Alex Poots, artistic director and CEO of The Shed—the performing arts center that will open in spring 2019—announced the 52 emerging artists and collectives living or working in New York City who have been commissioned to create new work as part of the inaugural Open Call program.
Developed for New York City artists who have not yet had opportunities to create new work with support from a large cultural institution, Open Call is integral to The Shed’s vision: to develop and present the full spectrum of performing arts, visual arts, and pop culture under one roof for all audiences.
The Shed’s request for proposals encouraged projects that push the boundaries into multidisciplinary or collaborative realms across six creative disciplines: design, visual arts, music, performing arts, literary arts, and cinema. Open Call will debut in The Shed’s 2019 season, with works continuing into 2020.
The artists and collectives selected follow:
Saint Abdullah, Tariq Al-Sabir, Justin Allen, Troy Anthony, Haley Elizabeth Anderson, Caitlin Blanchfield and Farzin Lotfi-Jam, Kim Brandt, Maia Chao, Daniel Chew and Micaela Durand, Onyedika Chuke, Gabriela María Corretjer-Contreras, nicHi douglas, The Extrapolation Factory, Avram Finkelstein, Fana Fraser, Moko Fukuyama, Ebony Noelle Golden, Yulan Grant, Hugh Hayden, Vicente Hansen and Mat Muntz, Prince Harvey, Madeline Hollander, Maryam Hoseini and Phoebe d’Heurle, It's Showtime NYC!, The Illustrious Blacks,
Ayesha Jordan, Tahir Carl Karmali, Sam Lavigne, Maya Lee-Parritz, Richard Kennedy, Kyle Marshall, Asif Mian, Troy Michie, #MIPSTERZ, Tyler Mitchell, Neil Padukone, Kelsey Pyro, daaPo reo, Farideh Sakhaeifar, Rachika Samarth, Richard Sears, Clara Cullen, Yael Ginosar, and Ethan Braun, Alice Sheppard and Kinetic Light, Harold "Fyütch" Simmons, Analisa Teachworth, Christopher Udemezue (Neon Christina), Mariana Valencia, Jon Wang, Julia Weist, Kiyan Williams, Nia O. Witherspoon, Thanushka Yakupitiyage, and Yatta Zoker (YATTA).
Each artist will receive a stipend between $7,000 and $15,000, in addition to support and resources to develop their work.
Work commissioned will be presented in The Shed’s black-box theatre, the 12,500-square-foot Gallery I, and the 17,000 square-foot open-air plaza in front of the building. Three programs will be presented consecutively beginning in late spring 2019, with a fourth program in 2020. All programs are free and open to the public.
“Our programs are built on the belief that there is parity across all forms of art and human creativity,” said Poots in a statement. “Open Call is The Shed’s way of offering support and valuable resources to artists in New York City who are working at pivotal stages in their careers.”
“All aspects of producing commissioned work, from financial and organizational resources to personal attention, will be provided to Open Call artists,” added Senior Curator Emma Enderby. “We will work closely with all of them over the course of the season to hone their original proposals and realize them at The Shed.”
