IndieSpace To Present THE BIG GIVE At Chelsea Factory

IndieSpace will present their annual event The Big Give on Tuesday, November 28th at 7pm at Chelsea Factory (547 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001). Admission is FREE and tickets can be purchased in advance at bit.ly/TheBigGive2023. A suggested, but completely voluntary donation of $5 at the door includes food and drinks.

The Big Give is a celebration of the indie theater community and an opportunity for IndieSpace to provide financial support for small theaters and companies who are often unable to receive funds from more traditional grantors. $1000 Pay Your People will be distributed via lottery to 60 indie theater companies, fiscally sponsored collectives/productions, and indie theater venues. The event will also feature special performances, free food and drink, fun activities, and the opportunity to connect with fellow members of the indie theater community. 

The Big Give will be hosted by Najah Muhammad with Drag Performance by Nancy NoGood, Free Advice by Peter Michael Marino, and Cabezudo Interaction by Joel Guzman. The event will be catered by Dish Food and Events and sponsored by Titos Vodka. There will also be a virtual party on Zoom. 

IndieSpace was established in 2016 to disrupt the ongoing displacement of small theaters and to address systemic inequities in NYC real estate. In 2022, it merged with Indie Theater Fund, an organization focused on a new model for equitable funding for the indie theater community. By contributing a nickel per ticket from their shows to a pot of money for funding, the indie theater community could create a method of self-sustainability and could rethink philanthropy and the process of grant making. Through radically transparent and equitable grants, community resources and advocacy, the Fund supported hundreds of indie theater companies and thousands of individual artists. IndieSpace also funds artists through their Mental Health grants, The Big Learn, and Community Resources Lotteries.

Since its founding, IndieSpace has: consulted with 90+ companies and venues making real estate decisions, including The Tank, FRIGID New York, The Chain, wild project, Wooster Group, and Classical Theater of Harlem; helped 18 organizations sign new leases; saved seven theaters from being closed or repurposed; created four real estate operation partnerships; walked two venues through the purchase of their permanent homes. During Covid, IndieSpace supported over 50 venues navigating their leases by helping them stay open, and also provided over $1.7M in relief grants to the indie theater community. In 2023 IndieSpace opened the West Village Rehearsal Co-Op with HERE Arts Center, New Ohio and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. This 99-year lease for $1 per year will serve over 1,500 artists per year. For service to the community, IndieSpace received the Ellen Stewart Award and a citation from the City Council of New York www.indiespace.org  

Chelsea Factory exists to provide responsive partnership to NYC-based artists from historically excluded communities. Launched during the Covid-19 pandemic, we welcome artists and organizations across all creative disciplines to experiment and perform work they find essential. Chelsea Factory’s support is customized to each collaborator, with resources including subsidized rehearsal and performance space, production support and career mentorship. Our programming reflects the values of NYC artists today and evolves to meet our community’s needs. In today’s rapidly changing world, we are committed to invigorating an inclusive and sustainable arts sector that long outlasts Chelsea Factory’s physical infrastructure. To learn more, visit www.chelseafactory.org. 

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