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Overview

MADE HERE is a documentary series and website focusing on performing artists based in New York City. A collage of intimate interviews, performances and behind-the-scenes footage, MADE HERE mirrors the rich diversity of the artists and communities they serve. 

The first season was launched in May 2010, and by the end of September, had released 15 short episodes featuring 40 artists and covering five major issues: Creative Real Estate, Day & Night Jobs, Family Balance, Activism and Technology. Already, the website has exceeded initial projections, with over 12,000 unique visitors from 94 countries. Season Two rolls out from March through July 2011 with three episodes each month on: Identity, Creative Practice, Money, Lifework, and Home. This website provides a platform for audiences to offer feedback on the episodes, artists to share and discover resources, and communities to engage on the issues. In addition, each topic is accompanied by a monthly live screening and panel event. MADE HERE is supported by a 2009 Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund award. Additional support has been provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the New Generations Program administered by Theatre Communications Group.

The Team

HERE has been a premier arts organization in NYC and a leader in the field of new, hybrid performance work since 1993. Under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Kristin Marting and Producing Director Kim Whitener, HERE has served over 12,000 emerging to mid-career artists developing work that does not fit a conventional programming agenda. Work presented at HERE has garnered 14 OBIE awards, including the 2009 Ross Wetzsteon Award, an OBIE grant for artistic achievement, five Drama Desk nominations, four NY Innovative Theatre Awards, an Edwin Booth Award and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. HERE proudly supports artists at all stages in their careers through full productions, artist residency programs, festivals and subsidized performance and rehearsal space. Work at HERE is curated based on the strength and uniqueness of the artist’s vision.  HERE’s Artist Residency Program (HARP) provides development, commissions and full production for 15-18 artists over one-to-three years. HERE is located at 145 Sixth Avenue, one block below Spring Street. For more info, http://visit www.here.org.

Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Long Beach, CA, Tanya Selvaratnam is a producer, writer, actor, and activist. Since 2008, she has also been the Communications and Special Projects Officer for the Rubell Family Collection. Tanya’s productions include BEGINNINGS, an original short film series for the Sundance Channel; Catherine Gund’s WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE? (Berlin International Film Festival premiere; Discovery’s Planet Green broadcast), Chiara Clemente’s OUR CITY DREAMS (Locarno Film Festival premiere; Film Forum run; Sundance Channel broadcast), Jed Weintrob’s ON_LINE (Sundance Film Festival premiere; STARZ broadcast) and THE F WORD (Tribeca Film Festival premiere; IFC broadcast), and Gabri Christa’s DOMINO (Black Filmmakers Foundation Lab). As a theater artist, Tanya has performed around the world in shows by The Wooster Group, The Builders Association, Jay Scheib and many others; appeared in films and video installations by Carrie Mae Weems, John Malpede, Sharon Hayes, Andrea Geyer, David Michalek, and Jennifer Reeves; and been a fellow at Yaddo and Blue Mountain Center. As an activist, she has worked with the Ms. Foundation, World Health Organization, Third Wave Foundation, and Groundswell Community Mural Project. Tanya received her graduate and undergraduate degrees in Chinese language and history from Harvard University.

contact: tanya@here.org

Chiara Clemente is a film director who explores identity, cultural contrast, and the creative process. Her love of art can be traced back to a childhood spent tiptoeing around paintings in her father's studio. After attending film school at Art Center in Pasadena, she directed her first art documentary in 2000 for RAI in Italy. In the following years, Chiara continued to film and collaborate with artists such as Jim Dine, Brice Marden, and Frank Gehry. In 2005, she began filming her first critically-acclaimed tdocumentary, Our City Dreams, which followed the lives and work of five contemporary women artists (Nancy Spero, Marina Abramovic, Kiki Smith, Ghada Amer and Swoon) in New York City. Our City Dreams premiered at the prestigious Film Forum in February 2009, screened in more than 30 cities worldwide, and was broadcast on the Sundance Channel. During this period, Chiara also directed several short films: Curiosity for Saatchi and Saatchi, Remembering Sprouse for T Magazine of The New York Times, and a series of short portrait pieces for Anthropology. Her recent works include Beginnings, an original short film series for the Sundance Channel, the online series Made Here: Performing Artists on Work and Life in New York City and a film with Levi's for their new initiative Shape What's to Come. Chiara is also in the process of developing her first narrative feature.

