IndieSpace Releases 2023 Annual Report; Organization Grants More Than $415,000

IndieSpace, an organization established to disrupt the ongoing displacement of small theaters and to create a new model for equitable funding for the indie theater community, has released their annual report for 2023. This past year the organization granted more than $415,000 to artists, companies, and venues citywide and worked with over 20 indie theaters to ensure they could keep their doors open, providing a home for performing artists in New York City.

"The past 18 months have been challenging for theater as our industry has tried to regain our footing post-COVID," said Founder and Executive Director, Randi Berry. "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 theater community."

2023 represented a year of responsive giving as IndieSpace sought to provide support targeted to the pain points the indie theater 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. The Milk and Eggs grants provided cash for indie theater artists to cover their living expenses as inflation made living in New York harder. IndieSpace's monthly Mental Health Grants helped artists pay for much-needed mental health care as they navigated the unpredictable job market and the general turbulence of 2023.

IndieSpace is proud of their continued dedication to meeting the needs of the indie theater community in real time, while continuing to plan and advocate for a better future. The full report can be read HERE.

"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. "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. Thanks to this support, IATI Theater has not only survived but continues to serve our community and advance our mission."

"IndieSpace is exactly what we need to fix the broken landscape of traditional theatre," said Amanda Chin, Executive Director of AfterWork Theater. "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."

"As we traverse this bumpy road on the journey to buy the building and secure our future in the LES; Randi and her colleagues at IndieSpace have been a steadfast guide: always there for us with thoughtful advice and shrewd business strategy," said Ana Mari de Quesada, Producing Artistic Director of wild project. "IndieSpace is indispensable to the arts and to everyone who continues to make New York the unique cultural hub it always has been."

"IndieSpace is fearlessly taking ongoing gaps in our field head on with direct, actionable solutions," said Karesia Batan, Founding Executive Director of Queensboro Dance Festival. "They are like the resource expressway of support for us artists and organizations that too often get left out or overlooked. They are setting the example of how an organization can make a direct impact by paying attention to the needs of our field."

IndieSpace was established in 2016 to disrupt the ongoing displacement of small theaters 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 theater community. By contributing a nickel per ticket from their shows to a pot of money for funding, the indie theater community could create a method of self-sustainability and could rethink philanthropy and the process of grant making. Through radically transparent and equitable grants, community resources and advocacy, the Fund supported hundreds of indie theater companies and thousands of individual artists.

Since its founding, IndieSpace has: consulted with 90+ companies and venues making real estate decisions, including The Tank, FRIGID New York, The Chain, The Wild Project, Wooster Group, and Classical Theater of Harlem; helped 18 organizations sign new leases; saved seven theaters from being closed or repurposed; created four real estate operation partnerships; walked two venues through the purchase of their permanent homes. During Covid, IndieSpace supported over 50 venues navigating their leases by helping them stay open, and also provided over $1.7M in relief grants to the indie theater 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. For service to the community, IndieSpace received the Ellen Stewart Award and a citation from the City Council of New York. www.indiespace.org