National Sawdust And The Center For Ballet And The Arts At NYU Announce $300,000 Partnership With Toulmin Foundation

The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation today announced the creation of a new program to foster collaboration between women composers and choreographers with the aim of creating new works in the virtual medium.

The $300,000 gift supports a one-year partnership between National Sawdust and The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU (CBA). Beginning in November 2020, the program is already supporting 45 appointed women choreographers and composers to help develop their skills, create and present new work, and build a community of like-minded artists that will enhance their careers. At least half of the participating women will represent BIWOC (Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color) communities.

Alexander Sanger, a Trustee of the Toulmin Foundation, on behalf of his fellow trustees, William Villafranco and Walter Montaign, says that, "in this time when live stage performance is not possible, composers and choreographers need to explore new ways to create, collaborate and present their work. Creating for the virtual world is fundamentally different than creating for the stage and involves skills and partnering in the fields of film, sound, set design, lighting and computer technology that are in many cases new for the choreographer or composer. This program aims to fill that need. Further, the program will continue the Foundation's efforts to bring increased diversity and support a wide range of talents in the performing arts. Mrs. Toulmin, a passionate supporter of the performing arts, believed in fairness and equity for all women, and we are proud to carry on her legacy."

This appointed program will feature five "Toulmin Fellows" and forty "Toulmin Creators." Each will receive a package of financial, intellectual, and creative resources to support development of new work. The five Toulmin Fellows will spend the winter in residence at The Center for Ballet and the Arts and the spring at National Sawdust, building toward participation in National Sawdust's Digital Discovery Festival (DDF). They will receive financial support, office and studio space, and access to videographers, sound engineers, AV equipment and marketing support. Each fellow will be paired with a carefully selected mentor who will support their creative processes throughout the year.

The forty Toulmin Creators will either participate in DDF or present a seminar to a multi-disciplinary group of artists and scholars at CBA. Both Fellows and Creators will be provided with professional development in the form of 20 master classes and seminars on such topics as intellectual property, improvisation, and arts criticism. They will also receive access to National Sawdust's Digital Knowledge Hub, which will share and document National Sawdust's extensive mentorship program to accompany its digital stage.