A project of HERE
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 website has far exceeded initial projections by producing double the number of seasons (4 instead of 2) and by reaching more than triple our expected viewership (35,000 unique viewers instead of 10,000).”
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. Season Two rolled out from March through July 2011 with 28 additional artists and three episodes each month on: Identity, Creative Practice, Money, Lifework, and Home. Season Three (May through July 2013) and Four (September through November 2013) added 25 additional artists and three episodes each month on: Art & Commerce, Criticism, Health, Gender & Sexuality, Influences, and Staying or Going. The 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 issue is accompanied by a monthly live screening and panel event. MADE HERE is supported by a 2009 Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund award with renewed funding for Seasons Three and Four. Additional support was provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the New Generations Program administered by Theatre Communications Group.
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.
Kristin Marting is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of HERE and a director of hybrid work based in NYC. At HERE, she cultivates artists and programs all events for two performance spaces for an annual audience of 30,000. Under her leadership, HERE has garnered 16 OBIE awards, 2 OBIE grants for artistic achievement, an Edwin Booth Award, five Drama Desk nominations, two Berrilla Kerr Awards, four NY Innovative Theatre Awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. She was recently named a nytheatre.com Person of the Year and honored with a BAX10 Award. She lectures at various universities and serves on grant panels for various agencies. She graduated from NYU with honors in 1988.
Kim Whitener joined HERE as Producing Director in February 2007. She works in partnership with Artistic Director Kristin Marting to co-curate and co-produce HERE’s performance programs and activities. HERE supports the work of mid-career artists working in hybrid forms through commissions, developmental activities, and fully produced works as part of the HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP), and presents Visiting Artist works through its presenting programs. Ms. Whitener has also been an independent producer working with a diverse range of artists in the contemporary theater, dance-theater, and multi-media worlds, including The Builders Association, Big Dance Theater, Martha Clarke, among others. Previously, Ms. Whitener was Managing Director of The Wooster Group.
Tanya Selvaratnam is a producer, writer, theater artist, and activist. Since 2008, she has also been the Communications and Special Projects Officer for the Rubell Family Collection. Recent film productions include Mickalene Thomas’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, Catherine Gund’s WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?, Chiara Clemente’s OUR CITY DREAMS and the Webby Award-winning BEGINNINGS. 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; been a fellow at Yaddo and Blue Mountain Center; and a guest actor at New Dramatists, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Voice & Vision Theater, and the Institute on Arts and Civic Dialogue. As an activist, she has worked with the World Health Organization, Ms. Foundation, NGO Forum on Women, Third Wave Foundation, and Groundswell Community Mural Project. Her book, THE BIG LIE, is forthcoming from Prometheus Books in Winter 2014. about.me/tselvar
contact: tanya@here.org
Chiara Clemente is a film director who explores identity, cultural contrast, and the creative process. In 2000 she directed her first art documentary for RAI in Italy. Chiara continued to film and collaborate with artists, and in 2005, she started making her first feature documentary, Our City Dreams, following five women artists (Nancy Spero, Marina Abramovic, Kiki Smith, Ghada Amer and Swoon) who live and work in New York City. Critically-acclaimed, Our City Dreams premiered at New York City’s Film Forum in February 2009, screened in more than 30 cities worldwide, and was broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Since making her feature Chiara has directed for Saatchi and Saatchi, T Magazine of The New York Times, Levi’s, Apple, Wieden + Kennedy and Persol. Most recently she has created and directed two seasons of Beginnings, an original short film series for the Sundance Channel, which won a Webby Award in 2012. www.chiaraclemente.com
Russell Greene is a New York film editor of seven feature films as well as numerous commercials, short films and promotional videos. His most recent films include Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (Venice Film Festival and SXSW) and Ordinary Miracles: New York’s Photo League. In addition to editing, he also wrote and directed the short film Easy Street, winner of six awards for Best Short Film on the 2012 festival circuit. He served as First Assistant Editor on several additional films including the Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning The Betrayal and the Sundance Award-winning Patti Smith: Dream of Life. He is currently editing a feature doc on the legendary Coney Island restaurant Nathan’s Famous. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.
Heather Greene is a New York-based producer that works in Feature and Documentary Film, Television, and Live Events. She has been a part of numerous and varied projects such as the live shows and film projects of Fischerspooner and Vanessa Beecroft, Vice’s “Guide To Travel”, the television series "How's Your News?”, the Sundance web series "Beginnings", and documentary features “Of All The Things” and “What’s On Your Plate?” to name just a few. Heather lives with her husband and two sons in Brooklyn, NY.
