In parks, on streets, along canals, beside oceans, online and in person, Artichoke Dance inspires and transforms individuals and communities. This past year we shared our performance work in the Open Streets program, providing free pop up dances on streets in NYC, in the EcoCity Pageant produced by Earth Celebrations, and with the revival of our Immersive Performance Tours of Gowanus, highlighting the rapid changes occurring in the area and envisioning a resilient future as part of the Brooklyn Utopias Along the Canal exhibition co-sponsored by Arts Gowanus and the Old Stone House. In January, despite the state of Covid-19, which feels like ions away, we created a space to share our work through virtual viewing parties that you can watch here.
Dancers Liz Hepp and Sawyer Newsome engage audiences in the Brooklyn Utopias Performance Tour.
A big development this year is the Artichoke Ambassadors program, which launched in the summer following a year of planning and building. Through this program we’re mentoring the next generation of eco-artist activists across the country, providing tools, skills and strategies needed to effectively implement this intersectional work designed for impact and change making. We’ve graduated two cohorts who developed six unique projects and we’re building a network of artist activists across the country.
In the spring, we returned to work in educational institutions. Through a residency with Williams College, we introduced students to our eco performance activism approach and aided them in devising their own eco arts projects and activist interventions.
This year we also continued to share methods of using movement to model environmental justice principles at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Social Justice Day of Learning and the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable conference, reaching educators and administrators. We were featured in the Climate Check podcast with an episode devoted to our work focusing on plastic pollution and upcycling, and in the Arts.Work.Life podcast talking about pay equity in the performing arts. Director Lynn Neuman gave the Earthday keynote address at Youngstown State University, sharing Artichoke Dance’s intersectional work in performance innovation, environmental advocacy, community building and civic action.
There is alot planned for the next year. Here’s a sneak preview of what coming up in 2023.
Showcase performances at the APAP conference: January 13 & 15
Creation Residency: March 13-18
Artichoke Ambassador’s Spring Module: March 18-April 15, 2023
Texas A&M Residency: April 17-21
Premiere of new work: April 22
Artichoke Ambassador’s Summer Intensive: To be announced
Summer Performance Tours: To be announced
Artichoke Ambassador’s Fall Module: To be announced
Dancers Aidan Feldman and Malinda Crump performing in East River Park in Manhattan.
While Artichoke Dance continues to delight audiences, we are also intensifying our ecological activism and education, research and advocacy, community building and empowerment. We cannot do this work without you. Please consider supporting our expanding work with a year end contribution. 20% of our work is enabled by individual donations and we rely on your generosity.
$75 sponsors a dancer in a rehearsal
$150 provides an Artichoke Ambassadors scholarship
$300 supports a guide for an immersive performance tour
$600 creates a new video for sharing our work more widely
$1200 underwrites an Artichoke Ambassadors workshop
$2500 sponsors an outdoor public performance
We are grateful for support at all levels.