INDIESPACE INC
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Mission Statement
MISSION IndieSpace celebrates and centers independent theater-making in New York City. We provide radically transparent, responsive and equity-focused funding, real estate programs, professional development, and advocacy to individual artists, theater companies, and indie venues. VISION IndieSpace will strengthen the indie theater community by disrupting ongoing displacement, democratizing power, demanding social and financial equity, and raising an unwavering voice that is truly indie. VALUES All Cards on the Table We value radical transparency. We lead with trust and hold ourselves accountable to all partner organizations and indie artists. Open Gates We value accessibility and breaking down of inequitable barriers. We open doors to resources, people and institutions that have been previously closed to our community. Artists at the Wheel We value self-determination, spirit over productivity, and the well-being and work of independent theater makers. Every IndieSpace decision is shaped by the artists we serve. Water the "Grass Roots" We value nimble, flexible and responsive action and are guided by a creative and indie ethos. Community Bridge We value the coming together of independent theater artists to advocate, process, discover and act. Level Up and Act Out We value creative disruption, social equity, and challenging the status quo. We aim to transform our field by confronting oppressive structures.
About This Cause
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS All of our funding and programs are accessible to everyone, and prioritize historically excluded artists, such as Global Majority (Black, Indigenous, Peoples of Color), Disabled/Deaf, Immigrant and Transgender, Gender Expansive and Non-Binary artists. Some of our funding programs use a weighted lottery system to achieve this prioritization. Others direct the use of funds towards historically excluded artists that work within various institutions. OUR LEGACY: THE INDIE THEATER FUND We can only move forward by acknowledging and honoring our history. The Indie Theater Fund supported our beloved indie community under the name The LIT Fund and then The Indie Theater Fund for over a decade. We are excited about the potential to continue the incredible work of the Fund in this new form, allowing us to grow our capacity and ability to serve. Upon merging with IndieSpace in 2022, all Indie Theater Fund programs are now home at IndieSpace. As we grow the organization, indie theater artists will be supported with funding, professional growth opportunities, and space operation. Alongside indie artists throughout their careers - “the full 360” - we will continue to assist organizations and individuals, financially and otherwise, who create independent theater in New York City and to help our community grow even stronger. FUNDING IndieSpace provides radically transparent, equitable, and responsive funding to individual artists, small companies, and indie venues through a variety of available grants. Some of our grants are annual and others are open year round. Mental Health Grants The IndieSpace Mental Health grant awards individual artists $500 micro grants to use toward therapy, medication, meditation classes, and any other mental health-related costs. It is our hope that by providing this financial resource, we can help remove barriers that prevent artists from seeking and receiving the care, support, and information they need to care for their mental health. Pay Your People Grants We provide two annual lottery pool grant programs - Pay Your People Grants for companies and venues. The Pay Your People Grant must be used to pay key creative collaborators, artists, or people in your organization’s leadership who have been historically excluded from funding based on race, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, ability, economic disadvantage, refugee/immigration status or for other reasons you define. This grant opportunity is for those that are an indie theater company and/or fiscally sponsored production. Venues are also eligible for the grant and the award must be used to pay or support historically excluded artists (as defined above) working or performing in your venue/spaces. This grant opportunity is for those that operate an indie venue. In order to receive a Pay Your People Grant a member of your company must be present at The Big Give. The Big Give The Big Give is our annual community building and funding event where we hold the lotteries for the Pay Your People grants. The Big Give is a celebration of indie theater and an opportunity to provide financial support for small theaters and companies who are often unable to receive funds from more traditional grantors. The “frictionless,” trust-based application for The Big Give lottery is a simple, online form that takes 10 minutes or less to complete. Applications are vetted only for eligibility and not artistic merit. At the event, eligible applicant names are actually drawn out of a hat and grant checks are written on the spot to those recipients. Unrestricted and Unsolicited Grants We recognize venues and artists who hold space for their community or who are in particular need and occasionally, we give unsolicited and unrestricted grants to such companies. For example, 13 grants were given to venues navigating a post-Covid opening and another 11 were given to Black, Indigeneous, and AAPI companies who provided support and service to their artists during violent attacks against these communities. These grants are typically for companies and venues only. On rare occasions, IndieSpace may accommodate an application from an individual artist, depending