Black Artists Space to Create

The 2021/2022 Black Artists Space to Create Residency artists are
Ama Ma’at Gora, Kayla Hamilton, and Nile Harris

About the Residency

The Black Artists Space to Create Residency is a project offering three Black artists a residency at Modern Accord Depot, NY. The 2021-2022 recipients are Ama Ma’at Gora, Kayla Hamilton and Nile Harris. Each artists will receive a one-week residency with unlimited access to a dance studio and full living space. Residency schedules are determined by the individual needs of the artists, who also receive a stipend of $2,000. New Dance Alliance (NDA) offers this space for resting, dancing, creating, healing, grieving, laughing, and breathing. There is no expectation of production and artists do not have to present new work at the end of this residency. Additionally, the artists have access to complimentary studio space at NDA’s loft throughout the 2022 season. The artists were selected by a BASC Committee consisting of Janeill Cooper, Remi Harris, Annie Heath, Angie Pittman, and Anh Vo.

The residency project was created in response to current movements within the dance community and the movements they are building upon. As an artist services organization and presenter, NDA has been guided by the core question: What does it mean to center and support Black artists in this field? NDA understands the stark reality that Black people are currently navigating not one, but two pandemics: one is new, and one is 400 years old. Covid-19 and racism are both disproportionately affecting Black life. In light of this, “we wish to radically reimagine what it means to serve Black artists right now and to do so in the specific spirit of reparations,” says NDA Board President Fernando Maneca. “We call in abundance as we reimagine modes of leadership and hand over the keys to Black artists as a way to confront the scarcity mindset currently afflicting non-profit organizations.”

2020/21 BASC artist, Angie Pittman

Angie Pittman helped conceive the residency project.

“While we are honored to offer this residency program, we understand that the ideas around it are not new and not ours,” says Pittman. “As a Black artist working with a white-led organization, I want to make sure we credit the countless Black, femme scholars, and activists who have called for the equitable payment of Black folks. I also want to call attention to how Black artists have historically shaped our nation’s imagination, language, and humanity so we want to use this residency as a way to value and amplify that tremendous work.”

Previous BASC artists

• 2020/2021: Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Leslie Cuyjet, and Angie Pittman

Press

• New Dance Alliance Announces 2022 Black Artists Space To Create Residency Artists [PDF] in Broadway World, 10/29/21
• All Her Life Studies: A Downtown Dancer Finds Her Voice [PDF] in The New York Times, 5/30/21
• A Space for Black Dance Artists to Create in the Hudson Valley [PDF] in The New York Times, 8/14/20
• Today’s Dance Edit: A new residency for Black dance artists [PDF] in The Dance Edit newsletter, 8/17/20
• The New Dance Alliance Board, Advisory Board & Staff Announce the Launch of the Black Artists Space to Create Residency [PDF] in The Dance Enthusiast 8/19/20
• The New Dance Alliance Board announce the launch of the Black Artists Space to Create Residency [PDF] in Charmaine Warren 8/19/20
• New Dance Alliance names Angie Pittman as Residency Director [PDF] in Charmaine Warren 8/19/20
• News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in August 2020 [PDF] in Dance Magazine 9/4/20

This project receives support from the Bernstein Family Fund, Harkness Foundation for Dance, and generous donations from many individuals.

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