing this profoundly spiritual task, the dancer encountered obstacles along the way, and continued to navigate silently and mindfully. Lee conceived of this project as a gift from the performers to the viewers, providing a “pure” space both physically and spiritually. Jones expresses his influence on the work, a respectful conversation with Lee across time and space, through the diverse cast of
22 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
performers representing the spectrum of New York dance and performance, and in the sonic landscape provided by three experimental vocalists and musicians that echoed through the galleries. Performed by Holland Andrews, DeAngelo Blanchard, Brian “HallowDreamz” Henry, Justin Hicks, Linda LaBeija, I-Ling Liu, Sara Mearns, Alicia Hall Moran, Nayaa Opong, Ragamuffin (Jesse White), David Thomson, Huiwang Zhang.
WITH THE MET
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company Performer Nayaa Opong
Photo courtesy of the MET
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 23
RANDJELOVIĆ/STRYKER CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR RAJA FEATHER KELLY · WEDNESDAY set to premiere in December, 2021 The long-awaited premiere from Raja Feather Kelly, New York Live Arts 2019-2020 Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist, WEDNESDAY is a queer-fantasia where music, movement, and speech are inseparable. In this dance-theatre speculative documentary, Kelly and the feath3r theory search for the true motivations behind an infamous Brooklyn bank robbery; the centerpiece of the 1975 cinematicdrama “Dog Day Afternoon”. The piece re-centers the story of Raja’s relationship to American Trans-woman Liz Eden, for whom the character Leon in the film is loosely based—and the reason why the character Sonny conspires to rob the bank.
Watch: WEDNESDAY trailer
WEDNESDAY, Raja Feather Kelly | the feat3r theory Photo by Kate Enman
24 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
RESIDENT COMMISSIONED ARTIST FAYE DRISCOLL Faye Driscoll is New York Live Arts 2021-2022 Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist. She is a performance maker and artist who has been hailed as a “startlingly original talent” (Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times).She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Doris Duke Artist Award, United States Artist Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and Creative Capital Award. Her work has been presented at Kunstenfestivaldesarts, La Biennale di Venezia, BAM/Brooklyn Academy of Music, Walker Art Center, Melbourne Festival, Wexner Center for the Arts, Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens, and more. She also choreographs for plays and films, including the Broadway production of Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men, and Josephine Decker’s awardwinning feature film M adeline’s Madeline.
WE TAKE TWO!
Due to the pandemic Raja Feather Kelly’s WEDNESDAY was not able to be premiered in the Spring of 2020 as scheduled. After weighing virtual options the artists felt that the work deserved to be performed live in a traditional theatrical run which our artistic team, Bill T. Jones and Janet Wong, supported. For the interim period, New York Live Arts made the decision to continue covering Raja’s health insurance benefits as an employee and supported the production with additional commissioning funds while producing and presenting the show in the fall of 2021. While still supporting Raja, in January of 2021, as originally scheduled, Faye Drisoll was welcomed into the program and is being provided with rehearsal space, producing resources, direct development services, and funds to cover creative costs as she begins work on a new piece set to premiere in fall 2022. Faye Driscoll
Photo by Maria Baranova
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 25
VISUAL ARTS
The VOTE Project, Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, Ayo Janeen Jackson, Stephon Senegal, and Hong Wu
Janet Wong with VOTE artists Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Live Gallery · 4 Artists · 5 Exhibitions During the ongoing pandemic, we took advantage of our glass storefront to present important visual art work to viewers passing by. We also continued our online art exhibition in connection with our annual Live Ideas festival in partnership with Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM). In/Between 2020: TRANSFIGURE For a second year, Live Arts presented an immigrant artist group exhibition, curated by Yanira Castro, Martita Abril, and Poppy DeltaDawn online and in-person in partnership with New York Foundation for The Arts Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. Featuring 21 immigrant artists, most works were for sale with all funds going directly to the artists who were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 26 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
VOTE Leading up to what was considered one of most important elections of our lifetime, New York Live Arts partnered with For Freedoms’ 2020 Awakening campaign to commission four New York-based, BIPOC artists to create a VOTE installation for our Ford Foundation Live Gallery. Four artists were selected through open call. Each received an honorarium to create one of the four letters of VOTE. The project was made possible in part by the generous support of Eleanor Friedman. Red Spring Organizer Reynaldo Anderson, and curators Sheree Renée Thomas, Danielle L. Littlefield, and Dacia Polk with the Black Speculative Arts Movement, returned to Live Arts with an online exhibition - a follow up to their acclaimed group show Curating the End Of The World. “ ‘Red Spring’ explores the circular nature of systemic racism and the public policies—public safety, health, and wealth— that adversely impact black and indigenous communities.” - Sheree Renée Thomas
Ellegua Quatrefoil by Gerardo Castro2020 Part of Red Spring
In/Between
Photo by Kate Enman
Live Arts Pride 2021 Installation Original mural and installation by Emily Olivera commissioned by Live Arts’ for Pride month.
