Dixon Place, a home for performing and literary artists, is dedicated to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theater, dance and literature at various stages of development. An artistic laboratory with an audience, we serve as a safety net, enabling artists to present challenging and questioning work that pushes the limits of artistic expression. With a warm, nurturing atmosphere that encourages and inspires artists of all stripes and persuasions, we place special emphasis on the needs of women, people of color, youth, seniors and lesbian/gay artists. The artist's experience is given top priority through our professional atmosphere and remuneration, and their process is enhanced through the reaction of our adventurous audiences. Dixon Place is a local haven for creativity as well as an international model for the open exploration of the process of creation. Dixon Place is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 to provide a space for literary and performing artists to create and develop new works in front of a live audience. While other venues of its kind have since died off, or now only present established artists, Dixon Place remains at the heart of the New York experimental performance scene. Taking risks is crucial to the life of Dixon Place, its artists and audiences. Dixon Place's primary commitments are to bring artists and audiences together through live performance in order to expand the understanding of the creative process and its final product, and to provide a supportive environment for emerging artists to present new work. Over the last sixteen years, Dixon Place has successfully maintained its intimate atmosphere and unique environment while increasing its programming to fulfill the need for performance opportunities for the New York community of performing and literary artists. For these artists, the only way to experiment and test ideas, is to perform them before an audience: to feel the reaction of a live group of people, without the pressures of production costs and premature press exposure. Dixon Place has grown out of a direct need for more support of the artistic process. In spite of the growing visibility of performance art, it is still difficult for emerging artists to find venues in which to test new ideas and performance techniques. The financial and professional risks for producers or presenters are too high. Dixon Place, therefore, provides an organization that facilitates these artistic experiments. Dixon Place provides free rehearsal space, bulk mailing of our calendars to artists mailing lists, technical assistance, and video documentation. In 1989, Ellie Covan, founding director, was a recipient of a Bessie, a New York Dance and Performance Award, for her service to the community; and Dixon Place received a Village Voice Obie Grant Award in 1990 and 1999. Additionally, in 1999, Dixon Place was awarded an Edwin Booth Award for Excellence in Theater. Open Channels NY, Inc. was founded in New York in 1982 by playwright Michael Slattery, director/composer Jim Fritzler, and performer/ director Ellie Covan, as an organization dedicated to fostering the development of visual, literary, and performing artists. From 1982 to 1985 Open Channels developed and produced a number of experimental theater projects. Through its sponsorship of Dixon Place, Open Channels provides a supportive venue for emerging and established artists to develop new work and seeks to build new audiences for this work. Dixon Place has at the heart of its mission the strong commitment to nurture artists during the process involved in the development of new work. |
