[What follows is] a growing list of national projects and organizations whose missions are rooted in the nurturance of the larger dance eco-system. By encouraging mutual benefit, critical discourse and creative process, the following list is intended to offer a point of reference for our own community building effort, as well as opportunities to connect to a larger network of ideas and resources. [ This page is intended to serve as an archive for The Invisible City Project website. While this information is not up to date, it is my hope that its contents continue to provide a point of entry.]
Alliance of Artists Communities
The Alliance of Artists Communities is a national and international association of artists’ communities and residencies — a diverse field of more than 1,000 programs worldwide that support artists of any discipline in the development of new creative work. There are places — hundreds of them, in fact — where artists of all disciplines can go to work on their art: painters and playwrights, filmmakers and fiction writers, composers, choreographers, printmakers and poets, sculptors, scholars, and songwriters. In short, they are research-and-development labs for the arts, providing artists with time, space, and support for the creation of new work and the exploration of new ideas. Believing that the cultivation of new art and ideas is essential to human progress, the Alliance’s mission is to advocate for and support artists’ communities, to advance the endeavors of artists.
Americans for the Arts
Americans for the Arts‘ mission is to serve, advance, and lead the network of organizations and individuals who cultivate, promote, sustain, and support the arts in America. Founded in 1960, Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. From offices in Washington, DC and New York City, we provide a rich array of programs that meet the needs of over 150,000 members and stakeholders. We are dedicated to representing and serving local communities and to creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Our work translates national vision into local tools that can be used by the wide variety of organizations and individuals that are our members. They include cultural and arts service organizations as well as arts educators, arts administrators, artists, and the general public. Today, we have members in every state as well as 13 countries around the world.
Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP)
Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) is an international association representing nonprofit and for-profit performing arts organizations. Its website provides advocacy updates and tools, professional development and networking resources such as listservs and a job bank. In addition to the annual APAP|NYC conference – the world’s leading convening for the performing arts (January 10-14, 2014) – APAP is the industry’s leading community for networking and knowledge. APAP strengthens and advances your career and the field through professional development, resource sharing, advocacy and civic engagement.
Boston Dance Alliance
Boston Dance Alliance supports the dance community that invigorates Boston through this living and dynamic art form. Toward that end, BDA provides services that raise the profile of dance, nurture artistic excellence, and enhance the effectiveness and vitality of its individual and institutional members. Established in 1985, Boston Dance Alliance is Boston’s largest official organization addressing issues of importance to the local and regional dance community. Our members include individual dancers, dance organizations, technical artists and individuals who are committed to the presentation and enjoyment of the art form. BDA strengthens bonds within the local dance community and provides important links between the local community and the larger world of dance. Our goal in developing the dance community is to increase and improve communication with funding organizations, educational organizations, technical service professionals and the public sector.
The Brooklyn Commune Project
The Brooklyn Commune Project is a grassroots initiative organized by Culturebot.org and The Invisible Dog Art Center to educate, activate and unify performing artists of all disciplines to work together towards a more equitable, just and sustainable arts ecology in America. If economics – specifically the economics of the cultural ecosystem – is a creative design problem to be collectively solved, then artists should come together to solve it. The project is structured as an iterative, collaborative public research & visioning process investigating the economics of cultural production in the performing arts. The project’s goal is to create an artist-driven vision of a healthy arts ecosystem in America and to bring artists, institutions, administrators and funders together for mutually respectful, open, non-hierarchical discourse around difficult topics such as resource allocation, capital, value, labor, aesthetics and quality of life.
Creative Capital
Creative Capital was founded in 1999 to support artists pursuing adventurous and imaginative ideas, drawing on venture capital concepts to provide funding, counsel and career development services. It is the only national grantmaking and artist service organization for individual artists with an open application process, supporting projects in five disciplines: Emerging Fields, Film/Video, Innovative Literature, Performing and Visual Arts.
Culturebot
Launched in 2003 by founder Andrew Horwitz as a blog for Performance Space 122 and operating independently since 2007, Culturebot.org is a platform for discourse on and inspired by contemporary performing arts. Since its founding Culturebot has become a significant voice in the arts, taking as its mission the idea of critical horizontalism, a framework for arts engagement that proposes criticism as creative practice, reassesses spectatorship and engages with artists’ process over time. Culturebot pursues its mission online, through live events and special projects across platforms. For links to some the seminal essays that inform our current efforts, please see “What’s The Big Idea“.