Karina is a New York-based producer and filmmaker, whose projects include an original web series, an interactive online documentary series, promos, how-to videos, and event videography. She has produced, shot, and edited videos for Howcast.com, Downtown Community Television, 13 Playwrights Inc., EmcArts, art.party.theater.company, and is the Associate Producer of "Flag Football," a feature documentary about the journey of four teams in the National Gay Flag Football League to Gay Bowl X. Currently, Karina is the Online Cultural Producer at EmcArts, Inc.  Prior to joining EmcArts, she was a producer for Season One of the documentary series "MADE HERE: Performing Artists on Work and Life" for HERE, where she also served as General Manager/Associate Producer from 2008 to 2011. Prior to HERE, Karina served as General Manager for 13 Playwrights, Inc., Management Associate for Liz McCann/Tony Awards Productions, and Producing Assistant for Carole Shorenstein Hays Productions. Karina has an MFA in Theater Management and Producing from Columbia University, where she wrote her thesis on the strategic use of online tools and technologies for arts organizations. She holds a BA from Harvard College.

Editor: Russ Greene
Theme Song: Reggie Watts
Additional Music: Moby

SEASON TWO ONLY
Assistant Producer: Erin Taylor Kennedy
Camera: Frank Stanley
Sound Mixer: David Pruger, Jarett Livingston
Assistant Editor: Erin Taylor Kennedy
Website Manager: Matthew de Leon
Research & Outreach Associate: Cassie Wagler

SEASON ONE ONLY
Camera: Miklos Buk, Theo Stanley
Sound Mixer: David Pruger, Michael Reilly, Christopher Reifeiss
Assistant Editor: Cat Tyc, Kelly Bray
Production Interns: Debby Brand, Brian Bauman

Art Direction & Design
Open
New York, NY

Design & Production
Rich Watts
Brooklyn, NY

Featuring

SEASON TWO: Jen Abrams, Kahlil Almustafa, Thomas Bradshaw, John Collins, Brendan Coyle, Amanda Curtis, Dana Edell, Oskar Eustis, Miguel Gutierrez, Joan Jonas, Aaron Landsman, Elizabeth LeCompte, Young Jean Lee, Kate D. Levin, Sheila Lewandowski, Abby Marcus, Qui Nguyen, Brian Rogers, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, Steven Sapp, Betty Shamieh, Black-Eyed Susan, Chandra Thomas, Basil Twist, Kate Valk, Reggie Watts, Natasha Williams, Caroline Woolard


SEASON ONE: Moe Angelos, Arthur Aviles, Jess Barbagallo, Anne Bogart, Wally Cardona, Hai-Ting Chinn, Ping Chong Gabri Christa, Chinese Theatre Works, Toni Dove, Yehuda Duenyas, James Tigger! Ferguson, Kuang-Yu Fong Ximena Garnica, Roselee Goldberg, Ain Gordon, David Gordon, Miranda Hardy, Mikéah Ernest Jennings, Melanie Joseph, Ben Kerrick, Mari Kimura, Peter Ksander, Taylor Mac, Kristin Marting, Jennifer Miller, Paul D. Miller, Shige Moriya, Julie Atlas Muz, Erin Orr, Vernon Reid, Laine Rettmer, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Rokafella Elizabeth Streb, Valda Setterfield, Xiaojun Song, Charlie Todd, Kate Valk, Marianne Weems, Jennifer Wright Cook, Ying Zhang

 

Partner Organizations

A.R.T./New York
Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance

Brooklyn Arts Council
Brooklyn Arts Exchange

The Chocolate Factory

Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island

The Field

Harlem Arts Alliance

LaGuardia Performing Arts Center

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

New York Theater Workshop

Queens Council on the Arts

Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden

Academic Advisory Council

Anne Bogart
Thomas Bradshaw
Una Chaudhuri
Elinor Fuchs
Roselee Goldberg

Frank Hentschker
Jay Scheib
Mac Wellman

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Contact

 

info@madehereproject.org

 

HERE
145 Sixth Ave
New York, NY 10013

212-647-0202

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Support

MADE HERE needs your support so we can continue capturing the lives of performing artists. Every donation helps us expand the project to more issues, episodes, artists, contributors, and audiences.

DONATE

For questions or information on corporate sponsorship, contact info@madehereproject.org.

MADE HERE is supported by a 2009 Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund award.

Issue:

Identity

episode 3: Institutions

Arts institutions and artists reflect on and benefit each other. For artists, working with companies, troupes and organizations is a way to gain resources and structure. Institutions form their own identities through their choice of artists and material and through their ability to connect artists and audiences. By developing partnerships, artists and institutions carve out space, funding, and support for the creation of new work. 

View all Episodes

Resources:

News

Technology in the Arts: Building Audience Diversity through Social Media

How technology can be used in the arts as a marketing strategy to diversify audiences.

Whither the Political Theatre?

An article from Culturebot.org about whether, these days, theatre is failing to be politically active.

Suzan-Lori Parks Interview

A recorded interview by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education with African American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks.

Black Theatre is Blighted by its Ghetto Mentality

An article in the Evening Standard by Lindsay Johns discussing whether black theatre in Britain needs to diversity itself.