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.
SEASONS THREE AND FOUR ONLY
Camera: Omar Mullick
Assistant Camera: Jorge Arzac
Sound Mixer: Richard Levengood, Joshua Tucker, Coleman Wenner
Assistant Editor: Erin Taylor Kennedy
Trailer and Graphics: Alex Meillier and Tanya Ager Meillier
Website Manager: Trevor Martin
Research & Outreach Associate: Kelsey Ryan
Theme Song: Sxip Shirey
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
Theme Song: Reggie Watts
Additional Music: Moby
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
Theme Song: Reggie Watts
Additional Music: Moby
Art Direction & Design
Open
New York, NY
Design & Production
Rich Watts
Brooklyn, NY
SEASON FOUR: Joey Arias, Arthur Aviles, Eisa Davis, Mohammed Fairouz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill T Jones, Cherry Jones, Mia Katigbak, Lisa Kron, Ethan Lipton, Carolina Penafiel, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Sxip Shirey, Elizabeth Streb, Clyde Vanletin, Reggie Watts
SEASON THREE: Joey Arias, Arthur Aviles, Eisa Davis, Mohammed Fairouz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill T Jones, Cherry Jones, Mia Katigbak, Lisa Kron, Ethan Lipton, Carolina Penafiel, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Sxip Shirey, Elizabeth Streb, Clyde Vanletin, Reggie Watts
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
A.R.T./New York
Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance
Bronx Council on the Arts
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
Joe's Pub
Queens Council on the Arts
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
Anne Bogart
Thomas Bradshaw
Una Chaudhuri
Boo Froebel
Elinor Fuchs
Roselee Goldberg
Frank Hentschker
Jay Scheib
Mac Wellman
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.
For questions or information on corporate sponsorship, contact info@madehereproject.org.
MADE HERE is supported by a 2009 Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund award.
For the issue of Day & Night Jobs, MADE HERE explores performing artists and the myriad things they have to do to support their art.
Specific employment-related data about performing artists are scarce, but we refer to 2000 U.S. Census data and the 2008 NEA report on Artists in the Workforce. Artists are twice as likely to have earned a college degree as other members of the U.S. labor force, though they receive relatively less financial compensation for their educational level. Artists are 3.5 times more likely to be self-employed than the average worker. Underemployment is common in the arts, with one-third of artists working part-time; actors, dancers, and musicians experience high seasonal unemployment. The median annual income of artists is $30,000 – $6,000 less than that of other “professional” workers; dancers have the lowest median annual income—$15,000. Artists struggle to make ends meet and live below the standards of the rest of the American workforce. Despite the challenges, artists have a strong desire to create and innovate.
The three episodes for this issue are: My Other Jobs, Artist Teachers, and Creating Opportunities.
Click for relevant news, organizations, and research.
What has been your favorite/strangest “other” job and why? Interview your boss! Why does he/she employ artists and how do artists contribute to the workplace?
Submit a resourceWhen the members of Chinese Theatre Works had a hard time juggling jobs and rehearsals, they took matters into their own hands. Now, with one member owning her own small business, the companies’ artists have an understanding boss and the flexibility to balance their work and art.
The New York Times looks at how artists around the country are creatively reacting to the recession. The online version of the article includes multimedia slide shows and videos.
A Survey Shows Pain of Recession for ArtistsThis New York Times article from November 2009 outlines a new survey of American artists and how they are weathering the economic downturn. Statistics include the finding that 18% of artists said their income had dropped 50% or more within the last year.
May unemployment statistics show a drop in unemployment from 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent. Most new hiring was in government jobs with only a small amount of non-government hiring.
Public Theater and Dramatists Guild Reach New Royalty AgreementThe Public Theater and the Dramatists Guild have reached a new agreement on subsidiary rights, which will allow playwrights to keep a larger portion of the royalties generated by their work.
Dropping of ‘Law & Order’ Leaves Hole in EconomyRecent New York Times article on the effect that cancelling ‘Law & Order’ will have on the city’s actors and businesses.
The Unpaid Intern, Legal or NotThe number of unpaid internships has risen in recent years. This article looks at for profit and non-profit internships and the legal issues surrounding them.
How Do You Define 'Artist'?Article from the Huffington Post looks at how we define an artist and the work of artists in America.
