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MISSION
NEW YORK COLLECTIVE FOR THE ARTS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create programs in the arts
that provide opportunities for the development of talent and promotion of artistic culture in New York.
ABOUT US
Our members are diverse individuals who have the common goal of providing artists a platform for their work through events and collaborations with NEW YORK COLLECTIVE.
Founded in 2004 by Wayne Kasserman, Scott Hirsch, David Bunde, Berns Rothchild, and Noah Schankler
and proudly supported by a hard-working NYCOLLECTIVE CREW, we operate as a team, passionately and wholeheartedly,
and are dedicated to making an impact in the arts.
HISTORY
The seed that became New York Collective
for the Arts was planted in January of 2004 when Wayne Kasserman returned to speak at
his high school's career day. Speaking to young artists about his journey to becoming
a professional actor caused him to reflect on the opportunities and mentors he had
collected along the way that had contributed to his success. He realized that
providing platforms and support to other artists was going to be a part of his
artistic ambitions, but he needed some help in realizing his dream.
It wasn't until Wayne teamed up with Scott Hirsch in February 2004
and David Bunde and Berns Rothchild in Spring 2004 that the organization
took shape, becoming a living entity. Together they developed the companies' mission;
to counteract the lack of opportunities and funding for emerging artists.
The vision resonated within their artistic community, and with Noah Schankler
joining the company in June of 2004 to solidify the corporate ranks, a dedicated
group of members assembled to work out logistics. Corinna Barsan, Andy Bates,
Andrea Blau, Earl Bovell, Jessica Carter, Joelle Carter, Rachel Flax, Angelina Gorman,
Gibson Knott, Scott Reiburn, and Alexis Savino provided the fuel that finally brought
about a company that seemed to always exist.
NEW YORK COLLECTIVE FOR THE ARTS was formed.
SEASON RECAP
Summer 2004 was highlighted with our first event: a Summer Theatre Festival
at the Hostetter Center in Martinsville, NJ. The 10 +2 TEN
MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL brought together 37 playwrights, actors,
directors and designers for a two-day workshop followed by a staged-reading
performance of 12 debut plays. The weekend was an important stepping-stone for NYCOLLECTIVE.
Our official FIRST SEASON began in June 2005 with 2ND ANNUAL the sophomore follow-up
to what we envisioned as a long-running Ten-Minute Play Festival. And then in September we dropped
in September was anOTHER T.SHIRT COMPETITION, a NYC-based exhibition and limited-edition sale
of "work of art" t-shirts created by designers and artists from across the world.
The event was a huge success and as result of the recognition and press we received,
opportunities began to open up for us.
But before we could tackle the kinds of projects we dreamed
of bringing out, NYCollective was up for some internal overhauling
and restructuring. We said goodbye to some founding members, formed a new literary division,
and appointed key producers to help drive our ambitious program of projects forward.
And so after months of intense preparation and a stronger sense of identity and mission,
our SECOND SEASON opened in March of 2006 with the premiere of our literary-arts magazine: COLLECTANEA*.
Featuring bright new talent, artist interviews, and audio/mixed-media platforms, COLLECTANEA*
was our 21st century interpretation of the classic literary journal spliced with
a heavy dose of the arts. Our first FILA + NYCOLLECTIVE collaboration, Artists Play Too: Limited Edition T-Shirt Series,
launched in April 2006 with a blow-out opening night party at the flagship FILA store
in NYC. And then in July 2006, we returned with our reinvented and expanded Ten-Minute Play Festival,this
time bringing the show to our home turf (NYC!) for four sold out performances.
We closed the season in August with an end-of-summer bash at the FILA story to celebrate the
second leg of our project: Artists Play Two T-Shirt Series. And with that finale, we retreated to recharge
our batteries and chart the upcoming year at NYCOLLECTIVE.
In early 2007, NYCOLLECTIVE decided to focus on one project for the year, the 4th Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival. Presented in late July at the Dimson Theater at Union Square, NYCOLLECTIVE once again wowed the NYC theatre crowds, with original provocative short plays based around IOWA and the upcoming 2008 election.
All good things must come to an end and as fast as it was born, in early 2008 the decision to retire the NYCA from the NYC art scene was made. A tough choice no doubt for the passionate people behind this project, but one that was made with great care.
But who knows, maybe we'll come back for a revival and take the art world by storm again . . . Until then, if you're feeling nostalgic, you can re-visit some of our past projects on this site and reminisce about the great times that went down.
NEW YORK COLLECTIVE FOR THE ARTS
Wayne Kasserman, Executive Director
Noah Schankler, Managing Director
Scott Hirsch, Chairman of the Board
NYCOLLECTIVE THEATRE
Gibson Knott, co-Artistic Director
Wayne Kasserman, co-Artistic Director
Arin Arbus, Artistic Associate
Mercedes Murphy, Artistic Associate
Mark Schneider, Artistic Associate
COLLECTANEA*
C.K. Barsan, co-Founding Editor
Cy Tom, co-Founding Editor
Gena Hamshaw, Sr. Editor
Brooke Delaney, Editor & Dir. of Reading Series
Shawn Fagan, Copy Editor
Nathan Hunt, Contributing Editor
Lizzy Cooper Davis, Producer & Dir. of Audio Content
NYCOLLECTIVE DESIGN
Corrente Schankler, co-Creative Director
Wayne Kasserman, co-Creative Director
Dan Covert/Andre Andreev - Dresscode, Art Directors
Gary Nadeau, Writer/Director
Gibson Knott, Producer
D.C. Dominguez
Nathan Hunt
NYCA MEMBER SUPPORT
Andy Bates
Andrea Blau
Earl Bovell
Josh Barrett
Dominick Cattarina
Jessica Carter
Joelle Carter
Angela Chen
Brooke Delaney
Brett Egan
Shawn Fagan
Rachel Flax
Darren Greenblatt
Angelina Gorman
Albert Jones
Greg Keller
Brad Raider
Scott Reiburn
James Roday
Alexis Savino
Advisory Board:
To Be Announced
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