‘Can We Tell It Like It Really Happened?’: On Race and ‘The Scottsboro Boys’

Reflections on the racial politics of the Broadway play “The Scottsboro Boys,” which closed in December 2010 amidst protests and low box office numbers.

A Free Man of Color’s Jeffrey Wright on Why Some White Playwrights Have Trouble Tackling Race

A New York Magazine interview with actor Jeffrey Wright on addressing racial issues in theatre, and his latest role in ‘A Free Man of Color.’

Is theatre run by posh people for posh people?

From The Guardian blog, a look at a heated conversation taking place in the blogosphere on class and contemporary theatre.

Mexican? American? Call Her Writer

Tanya Saracho’s success writing plays about Latino culture has earned her acclaim and opportunities to explore wider themes for more diverse audiences.

New Gay Theatre is more about love stories than politics

New York Times article on how new plays feature gay characters and relationships, but avoid social politics.

Bohemian Soul Mates in Obscurity

Review of Patti Smith’s memoir "Just Kids" – the story of Smith’s early years as an artist and her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe.

Taking Her Art Seriously, Not Herself

Judi Dench’s new autobiography "and furthermore" discusses the actress’ longevity and dedication to her craft.

Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above

From the New York Times RACE REMIXED series: a rise in a multiracial identity among young Americans.

Black and White and Married in the Deep South: A Shifting Image

From the New York Times RACE REMIXED series: a increase in interracial couples and mixed-race families living in the Deep South.

Counting by Race Can Throw Off Some Numbers

From the New York Times RACE REMIXED series: difficulty and inconsistency in using race to determine funding and resources.

Is Theatre Elitist?

A blog in the Guardian about whether experimental theatre is failing to appeal to 'regular' people.

Theatre, cultural identity and the critic

Cultural identity, funding, and the role of the critic in Welsh theatre.

Should theatre critics be more diverse?

From the Guardian blog, a new initiative in England to create more diversity among theatre critics.

Organizations

Ballet Hispanico

Professional dance company and school in New York City. Ballet Hispanico showcases the work of Hispanic choreographers, performs Hispanic dance, and educates and trains young people in its own school and the NYC public schools.

viBe theatre experience

viBe Theater Experience (viBe) is a non-profit performing arts/education organization that empowers teenage girls through the creation and production of original performances.

BRAVA! for Women in the Arts

BRAVA! Theatre is a multicultural, feminist performing arts center located in San Fransisco.

Guerilla Girls

Feminist activists and artists who use performance and culture jamming to advocate for the equality of women and people of color in the arts.

League of Professional Theatre Women

A not-for-profit organization that seeks to promote visibility and increase opportunities for women in theatre.

New Georges

An award winning downtown venue producing plays by women.

Split Britches

Split Britches is a Lesbian Feminist Theatre Company. Since 1980 they have 'transformed the landscape of queer performance with their vaudevillian satirical gender-bending performance.'

WOW Cafe

NYC based WOW Cafe started as an international women's theatre festival in 1980 and continues to produce performances written and directed by women.

NYC up and OUT!

A resource for GLBT arts and culture events in New York City.

Asian American Arts Alliance

Support and funding for Asian American artists in New York City.

Asian American Arts Centre

New York City based organization that promotes and documents Asian American arts through education, archiving, and exhibitions.

Ma-Yi Theatre Company

The Ma-Yi Theatre Company produces new work by Asian American playwrights.

National Asian American Theatre Company

NAATCO produces work by Asian-American playwrights, and work featuring predominately Asian-American casts.

American Indian Arts Inc.

New York City based AMERINDA supports American Indian visual, performing and literary artists.

Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Education Center

Clemente Soto Velez is a Latino and Puerto Rican cultural arts center on Lower East Side. They are home to sixteen performing arts and educational groups -- including multiple theatre and dance companies.

National Alliance of Latino Arts and Culture

Based in San Antonio, TX, The National Alliance of Latino Arts and Culture is an advocacy organization for Latino artists.

Repertorio Espanol

New York City based Repertorio Espanol produces plays in Spanish from Latin American, Spanish and Hispanic-American playwrights.

Alvin Ailey Dance

Alvin Ailey is a professional modern dance company and school in New York City. They are internationally renowned and maintain a special focus on African-American dance expression.

Blackout Arts Collective

With seven chapters nation-wide, the Blackout Arts Collective works to empower communities of color through the arts.

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!)

BAAD! is a workshop and performance space located in the South Bronx. It highlights new work by a diverse group of artists and performers.

The Point

The Point is a Community Center in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. They have extensive performing arts programming for youth -- including classes in theatre, dance and circus arts.

