A Resource Sharing Model for Culture Makers in NYC.
RE/VENUE NYC is a project to revitalize New York City’s strained theater industry in the wake of the pandemic. We put artists to work and build new revenue for theaters, while growing New York audiences for live performance. Through short-term pop up performance series at venues across the city, RE/VENUE NYC intends to build long-term partnerships with theaters, stakeholders and artists infusing new energy into this vital part of the City’s economy.
In 2019, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment did a study of the impact of small theaters on the local economy in New York. It found that small theaters are an economic driver, responsible for $1.3 billion in economic output, 8,400 full time equivalent jobs and $512 in wages annually in New York City. Anecdotally, as artists and audiences, we know this. Performance and culture is a major reason New Yorkers move here, live here and stay here. We value our access to world class culture.
New York City lost 27 small theaters and rehearsal spaces since the pandemic. The economic constraints larger theaters are experiencing is leading to developmental programming cuts, and doing less shows. For emerging and mid-career performing artists, this means less time and space to cut their teeth or get messy making new work. And in show business, less shows is bad for business. We need to develop new audiences and artists and that means more shows, more opportunities and more revenue for artists and theaters.
RE/VENUE NYC fills this gap. We slot into a theater, studio or lobby to bring new communities into performance spaces. Building off of a well-tested producing model (honed by The Tank for over 20 years), RE/VENUE NYC maximizes the use of spaces for short-term performance series with multiple artists doing multiple performances in a single day. Our aim is to replace lost rental revenue for the theater, split income with the artists so they get to be on stage and get paid, and share audiences so that New Yorkers can discover these spaces–the best cultural gems in the City.
