Senator Chuck Schumer Tours LUMBERYARD Contemporary Performing Arts' Campus

Senator Chuck Schumer toured LUMBERYARD Contemporary Performing Arts' campus in Catskill, N.Y. the afternoon of Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Set to open in the spring of 2019, Phase One of the site will include a multi-building facility encompassing a column-free 5500 square foot theatre that can be reconfigured to replicate a variety of New York City stages as well as a lobby, artist housing, and a 5000 square foot studio and event space.

The Senator said, "Any way that we can spread the wealth. Any way we can help upstate - with jobs and growth -- it's exciting. But this is one of the most exciting projects that I have seen."

Adrienne Willis, Executive and Artistic Director of LUMBERYARD Contemporary Performing Arts, said, "It was an honor to show Senator Schumer our site. His visit is recognition that we are a leader in the Capital Region's economic and cultural devlelopment. We are the driving force of creative placemaking in Greene County, bringing both artistic vibrancy and economic growth through the creation of jobs and enhancement of the region's appeal to tourists."

When LUMBERYARD opens in 2019, it will be the first facility in the U.S. dedicated to providing performance space for professional contemporary dance and performing artists to make their work premiere-ready. As a result, the Hudson Valley will become the home of an annual summer festival of out-of-town premieres from established and emerging artists.

Senator Schumer's visit follows LUMBERYARD's August 2017 announcement of a $5,000,000 social impact investment loan from RSF Social Finance. In addition, LUMBERYARD was awarded two grants in 2015 and 2016 by New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's Capital Region Economic Development Council-for $500,000 and $300,000, respectively-in recognition of LUMBERYARD's potential to revitalize Catskill.

About Lumberyard Contemporary Performing Arts

In addition to providing critical support to a wide range of artists, LUMBERAYARD Contemporary Performing Arts welcomes audiences of all experience levels into the inner world of the contemporary performing arts, giving them opportunities to witness the creation, as well as the performance, of new work.

Each year in Catskill, LUMBERYARD will present a summer season consisting of premiere and work-in-progress performances by celebrated professional artists and companies, serving residents and attracting tourists from across New York and beyond. From October through April, the facility will be available for collaborative residencies, subsidized and commercial rentals, and community programming.

LUMBERYARD also presents the LUMBERYARD in the City Festival twice annually in Manhattan.