Los Angeles Poverty Department

Since 1985 the Los Angeles Poverty Department has been creating performances about the experiences of people living in poverty in Los Angeles’ Skid Row.

QuestFest

A theatre festival in Washington D.C. that presents the best in international visual theatre.

Research

Defining Diversity

A discussion of diversity from 20 leaders across the field of theatre.

National Guidance Research Form

A selection of data on representation of individuals working in the arts, including the performing arts.

Biography.com - The Harlem Renaissance

An interactive online resource on the artists and history of the Harlem Renaissance. Great for use in the classroom.

Report on the Status of Women: A Limited Engagement?

A report on the status of women in theatre based on a three-year study from the Theatre Program of the New York State Council on the Arts. Statistic, historical, anecdotal, and analytical data, plus recommendations for how to support women in the field.

Season 2 Episode Feedback

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What did you think about the episodes?

Jump to most recent entry
  • Pete McCabe said:

    “in creating art one get’s the benefit of being looked at, but also the responsability of telling the truth”  Someone much smarter than me said that.
    In the short story Hellscreen, it shows what someone is willing to do to tell that truth as he sees it.  It ends up killing him.  I don’t think you have to die to tell the truth, but its personal toll can have ramifications far beyond one’s expectations; even to the disolution of the self.  Creating art is about more than not being paid well.  What “truth” is… is seemingly undefinable.

    03/05 - 10:40 AM

  • Gabriela Poma said:

    Am just getting through the new videos. Wonderful and so inspiring. This angle: the daily life of an artist.  No one gets to see the difficulty, the hard work, they things given up for art. And to get a glimpse at the intimate parts of their lives is such a privilege.

    03/13 - 07:32 PM

  • laura peterson said:

    About labels and identity: Young Jean Lee’s comment was really gratifying and made me think that a label can be something one earns. It can reflect an amount of discipline and focus in one’s work that leads to a title. Playwright. Choreographer. Whatever it is, which is not to say that it cannot be a blend or a new term, but that it can have weight and purpose and structure.

    03/29 - 01:56 PM

  • Soon-Young Yoon said:

    Love the trailer for the madehere project. Looking forward to more…so important a contribution to history.

    04/06 - 05:05 PM

  • Cheri Magid said:

    I have been loading up on watching made here and am totally addicted. It’s so reassuring to hear others talk of the same things that you deal with and encouraging to see the ways different people live as artists.

    04/06 - 05:06 PM

  • Alex Zafiris said:

    I watched the latest Made Here series. I love the new categorization themes—identity, labels… such a great idea.

    04/06 - 05:08 PM

  • Ximena said:

    I don’t see myself as"exploiting myself because I accept low pay or nor pay” My set of values in relationship with my art lies in other places far away from the values applied to the basic needs I must attend as an individual in this society.

    05/02 - 12:57 PM

  • Howardleaten said:

    well trevor here is there contact info , they have 15% discount now, mention Howard give you there number

    05/15 - 02:35 PM

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Your comment:

your stories:

Share your story
  • Do you consider yourself an artist? If so, how important is that identity to you?
  • Have labels helped you define who you are? Do you feel limited by the labels others assign to you?
  • From Susan Kirschbaum:

    Fiction writer and journalist Susan Kirschbaum answers the question: “Are people encouraged to be artists in our society?”

  • From John Bielecki:

    Dancer John Bielecki answers the question: “Are people encouraged to be artists in our society?”

  • From Claude Grunitzky:

    Journalist entrepreneur Claude Grunitzky discusses the role of artists in our society.

  • From Ceallaigh Pender:

    Ceallaigh Pender works in sculpture and other visual and performing arts. She answers the question: “Are people encouraged to be artists in our society?”

  • From Tanya Minhas:

    Children clothing designer Tanya Minhas answers the question “Are artists supported in our society?”

  • From Lynn Lobell:

    Lynn Lobell is the Managing Director of the Queens Council on the Arts. Here she discusses artist identity and institutional support.

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Welcome to the first issue of Season 2! This month, MADE HERE explores the importance of identity in the performing arts. We hear about how many made the decision to be an artist and when they first realized they were one. We hear about how some deal with the labels that are projected onto them and how they address labels in their own work. Finally, we hear about how institutions shape their identity and how artists form their identity either with or without institutional support.

The three episodes for this issue are: Artist (March 1), Labels (March 8), and Institutions (March 15).

There will be a public screening and discussion on Identity co-hosted with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council on Monday, March 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 14 Wall Street, The Vault. 

Discussion Topics

      
  • Season 2 Episode Feedback
  •   
  • Artist ID
  •   
  • Institutions
  •   
  • Your Identity
  •   

Resources

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Your stories

  • Do you consider yourself an artist? If so, how important is that identity to you?
  • Have labels helped you define who you are? Do you feel limited by the labels others assign to you?