Emily Olivera
Photo by Kate Enman
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 27
THE WORK CONTINUES “QUESTION EVERYTHING. KEEP MOVING! VOTE!!!” - Bill T. Jones
THERE IS STILL NO EXCUSE FOR COMPLACENCY March 13, 2021 marked one year since Live Arts’ closed its physical doors, staff started working remotely, and numerous presentations and other artistic activities were cancelled, postponed or shifted to new platforms. Thanks to the support of many, and the resiliency of Live Arts’ staff and artists, we are proud and thankful that we continued serving our mission supporting and presenting a mix of virtual and in-person presentations. Maintaining our ongoing core programs—Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist; Live Ideas festival; Live Feed creative residency & commissions; Fresh Tracks; Live Artery platform; Live Core artist membership & fiscal sponsorship; and Ford Foundation Live Gallery over the past season has served over 300 artists. Our Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company members and ALL other artists whose shows were cancelled, postponed or pivoted to online platforms were PAID when they were originally expecting their fees—rather than at a later date or not at all. This unpredictable season included: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s sold-out and critically acclaimed world premiere of Afterwardsness commissioned by Park Avenue Armory; Our Labyrinth at the MET; 4 Live Lobby presentations; a return to indoor live performance on our mainstage; a free and public finale in Times Square of our Live Ideas interdisciplinary humanities festival highlight The Motherboard Suite by Saul Williams; and a free and public 4-hour Pride 2021 megashow co-presented with Creative Time on Rashid Johnson’s Red Stage in Astor Place. In addition to all this, Live Arts is honored to have taken the following actions:
Bill T. Jones in Times Square for The Motherboard Suite Photo by Maria Baranova
28 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
Held Professional Development Workshops for Board & Staff with artist/activist Dread Scott As we continue to work toward an organization clearly rooted in equity, anti-oppression, sensitivity, and dismantling White Supremacy, we continued our staff and board training with Strategic Planning Partner sessions for both staff and board led by renown visual artist and activist Dread Scott. During these sessions we focussed on deepening external visibility of the
“THESE MOTHERFUCKERS AIN’T GONNA BACK DOWN” - Saul Williams, The Motherboard Suite, Live Ideas 2021
The Motherboard Suite, Saul Williams Photo by Maria Baranova
thought leadership of Artistic Director Bill T. Jones; building greater board and staff diversity; professional development to provide equitable opportunities and access for staff. Initiatives included: raising entry level salaries and advancing employees within the institution; the creation of the Fund for Equity in FY22; and inventorying our business partnerships to more directly reflect our values;. Opened Safe Studios New York Live Arts installed Needlepoint Bi-polar Ionizers. Testing has confirmed a 99.92 % reduction in Coronavirus within 30 minutes of exposure to bi-polar ionization technology. Our studios and theater space is now more safely available for use by artists and audiences. Participated in the Dance/NYC 2021 Symposium as a Partner Organization Dance/NYC’s 2021 Symposium focused on reimagining the dance ecology with emphasis on advancing justice, civic engagement. In the context of the global health crisis and the social justice uprisings of 2020, participants investigated
topics of decolonizing dance education, community organizing and social change, and governmental advocacy among others. Joined Cultural Solidarity Fund as Sponsoring Partner providing Emergency Relief Micro Grants for Individual Artists and Cultural Workers In the spirit of coalition and resource sharing, NYC arts and cultural organizations of all sizes and structures came together to build and support the Cultural Solidarity Fund. This new Fund awarded $500 relief microgrants to individual artists and cultural workers. Joined TDF Audience Outlook Monitor Study as Co-Partner An international collaboration between top researchers, funders, service organizations, and hundreds of cultural organizations who wanted to make informed decisions about how and when to re-start programming based on rigorous research data with 584 participating organizations, 22 global study partners, and more than 306,971 survey responses to date. New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 29
AT OUR CORE Hadar Ahuvia American Liberty Ballet Julia Antinozzi Germaul Barnes Astrid Bas Pele Bauch Ian Spencer Bell Michael Bishop Christine Bonansea Hope Boykin Johanna LjungQvistBrinson Josmery Brito Carmen Caceres Jacqueline Carnahan Yanira Castro Enzo Celli Hannah Cullen Dancing Crane, Inc. Marcea Thomas Daiter Tatiana Desardouin/ Passionfruit Dance Company