on funds available. Emergency Funds and No Interest Loans Artists sometimes find themselves in an urgent situation outside their control - a theft, injury, or natural disaster has impacted their ability to perform. In times like these, Emergency Funds are available via a brief application online, with some supplemental materials delivered via email. A committee within the Board of Directors reviews applications and aims to reply and deliver a check, if approved, within 48 hours. Flexible, no interest loans are available to artists to help fill a temporary budget gap. Artists submit an application through the Emergency Fund for a loan and, if approved, a Promissory Note is signed and funds are delivered within a week. COALITION FUNDS Cultural Solidarity Fund The Cultural Solidarity Fund was established directly in response to COVID-19, in partnership with Leimay and 17 other cultural organizations, providing micro grants of $500 to artists and cultural workers. Thus far, approximately $1M has been granted through the Cultural Solidarity Fund. The Cultural Solidarity Fund is no longer accepting applications. We are working to sunset this fund having given every applicant in need support. The work of the CSF organizers continues with efforts focused on a Safety Net for artists and cultural workers. AAPI Transportation Fund With a 361% increase in crime against AAPI community members, IndieSpace has partnered with AAPAC to provide transportation stipends for artists to get to and from rehearsals and performances safely. Applications for these $250 small stipends for safety are open on an ongoing basis, until the need decreases or funds are no longer available. If you are a member of the AAPI community and are in need of transportation support, please email IndieSpace Executive Director Randi Berry at randi@indiespace.org. REAL ESTATE We work to find permanent real estate for the indie theater community. We do this work through a variety of programs. Advisory and Consulting We work with theaters who are facing a real estate challenge, transition or opportunity. Often, there are organizations who are in jeopardy of losing leased space and/or have a desire to expand to accommodate their programming. We provide strategic planning, space identification, lease negotiation, the creation of partnerships to efficiently share space, and ongoing support when issues arise with a landlord. IndieSpace has consulted with over 60 organizations and provides these services free of charge. IndieSpace Search We are developing a database to fill the loss of the closing of Fractured Atlas’ SpaceFinder. IndieSpace Search will allow theaters to list their venues, provide photos and specifications and will be a place for artists to search for rehearsal and performance space. West Village Rehearsal Co-Op We are incredibly excited to partner with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, HERE, and New Ohio Theatre to provide a low-cost rehearsal space for the indie theater community at the West Village Rehearsal Co-Op. As a part of this partnership, IndieSpace shares access to the space and programs directly for six months throughout the year. Our partners will program for the other six months. We are offering use of the space during our allocated time to our community for no more than $10/hour. You can learn more about West Village Rehearsal Co-Op here. Space We continually work towards creating affordable performance or rehearsal spaces specifically for the independent theater community. While the programming is determined based on each space that is secured, IndieSpace has identified three key elements that will be considered in each: Operating Theater Program: For each space, an existing neighborhood theater company will receive subsidized occupancy access while leading its programming. IndieSpace will also connect partners to help support the operating theater's financial and creative sustainability. Subsidized Rentals: Space rentals will be subsidized or free. Our goal is to create a model that is not vulnerable to changing economic conditions that would threaten the arts organization. Community Space: Each space will have opportunities to connect directly to the community. Our venues will not only support artists and their work, but will elevate the quality of life within the community, through vibrant space activation and a deeper engagement between artists and community members. COMMUNITY RESOURCES Leveraging the collective purchasing power of over 600 company and venue members, plus thousands of individual artists, we facilitate discounts on various products and services. The Community Resources Program has offered subsidized rehearsal space, reduced strategic planning costs, free and reduced grant writing services, and ASL interpretation, among other services. Typically, the offerings are largely or fully subsidized by our organization, further reducing costs to our community. Professional Development We provide professional development workshops and access to information to help our artists grow. We offer in-person and online sessions on grant writing, budgeting, personal finance, public relations, and more. We have created partnerships with organizations like The Field and Pentacle to offer reduced cost fiscal sponsorship to artists who work outside of the not-for-profit structure. We have facilitated connections between artists and attorneys and have coached artists through the decision making process regarding fiscal sponsorship versus 501c3. The Big Learn In 2020, we launched a new program, The Big Learn, which offers high-quality and affordable anti-racism training, created in partnership with the New York Innovative Theater Awards, the League of Independent Theatres