Related Features
THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Candace Thompson-Zachery on the Vital Role of Dance/NYC in the Future of the Dance Industry
POSTCARDS: William Ervin Explores Self-love in "NARCISSUS," Commissioned by Accent Dance NYC
DANCE NEWS: Dance/NYC Partners with Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy on Newly Launched Araminta Space Grant
The First Grantees: Maria Bauman, of MBDance, and Yahoteh Kokayi, of BK Music Learning
Named after abolitionist and national hero Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross), the Araminta Space Grant Initiative activates Ifetayo’s state-of-the-art studios as a haven for artists and cultural entrepreneurs as they journey towards creative and financial freedom.
The grant initiative will invest more than $60,000 into Brooklyn's local creative economy annually, interrupting the insecurity, displacement, and creative brain-drain that gentrification is imposing across New York City. Inspired by the Quilombos of Brazil, the compounds of Jamaican maroons, and the safe houses of America's Underground Railroad, the Araminta Space Grant Initiative contributes to an unyielding legacy of liberating landscapes.
"As a trailblazing anchor organization in Brooklyn, Ifetayo understands that sustainability for cultural arts education requires sustainability for cultural artists. We are proud and excited that our organization is, at 35 years old, a cultural resource that can be leveraged for investment in the cultural sector as well as education and empowerment for our youth,” says Desirée Gordon, Ifetayo’s new Executive Director. “Long committed to using culture for community development, our space grant initiatives advances Ifetayo’s established practice of driving economic access and equity through programs like our Financial Education Institute, our IDA scholarships as well as Career Mentorship for students and alum."
For the inaugural cycle, Ifetayo and Dance/NYC are partnering to connect dancemakers within Dance/NYC’s Brooklyn-based grantee pool to Ifetayo’s growing family of artists with the goal of expanding the initiative’s impact. Collaboratively, the partnership has cleared a new pathway of belonging and sustainability for Brooklyn arts and dance that others will go along.
The first Araminta Space Grantees are:
- Maria Bauman, Artistic Director of MBDance and 2022-2023 grantee of Dance/NYC’s Dance Advancement Fund. During her grant tenure, Bauman will develop her work “These are the bodies that have not borne” as well as present a workshop on reproductive wellness as a part of Ifetayo’s Ife Grove Health and Wellness series.
- Yahoteh Kokayi, founder and CEO of BK Music Learning and alum of Ifetayo’s Youth Ensemble. The grant will serve as an incubator for Kokayi's company as he builds solid educational foundations with music-led activities, mindfulness, and movement. Kokayi will also be a featured guest for the Sankofa Strategies career mentorship series embedded in Ifetayo's Rites of Passage program.
The inaugural recipients will receive a space grant of 180 hours of space over 3 months to incubate and further develop their work as well as engage with Ifetayo’s community through workshops and programming.
“Dance/NYC is thrilled to partner with this storied organization to offer pristine dance space to Brooklyn-based artists. To be able to make work rooted in a community organization in your own borough is a gift not enough dance makers have,” says Candace Thompson-Zachery, Co-Executive Director of Dance/NYC. “Dance/NYC’s ongoing research, tells us that access to affordable space is a chronic challenge for dance artists, especially amongst small-budget dance makers and those that are BIPOC and/or immigrants. These space challenges have only deepened since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and we applaud Ifetayo’s efforts to fill that gap.”