Playwrights’ Nurturing Is the Focus of a StudyThis New York Times article from January 2010 looks at the results of the Theater Development Fund study published in the book “Outrageous Fortune.” The study looked at the economics of playwrighting in America.
Five Questions from CULTUREBOTThe arts blog CULTUREBOT.org interviews a wide variety of New York artists and always asks if they have had to make a choice in their life between work and art.
Free searchable listings for full-time, part-time jobs and internships in the arts.
ARTSEARCHMembership only searchable listings of Arts jobs. Memberships start at $40. Run as a service of the Theatre Communications Group.
Free job arts job search on the website of arts magazine ARTINFO.
Playbill Casting & JobsFree searchable listings for jobs in theater.
IdealistFree searchable non-profit job listings. The site also contains resources and interactive programs for those sharing Idealist’s vision of “a world where all people can live free and dignified lives.
Craigslist Jobs ClassifiedsThe king of free online job classifieds, Craigslist has listings for full-time, part-time, and internships in sections including “art/media/design,” “nonprofit sector” and “tv/film/video.”
Association of Teaching ArtistsA non-profit organization that provides advocacy and professional development for New York State based artists who teach in schools and in the community.
Arts Education PartnershipThe Arts Education Partnership provides information and communication about current and emerging arts educational policies, issues and activities at the national, state, and local levels.
Artists Exchange Creative Services for HealthcareAt the Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn artists roll play with the doctors, photograph the neonatal unit, hang visual art in the hallways, in exchange for health care credit. Each hour, that the artist spends providing his/her art, is equal to 40 credits ($40 worth of health care). Credits can be used for any service that the hospital provides.
This National Endowment for the Arts report from 2009 looks at artists in the workforce between 1990 and 2005.
Arts as an Industry: Their Economic Impact on New York City and New York StateThis 2007 report shows that the arts industry has grown as a part of the economic life of New York City and is an integral part of the economy of the entire state of New York.
This manifesto written by the FIM (International Federation of Musicians) and FIA (International Federation of Actors) looks at the status of artists internationally and outlines recommendations for policy change.
Creative New YorkThe Center for an Urban Future's 2005 report "Creative New York" explores the economic contribution of New York's vast creative sector.
Harnessing Brooklyn’s Creative CapitalThe Impact of Self-Employed Creative Professionals on the Borough’s Economy
Culture Builds New York: The Economic Impact of Capital Construction at New York City’s Cultural Institutions, 2003-2010When the cultural institutions of a great city are themselves actively building new and expanded facilitates, it marks a high point of civilization. As this 2009 report shows such is the case in New York City now and for the past two decades.
Asian American Arts NYC ReportReport from September 2009 looking at trends for Asian American artists in NYC.
Dear me—just watched this and the way they edited it made it seem like I was advocating sacrificing your child for your art but just to be clear… all I was saying is if you trust in your art and fully commit to it, I believe your art will provide for you and yours (assuming that’s what you want). This isn’t a new age philosophy. It’s practical. If you quite your survival job you’ll have more time to make your art, promote your art and perform it (get it out there). I’m speaking from experience having had a million survival jobs and one day finally saying, no more! It wasn’t until I fully committed to my art and living a life as an artists (and family member and lover) that I was able to make my living purely as a theater artist. But there were stakes to help kick me in the ass. I didn’t know how I was going to pay my rent so I had to work freaking hard (as it should be) at the making/promoting/performing in order to do it. I think our culture has created and perpetuates a myth that artists can’t make a living doing their art unless their really lucky. But we live in a visual world… so of course a visual artist can make a living making art. We live in a world full of sound… so of course a musician can make a living. We live in a world full of words and ideas so of course a theater artist can make their living making theater.
I think the value of this section (and maybe those that follow) is that it illustrates how everyone makes their own model. So, for instance, while I appreciate Taylor’s advice, I personally couldn’t follow my calling if I didn’t feel like I was providing for my son.
They aren’t mutually exclusive for me. And I need to have both. Even if it means I make fewer projects (but realize them fully).
Taylor - for me there is a kind of Third Way (thank you Bill Clinton? er, anyway). I think quitting crap jobs is always great. I’ve had and quit more than I can count. Because it’s true - the job that makes you wish you were somewhere else eventually takes its toll. BUT, for me there is other stuff I’m interested in doing in the world. Art making is one primary part of it. But so’s teaching, so’s advocacy. And the advantage there is that I make work on my time frame, not a production time frame dictated from without. Now, some artists can work on that external timeline, I just know when I’ve tried to, the work has suffered. So for me, doing work that is meaningful outside my art practice keeps the integrity of my work intact.
