THE FRAME to Launch Creative Incubator for Multidisciplinary Artists

A new kind of creative institution is coming to New York City. the FRAME, an arts and culture incubator dedicated to supporting multidisciplinary artists through the process of making, developing, and premiering new work will officially launch this fall. the FRAME is founded by Joseph Frederick Allen, who serves as Creative Director. 

“I've seen firsthand how powerful it is when multiple disciplines are in conversation. But I wasn't finding a place they could all call home,” said Joseph Frederick Allen, Founder and Creative Director of the FRAME. “Creating the FRAME became the natural next step. Here, the medium follows the message, and the creative process is as much of a draw as the final product. I'm so proud that we will be a hub for new culture in the city I love so much. The goal has always been to meaningfully contribute to New York City's arts and culture landscape. Also, I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Based in residence at BroadwayVox Studios in Midtown Manhattan, the FRAME brings together a cohort of artists working across theatre, dance, film, visual art, and media to create a season of new arts and culture. The model, inspired by Andy Warhol's Factory, provides a physical and creative environment where artists from different disciplines can come together, collaborate, and make ambitious work.

“One of the things I find most compelling about the FRAME is that it's a call for action and engagement from a new wave of leadership,” said Thomas Schumacher.

the FRAME's inaugural cohort brings together artists spanning multiple disciplines, including performer Emmet Smith (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), music supervisor Alejandro Senior (Death Becomes Her), visual artist Drew Elhamalawy (The Queen of Versailles), composer Ari Afsar (Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile), bookwriter Rehana Lew Mirza (Banghin' It), choreographer Samantha Littleford (Mystic Pizza); filmmaker Brent Thomas Whiteside (Tempest & The Black Madonna), producer Alexa Spiegel (Rip Her to Shreds), and director Nic Cory (RED INK). Information about each project below.

Guest artists joining projects include directors David Mendizábal (Mexodus), Emilio Ramos (See What I Want to Say), and actors Jordan Dobson (Bad Cinderella), Miguel Gil (Lost Boys), Noah Wolfe (The Gorgeous Nothings), and Lee Harrington (Jellybean).

Each cohort receives project budgets, institutional and artistic support, support with assembling a creative team, development time, rehearsal space, and industry exposure. Artists work alongside one another throughout the creative process, with each cohort member developing and publicly presenting their work at the FRAME. the FRAME functions as a cultural ecosystem with investment, infrastructure, community, and time to experiment and create art.

the FRAME is the flagship program of the pending 501(c)(3) The Wonder Collaborative and is supported by a founding group that includes former Disney Theatrical president Thomas Schumacher, Tony Award winner Sara Ramirez, Broadway producer Michael Graf, and philanthropists Blake and Linda Gall, and Rick and Donna Schutz.

Sara Ramirez says, “I am so excited to see the FRAME support beloved artists in exploring their practice with levels of investment and commitment we don't often see put forth. We need more spaces like the FRAME, and we need more brilliant people like Joseph Frederick Allen leading the way and modeling what it looks like to unapologetically hold resourced space for multidisciplinary artists to do what they do best and shine!”