Kennyth Montes de Oca Walter Dundervill Jessica Phillips-Fein Flight Path Dance Project Sonia Soares Freiberg Jessica Gaynor Beth Graczyk Neil Greenberg Tanya Goldman Jonathan Gonzalez Ariel Grossman Kayla Hamilton Garnet Henderson Alexis Hightower Joseph Houseal Yehuda Hyman Yuki Ishiguro Jamal Jackson Dance Company Beth Jucovy Neelima Kakarlapudi Raja Feather Kelly
Nick Kenkel Barry Kerollis Sam Kim Susan Klein Jaamil Olawale Kosoko Joanna Kotze Kelsey Kramer Marija Krtolica Susan Mar Landau Celeste Lanuza Rosalynde LeBlanc Jonathan Levine Katt Lissard Carolyn Lord Lotus Fine Arts Production, Inc. Julie Ludwick Puela Lunaris Nicole Mannarino Paul McClure Beverly McIver KatieRose McLaughlin Ray Mercer
Mur Regina Nejman Octopus Theatricals Opera Dolce Dolce Ryan Pierce Andrew Pester Caterina Rago REAL MAGIC Louise Reichlin Beau Rhee Melinda Ring Ellen Robins Anna Rogovoy Eryn Rosenthal Regine Roy Dan Safer Susana Sarangaya Trinity Kim Schmidt Rakia Seaborn Mercedes Searer Sensedance The Short Kuts Show Laurel Snyder
Sophie Sotsky Peggy Spina RoseAnne Spradlin Hannah Straney Yuki Hasegawa Thomas David Thomson Truthworker Theatre Company Janice Tsai Adrienne Truscott Beverly Tu Curtis Turney Georgia Usborne Manuel Vignoulle Nicole von Arx Tina Wang Amadi Washington Gwen Welliver Kathy Westwater Karen Bernard-Wixon Rourou Ye Colleen Thomas Young
Live Core
Education
“New York Live Arts provided a support system and an umbrella for us to navigate the pandemic.” -Jamal Jackson Dance Company, Live Core Artist Member
As the impact of the pandemic is still being assessed, Live Arts has pivoted towards programming that engages participants both through socially distanced in-person programming that follows all CDC, city, and state guidelines, and digital programming.
· 100 Artist Members · Workshops in Marketing, Fundraising & Professional Development · Nearly $1 MM Raised for Artist Projects
For the 2020-2021 academic school year, Live Arts and the James Baldwin High School worked diligently to provide programming that considered the complexities of the student’s home and living situations by offering workshops outside of regular school hours.
Artist services at New York Live Arts position us as a creative incubator, network, and platform for artists to propel their ideas forward. Utilizing the resources of New York Live Arts, this program empowers artists to connect with larger audiences, raise funds through fiscal sponsorship, and engage with industry professionals and fellow members to bolster their professional and artistic development. 30 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
LIVE ARTS TEAM New York Live Arts is defined by the people who contribute their time, talents, and financial support to make us the strong organization we are today. We are fortunate to have a dedicated, diverse, and expanding group of exceptional board members, leaders, staff and generous donors. Board of Directors
Stephen Hendel, Co-Chair Richard H. Levy, Co-Chair Helen Haje, Vice Chair Slobodan Randjelović, Vice Chair Alan D. Marks,Treasurer Alanna Rutherford, Secretary Bill T. Jones, Artistic Director, Ex-Officio Kim Cullen, Executive Director & CEO, Ex-Officio Bjorn Amelan Sarah Arison Aimee Meredith Cox LaToya Ruby Frazier Charla Jones Colleen Keegan Darnell L. Moore Amy Newman Randy Polumbo Ellen M. Poss Matthew Putman Jane Bovingdon Semel Ruby Shang Catharine R. Stimpson Diana Wege
Staff
Artistic Leadership Bill T. Jones Artistic Director Janet Wong Associate Artistic Director Programming, Producing & Engagement Kyle Maude Producing Director Hannah Emerson Producing Associate Veronica Falborn Producing Associate & Production Stage Manager Production Hillery Makatura Director of Production Creative Director Bjorn G. Amelan Communications Tyler Ashley Director of Communications Mayadevi Ross Digital Media Coordinator Hannah Seiden Front of House Coordinator Liliana Dirks-Goodman Graphic Designer Pentagram Pro-Bono Branding
Executive Leadership Kim Cullen Executive Director & CEO Development Dave Archuletta Chief Development Officer Ali Burke Individual Giving & Special Events Manager Erin Baskin Institutional Giving Manager Bianca Bailey Member Services & Education Coordinator Candystore Development Assistant Hans Rasch Institutional Giving Assistant Finance & Operations Nupur Dey Director of Finance Gregory English Rentals Coordinator Human Resources ADP TotalSource Legal Services Lowenstein Sandler, PC Pro-Bono Counsel
Derek Brown, Board Emeritus Terence Dougherty, Board Emeritus Eleanor Friedman, Board Emeritus
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 31
FINANCES 13% Fundraising
11% Fundraising
8% Admin
11% Admin
79% Programming
78% Programming
2020-21 Operating Expenses*
2019-20 Operating Expenses
FY21
Consolidated Balance Sheet
FY20
ASSETS Operating cash accounts Board designated reserve fund Restricted Cash Income Deff. Maint. & Cap. reserve PPP Loan Funds Funds for Equity Treasury Bond Investment Unconditional promises to give Unrestricted Restricted for future programs or periods Accounts Receivable Prepaid expenses & other current assets Property & equipment, at cost, net of accum. depreciation Artwork held available for sale
