Two small Brooklyn theaters have been awarded $10,000, two-year grants as part of the Little Venue That Could program.
Photo courtesy of Michael Yu/MISE-EN_PLACE
Two small Brooklyn theaters struggling with the financial burdens of the pandemic are now flourishing with the help of organization IndieSpace and their inaugural “Little Venue That Could” program.
Last month, 13 lucky venues were presented with two-year $10,000 grants in order to help keep independent New York theater alive. The money can be used however a chosen venue deems necessary with most electing to use it to pay for staffing, rent, or utilities.
One of the recipients of the Little Venue That Could program was MISE-EN_PLACE, a performance space located in Greenpoint. The grant will help to alleviate certain financial burdens and allow their budget to be “less tight,” said manager Melinda Faylor.
MISE-EN_PLACE was founded in 2014 as a venue for new and underrepresented composers, musicians, and sound artists. The venue hosts several concert series and an international music festival each year, and provides low-cost rehearsal space and equipment rentals to locals.
“People need access to affordable places to develop their work, in terms of rehearsals and tech and even concerts,” Faylor said. “It’s so important to have a small, accessible venue around. If not, people aren’t going to have the ability to develop their work.”
Land Back Hub, a performance and arts space in Williamsburg, also won a Little Venue grant. The donation-based performance arts space largely features Indigenous artists and works-in progress, according to its website.
The monumental effort to fund small venues was made possible through IndieSpace’s partnership with the Howard Gilman Foundation, which donated the grant money to the chosen venues — each of which have an annual budget of less than $750,000.
In many cases, having a budget below $750,000 will cause a venue to miss…
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