You always hear this inspirational message – quit your day job, put everything into your art, just believe, and it will all happen for you—from artists who have some level of success that sustains their work, sustains their careers. It is so rare that that happens, even for artists with talent who work hard and sacrifice everything. The artists I want to hear from are the ones who are 50 years old, gave up everything for their art, worked hard, believed in themselves, but have not achieved any sustainable success. We never hear their stories. We never hear how they manage crushing disappointment, poverty, and despair, combined with all the anxieties that come with aging—lack of income, health, loneliness—that come at that stage of an artist’s life? It seems to me that those would be the more useful stories for young artists to hear.
Made Here project is a fantastic way of creating a community and supporting inspiring infrastructure for NYC Artists, as well as educating other artists, students and academics outwith the city. Genius!
This is a great resource I have emailed the info out to all my students. Fantastic!
I just wanted to say that I have been glued to the website for MADE HERE this past hour. It’s a truly inspiring documentary and fascinating to watch. This work creates an important legacy of what is happening right now and it is a gift to the community. Congratulations to you all.
I really enjoyed the videos, lovely work, witty and funny and I can’t wait to see more.
Congrats on Made Here! It’s really great and fantastically well filmed/produced. I can see that once all of these films are made it will make a more than compelling case for the importance of artists in this city…and why they should be better supported forever!
I saw the first episode today. It’s sooo good!! It’s really exciting to see such an intelligent and well conceived documentary series on NYC theater artists. And I love the theme song.
Great stuff!
Amazing website with the kind of support I need. Keep going guys!
Thanks for providing a great platform to all artists! All artists face the same basic problems at some point in their career, and this website offers valuable advice on balancing a family, finding a space and working in a crap-job in order to supplement your income. Thanks!
very cool….grazie!!!
I love this.
Well made.
Important.
Thanks for adding to the conversation!
I quit my day job to pursue an art career. While I had some moderate success it never lead to anything substantial. After a while of surviving on piecemeal opportunities, I broke down and accepted a job offer. I was so broke at the time I had no real choice. I feel I am no longer the main character in the story of my life. However, even back then I felt I was filled up with helium and let go with nothing to grab before the atmosphere finally swept me away. I know how to work hard, I just don’t know how to push forward. However, I am happy for those who become successful. There is a language for that, I can recognize but not understand.
Thank you both Taylor and Aaron for expanding this discussion! (Sorry folks, my attention span stopped short after the first two comments). As much as financial realism has dominated my life choices, I really appreciate Taylor’s unapologetic ass-whooping! No matter what, to be an artist, and to be an EFFECTIVE artist, takes risk, one of which includes living on the edges of survival. If it weren’t for the urgency & necessity of art, why would we do it? If we were constantly rewarded by capitalism, might we not question our effectiveness at challenging it? However, I do believe in the possibility of having multiple lives. Mine—community organizing & art-making—in constant dialogue, as one person crosses back and forth between the useless borders that divide them. The balance between those two devotions is definitely an important question, but not a prescription. I agree with Taylor in that it’s not enough to simply do what we’re told we must, but to fight to find our own way to do what we KNOW we must, even if it’s hard as hell.
I heard this wretched bitch takilng on the radio once about all the different ways she exploits her fans, like auctioning off shit from her apartment. But I had no idea how truly repulsive she was till now. Thank you Meat Face.She also gets extra demerits for taking Panic at the Gay Bar (during their screamo phase) on tour with the D. Dolls.
here to see the original: Wal*Mart conetnuis its PR failures | New Media and Marketing Categories: Comente1rio, Marketing Tags: angeles, event-staged, firm, Marketing,
It still surprises me, just how many peploe have no idea about Kinovelax Diet Plan (do a search on google), even though a lot of peploe get good result with it. Thanks to my cousin who told me about Kinovelax Diet Plan, I have lost plenty of weight with it without starving myself.
Weird other job was a corporate job at Neilson where for four hours, I was given random TV prime time to watch and I had to tick and time every single piece of product placement during the sports events or reality TV and just general programming and it was most awful and exciting thing at the same time.
My day job is an educator at various different museums in New York City. And the places that I love so much, why not work in that environment?
As an opera singer by night and a administrative assistant by day, Ari Amir’s oddest-job “was a biker in Tel Aviv. I would ride for 9 or 10 hours a day and it’s hot there.”