TOTAL ASSETS
$1,344,830 $227,922 $30,591 $54,114 $111,076 $200,000 $4,098,464
$1,687,072 $303,720 $687,724 $6,526 $66,346 $1,882,957
$821,500 $2,633,119
$824,076 $1,976,383
$6,504 $27,428 $6,515,039
$13,728 $111,886 $6,680,521
$336,482
$358,934
$16,407,068
$14,599,875
$109,731 $90,676 $511,076 $711,483
$478,921 $518,426 $545,539 $1,542,886
$11,751,476 $3,944,109 $15,695,585
$9,882,305 $3,174,684 $13,056,989
$16,407,068
$14,599,875
Liabilities and Net Assets Liabilities Accounts payable & accued expenses Deferred revenue PPP Loan Payable Total Liabilities
Net Assets Unrestricted Temporarily restricted Total net assets
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
* unaudited as of November 2021
32 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
SUPPORT Membership
New York Live Arts Members deepen their experiences as part of the Live Arts audience with ticket discounts, special events and opportunities to get closer to the artists on our stage.
Patrons Circle
Patrons of New York Live Arts believe in the transformative power of art, and give generously to foster a home for performers at all levels in their careers. Patrons Circle contributions help us create a place that is vital to the social and cultural fabric of New York City.
Partners for New Performance
Partners for New Performance is a social opportunity for like-minded individuals to support New York Live Arts’ many platforms for new work creation and live gathering. This group supports emerging and mid-career artists in development and presentation of work, as well as New York Live Arts’ cultural engagement program: Live Feed, Fresh Tracks, Bill Chats, Open Spectrum Community Dialogues, and the Live Ideas Festival.
Partners in Creation
Partners in Creation (PIC), a benefactor program of the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company, gives its members access to Bill T. Jones’ legendary artistic process and allows them to develop a relationship with one of the preeminent artists of our time. Partners engage with Bill, his collaborators and the members of his company as they travel the intricate and often revelatory journey of creating or re-envisioning signature works. Their participation and financial support preserves artistic freedom and innovation, while ensuring the company’s financial stability during the unpredictable process of creation.
Public support for New York Live Arts is from Humanities New York, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Correction, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Corporate support for New York Live Arts includes Con Edison, Google, Otter AI, Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company: The creation of new work by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is made possible in part by the company’s Partners in Creation: Anonymous, Anne Delaney, Zoe Eskin, Eleanor Friedman, Ruth & Stephen Hendel, James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen, Suzanne Karpas, Ellen M. Poss, Jane Bovingdon Semel, in memory of Linda G. Shapiro, Slobodan Randjelović & Jon Stryker. Partners for New Performance (Live Feed, Fresh Tracks, Live Ideas, Open Spectrum, Bill Chats, Pride) We thank our Partners for New Performance for supporting the Live Feed, Fresh Tracks and engagement programs: Alexes Hazen, Linda Hirschson, Julie Orlando, Andrea Rosen, Nina Stricker. * New York Live Arts Board Member For a full list, please see newyorklivearts.org/support/contributors
Support for New York Live Arts is provided by the Arnhold Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, The Brant Foundation, Inc., Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Dance/NYC, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Marta Heflin Foundation, Alex Katz Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Alice Lawrence Foundation, Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Muriel Pollia Foundation, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund in the New York Community Trust, The Poss Family Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, The Semel Charitable Foundation, Scherman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Tides Foundation.
New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21 | 33
PLEASE TAKE THE LEAD We ask that you TAKE a role, a part, YOUR part, in making space for a more empathetic world To play your part in this beautiful, ephemeral world we create together. To create the world we want to live in, day by day, rehearsal by rehearsal, performance by performance What we do is ONLY possible with you you are an essential player with a LEADING ROLE And for that, we are extremely grateful
THANK YOU!
34 | New York Live Arts Annual Report FY21
Emily Olivera opening reception Photo by Maria Baranova
The Motherboard Suite, Jasmine Hearn Photo by T Turner
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