Dance/USA
Dance/USA sustains and advances professional dance by addressing the needs, concerns, and interests of artists, administrators, and organizations. We believe that dance is essential to a healthy society, demonstrating the infinite possibilities for human expression and potential, and facilitating communication within and across cultures. By providing national leadership and services, Dance/USA enhances the infrastructure for dance creation and distribution, education, and dissemination of information.
DanceUSA Philadelphia (Dance UP)
Dance USA Philadelphia is a branch office of Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. Dance/UP is staffed by professional dance artists from the Greater Philadelphia Area and its Advisory Committee consists of dance professionals and arts advocates in the Greater Philadelphia area.
The Field
Founded by artists for artists, The Field is dedicated to providing strategic services to thousands of performing artists and companies in New York City and beyond. We foster creative exploration, steward innovative management strategies, and are delighted to help artists reach their fullest potential. Now in our 26th year, more than 1,900 performing artists come to The Field each year to build their businesses. Each year 2,000+ new art works are developed under our stewardship, and our services are replicated in 11 cities across the U.S. and Europe (Field Network). In tandem with this significant growth, we remain true to our grassroots origin and artist-centered mission to: strategically serve the myriad artistic and administrative needs of independent performing artists and companies who work in the fields of dance, theater, music, text, and performance art. Our core values of affordability, accessibility, and rigorous delivery infuse all of our interactions. Field programs, poised at the intersection between knowledge and practice, can be divided into Artistic and Management Services. In addition to this evolving core curriculum, The Field responds proactively to sector-wide challenges to the community through various special programs, which currently includes our Economic Revitalization for Performing Artists (ERPA) program.
Fractured Atlas
Fractured Atlas empowers artists, arts organizations, and other cultural sector stakeholders by eliminating practical barriers to artistic expression, so as to foster a more agile and resilient cultural ecosystem. We’re a national organization that supports folks at every level of the cultural ecosystem. Mostly that includes individual artists — performing, visual, literary, design, media, and everything in between — and arts organizations — from one-person outfits to the biggest of the big. Fractured Atlas can help you run your business more efficiently, with more, better resources at your fingertips so you have more time, energy, and money to dedicate to making art. (And isn’t that the point?) Fractured Atlas is non-curatorial. That means we do not discriminate, nor do we judge your art. That’s not our job. We’re here to help with the “unsexy” stuff that helps make art happen. We can also help institutional funders, policymakers, and others refine their 30,000 foot view of the field. New technology development, cultural asset mapping, research and data analysis, and advisory services inform your work and help you make smarter, more strategic decisions. Our office may be in New York, but everything we do has a national reach. (We’ve even got members outside the US.) Whether you’re in a small town, a big city, or the middle of nowhere, all of our services are just a click away: Fiscal Sponsorship, Insurance, Artful.ly, Fractured U., International Artist Visas, Special Offers & Discounts, and listing of Upcoming Events.
KINEBAGO
Edited by Sara Smith–an interdisciplinary artist, choreographer and librarian living in Massachusetts–KINEBAGO aims to foster the documentation and contemplation of artists, ideas, trends, and events connected to dance and movement-based practices in New England. It is a curated forum, focused on work which has an aim beyond entertainment and technical display, with experimentation, investigation and/or research at its core. It is not meant to be a comprehensive representation of all New England dance, but to serve this community through providing a space to connect artists (and audiences) with overlapping interests across this region.
Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC)
Launched as a ten-year initiative in 2003, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) represents a philanthropic experiment in using information, money, and strategic partnerships to effect change in the support system for artists in the United States. LINC’s mission was to improve the ability of artists to create work, build social capital, and contribute to democratic values. This site archives the results of this experiment, reviewing key milestones in the decade-long project, and profiling the work of LINC’s many grantees and partners.
Movement Research
movement research is one of the world’s leading laboratories for the investigation of dance and movement-based forms. Valuing the individual artist, their creative process and their vital role within society, Movement Research is dedicated to the creation and implementation of free and low-cost programs that nurture and instigate discourse and experimentation. Movement Research strives to reflect the cultural, political and economic diversity of its moving community, including artists and audiences alike.
