THE PLATFORM Performing Arts Center to Open in Cambridge

The Platform, a new performing arts center at 585 Kendall, will hosts a free Opening Day on Sat., Nov. 7. Designed for artists, audiences, community gatherings and creative exchange, the state-of-the-art venue welcomes the community to experience the vibrant new cultural destination in the heart of Kendall Square.  

OPENING EVENTS SCHEDULE  

Opening events for The Platform run Nov. 5-6 with celebrations for project stakeholders, civic and community leaders, donors, sponsors and other guests. Each event includes internationally renowned vertical dance company BANDALOOP (l.) performing on the exterior wall of the 585 Kendall building, while suspended from its roof. Inside, French Algerian dance company Compagnie Hervé Koubi presents the Boston premiere of Sol Invictus in the 400-seat Takeda Theater at The Platform. [BANDALOOP performances are viewable by anyone in the area.]
On Sat., Nov. 7, The Platform opens to the public for a free celebration from 12PM to 4PM. Audiences have two opportunities to see BANDALOOP that day (12:30PM and 3PM).

Regional artists will perform throughout the facility, including: 
Malian master drummer Sidy Maiga; 
Musicians from Kendall Square Orchestra, which comprises members of the local science, medicine and technology communities; 
Local “Tiny Desk Contest” fan favorite contestant Ella Faye; 
Bhangra dance and music from The Bollywood Dance x Purnima; 
Musicians from the Millennium Gospel Choir; 
Boundary-pushing Balinese gamelan music from Gamelan Galak Tika; and 
A three-wheel pop-up party atmosphere from A Trike Called Funk. 

The Platform also commissioned a commemorative poem from Jean Dany Joachim, the Cambridge Poet Populist from 2009–2011. The opening celebration day concludes with a ticketed performance by Compagnie Hervé Koubi in the new 400-seat Takeda Theater at The Platform.

MORE ABOUT THE PLATFORM 

The Platform occupies the first three floors of the new 585 Kendall building (l.) in the heart of Kendall Square. Its space includes the 400-seat Takeda Theater at The Platform (below) named for lead sponsor Takeda and the largest performance space of its kind built in the region in the past 20 years. The Platform also has the 125-seat, cabaret-style Tempo Stage located in the building’s lush first floor atrium. Artist amenities include a spacious rehearsal studio, multi-station dressing rooms, a wardrobe room and green rooms. A welcoming audience experience includes a ground floor commons open to the public featuring a bar, café, and indoor gardens. The Platform helps to address Greater Boston’s longstanding shortage of midsize performance venues. Designed for flexibility, The Platform spaces can host a wide range of creative and community events.  

THE PARTNERS  

The project was developed by BioMed Realty in collaboration with Global Arts Live, working with CBT Architects, Suffolk Construction, and a broad network of civic and community partners.  

A nonprofit presenter of global music, jazz, and contemporary dance for nearly 40 years, Global Arts Live will provide programming for approximately one-third of The Platform’s events, and will handle administrative services for The Platform including marketing, finance, fundraising and audience services. The balance of the time, the performance, rehearsal and lobby spaces of The Platform are available for use by other members of the arts community.  

A NEW MODEL FOR ACCESS  

The Platform was conceived as a flexible contemporary home for performance and artistic activity. Each year, 25 nights will be offered rent-free to local community arts and culture groups through an application process. “The possibilities for us and for dozens of regional arts groups seeking affordable space are limited only by the number of days in the year,” Chin says. “The Platform can host a dazzling mix of exciting, diverse, experimental, traditional and entirely new forms of live performance.”  

BUILT BY THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE COMMUNITY  

The Platform reflects an ambitious collaboration across business, nonprofit and civic sectors. Key partners include: BioMed Realty, the owner and operating partner of 585 Kendall that helped realize a vision for the facility; Takeda, the 585 Kendall anchor tenant and lead sponsor of The Platform’s largest performance space; as well as project partners CBT Architects, Suffolk Construction and Redgate. Individual donors and corporate, government, and foundation funders have contributed $13.7 million toward Global Arts Live’s $15 million year-end campaign goal.  

Now in the final months of its fundraising campaign, Global Arts Live has launched Elevate The Platform: Expanding Access to Live Arts, a philanthropic program to support the launch, programming, operations and sustainability of The Platform. The campaign includes an opportunity for donors to name seats in the Takeda Theater to honor a person, an organization, or to celebrate their own meaningful connection to the performing arts.