IndieSpace Names 17 New Little Venue That Could Grant Recipients

IndieSpace has revealed the second cohort of recipients for The Little Venue That Could Grant Program. Thanks to generous funding from an anonymous donor, IndieSpace is able to award 17 additional grants to NYC-based performance venues with annual budgets less than $500,000. The grant provides venues with unrestricted grants of $10,000 per year, for two consecutive fiscal years, professional development opportunities (valued at $5,000), and access to IndieSpace's Advisory and Consulting program.

This second cohort of recipients includes 3AM Theatre, Court Square Theater, Dancing Crane Georgian Cultural Center, Ecuadorian American Cultural Center, Life World, Modega, Montez Press Radio, MOtiVE Brooklyn, New Dance Alliance, Purgatory, Spotlight Studios, The Staten Island Playhouse, The Makers Space, The New Stage Performance Space, The RAT NYC, The Waterfront Museum & Showboat Barge, Theaterlab, and WOW Cafe Theater.

In 2023 and 2025, IndieSpace partnered with The Howard Gilman Foundation to award grants through The Little Venue That Could Program. IndieSpace is thrilled to be able to expand this much needed program.

The Little Venue That Could Program is one part of IndieSpace's broader commitment to strengthening the physical infrastructure that makes New York City's indie performing arts community possible. Through their real estate work, IndieSpace helps artists and organizations navigate leases, find and secure space, negotiate with landlords, and explore long-term strategies for stability.

Priority was given to venues located in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island; venues whose NEA funding was withdrawn or terminated; venues who were established by, for, and are serving historically excluded artists; and who demonstrate values driven work through community impact, board and staff diversity, and accessibility. All applicants were then entered into a random lottery. The program received 62 applications.

The Little Venue That Could Review Committee was Azure Osborne-Lee (Board Secretary of JACK), Carrie Blake (Research & Planning Consultant for the Arts), Christine Bruno (Disability Inclusion Consultant), Karesia Batan (Executive Director of Queensboro Dance Festival), Maya Quetzali Gonzalez (former Grants Manager for the MAP Fund), and Sándie Luna (Executive Director of ID Studio Theater). These individuals helped to read, review, and score all applications. IndieSpace also thanks Alejandra Duque Cifuentes of ADC Consulting for her guidance with the original formation of this program in 2023.

The Little Venue That Could Grant Program was created to provide unrestricted general operating support to New York City-based indie theater, dance, and multidisciplinary performance venues with expense budgets under $500,000. Due to size, fiscal structure, staffing arrangements, and unconventional leasing and ownership structures, these homes for artists are most often excluded from city, state, and federal funding and may not meet financial thresholds to get significant support from private foundations. Despite this historical absence of consistent financial support and the growing affordability crisis in NYC, small-budget indie theater, dance, and multidisciplinary venues continue to play a critical role in the creative ecosystem by providing artists with affordable performance and presenting space.

The Little Venue That Could Program grants will be $10,000 per year, for two consecutive fiscal years, and can be used to pay staff, rent, utilities, debt or whatever the venue deems appropriate to help them keep their doors open and thrive. Each grantee will have access to a menu of Professional Development services, valued at $5,000, which can be used toward professional services within the two years of the grant period. These offerings may include services like strategic planning, marketing and PR support, or budget and financial analysis in order to further leverage this unrestricted grant. All grantees will receive automatic inclusion in IndieSpace's FREE Advisory and Consulting program, providing access to experts and information throughout the lifetime of their space operation.