Critical Correspondence
Critical Correspondence is an artist-driven project of Movement Research that aims to activate, develop and increase the visibility of critical discourse on dance and movement-based performance work. We initiate conversations and writings to map the language surrounding current practices and to establish a dialogue between artists and others who are engaged with this work. We also host contributions from artists/writers traveling, working in different localities or reporting from a particular working process.
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.
New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA)
NEFA’s mission is to build connections among artists, arts organizations, and funders, powering the arts to energize communities in New England, the nation, and the world. Founded in 1976, NEFA is one of six regional arts organizations established with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to strengthen the national arts infrastructure by cultivating the arts on a regional level. Today, NEFA’s programs are regional, national, and international in scope, and support artists and communities through grants and other opportunities in dance, music, theater, public art, and the work of Native American artists. All aim to provide access to high quality arts experiences for the underserved, including projects that feature artistic expressions from diverse cultures and geographies. Each program and project that is brought to life at NEFA is created with the underlying goal of building a stronger and more dynamic infrastructure for the arts.
- Creative Ground – New England’s online cultural marketplace that sparks connections between artists, presenters, and communities. CreativeGround spotlights the creative people and places at work in New England: cultural nonprofits like libraries and theaters, creative businesses like recording studios and design agencies, and artists of all disciplines such as performing arts, visual arts, and crafts.
- New England States Touring – New England States Touring provides support to nonprofit organizations based in New England for community-related activities by selectNew England performing artists from outside of the presenter’s state.
- CultureCount – New England’s cultural database to find cultural organizations and artists.
On The Boards TV
STREAM, DOWNLOAD & SUBSCRIBE AT ONTHEBOARDS.TV. Watch the world’s best contemporary performance anywhere, anytime. The work of pioneering artists comes to life via gorgeous high-definition production, multiple camera angles and clarity of sound. See your favorite performances again! Works by Kidd Pivot, Pat Graney, Jan Fabre, The Rude Mechs and more. Introduce performance to friends, go deeper with work you love or check out a show you haven’t seen.
TenduTV
TenduTV brings you the highest quality performing arts from around the world and delivers them to your favorite device. Whether you’re interested in classic story ballets, contemporary performance films, experimental theater or the stories behind them all, TenduTV makes sure that the best seat in the house is the one where you’re sitting.
Vermont Performance Lab
Vermont Performance Lab (VPL) was founded and shaped in direct response to emerging thinking about the need for stronger support for research and development, especially in the performing arts; the changing nature of artists’ creative process; the need to continue to build audiences for contemporary performance; and the evolving needs of a rural American community. VPL offers artists a network of people, sites and expertise that can be brought to a creative project. VPL responds to each artist’s research needs, provides production support, leverages additional resources in the community, and creates non-conventional pathways for engagement and connection between audience and artist. Core to VPL’s mission is to developing a wider audience for contemporary performance and making contemporary performance accessible to rural Vermont communities. We aim to accomplish this through these four principles of our practice:
Artist as Collaborator | VPL and artists co-envision residency projects to develop in Vermont
Reciprocal Exchange | Artists expand the dimensions of their practice as they involve people of all walks of life in creative processes. Audiences deepen their experience and connection with contemporary performance
Civic Engagement | By linking art-making with community building, VPL residencies transcend aesthetic, social and physical barriers that conventionally circumscribe the arts and separate them from civic discourse.
Partnership | Cooperating arts, education, residency centers, funders, social service and civic organizations extend the production capabilities, audience reach and artistic impact of Lab residencies.
Walker Arts Center Channel
The Walker Art Center, located in Minneapolis, is a catalyst for the creative expression of artists and the active engagement of audiences. Focusing on the visual, performing, and media arts of our time, the Walker takes a global, multidisciplinary, and diverse approach to the creation, presentation, interpretation, collection, and preservation of art. Walker programs examine the questions that shape and inspire us as individuals, cultures, and communities. The Walker Channel provides live and archived video of the Walker’s public programming, including lectures, dialogues, and performances involving artists, scholars, and critics of contemporary art and culture.
