Inside BEYOND: HERE's 31st Annual Gala; $1.5 Million Mellon Foundation Grant Announced 

HERE Arts Center celebrated Eisa Davis, Co-creater of WARRIORS, Playwright (Bulrusher) and performer (Passing Strange), as the Avant-Guardian honoree and artist, culture worker, Program Officer at Mellon Foundation, Stephanie Ybarra as the HEREmantitarian honoree. 

Also at the gala, Ybarra announced exciting news of a $1.5 million dollar grant from the Mellon Foundation in support of HERE's new leadership team, Co-Directors of HERE, Jesse Cameron Alick, Annalisa Dias, Lanxing Fu and Lauren Miller. By the time the silent auction closes on Friday HERE projects to raise over $150K from its BEYOND gala to support its mission and programs. 

“We're profoundly grateful for the extraordinary partnership of the Mellon Foundation at this transformative moment in our leadership,” said HERE's Co-Directors. “At a time when funding for the arts and freedom of expression itself are under attack, we're doubling down on our plans to build an abundant future, weave powerful communities of care, and free our bodies, voices, and fugitive dreams to create the world we know we deserve because everyone belongs HERE.” .

Also last night, HERE shared news of a comprehensive campaign which will take place over the next three years. The comprehensive campaign will launch to the public next season, with a goal of raising $10M between now and 2028. The campaign will aim to advance the ambitious visions of the second generation of HERE's leadership and the artists they serve, renovate their space for improved access and energy efficiency, and secure their resilient future as they enter their 4th decade. 

Stephanie Ybarra also said during her acceptance remarks "The exploration and imagination that has been invoked so many times this evening, I think, is the single most important tool that we have in navigating the unknown and the uncertainty…the curiosity, and the world building that we get to do individually, in quiet moments and more importantly, collectively. HERE has always been that place."

HERE will announce their upcoming season later this summer. This season will be the first full year of programming from Jesse Cameron Alick, Annalisa Dias, Lanxing Fu and Lauren Miller, co-directors of the institution since restructuring, succeeding founding artistic director Kristin Marting. 

A video message from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eisa's co-creator for WARRIORS, was shown in support for her award. Performers for BEYOND: HERE'S 31st Annual Gala included Joshua William Gelb (Obie award-winner, Theater in Quarantine and HERE's [Untitled Miniature]), Friend of Friend - a genre-defying theater band featuring playwright Andy Boyd, vocal artist syd island, and interactive performance-maker Philip Santos Schaffer, Basil Twist, the internationally celebrated puppetry visionary and curator of HERE's Dream Music Puppetry program, Broadway veteran Kenneth Ard (Cats, Smokey Joe's Café, Jelly's Last Jam), Justin Hicks (Drama Desk nominee) and Kenita Miller (Tony Award nominee) of the Grammy- winning The HawtPlates.

HERE specializes in producing new, hybrid performances that integrate multiple artistic disciplines, including theatre, dance, music and opera, puppetry, media, visual and installation, spoken word and performance art. Their standout productions include Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, Taylor Mac's The Hang and The Lily's Revenge, Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle all wear bowlers, Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, Robin Frohardt's The Pigeoning, and Basil Twist's Symphonie Fantastique.

The gala was hosted by the Board of Directors which includes Michael Champness (Treasurer), Justin Deabler, Abigail Gampel, Charles Garrett, Tim Maner, Setareh Mirhosseini, Alan Ostroff, Christina Pan, Teresa Woods Pena, Kamala Sankaram (Secretary), Amy Segal, Brenna Thomas, Robert Walport (Vice Chair), Brian Warren, Jennifer Suh Whitfield (Chair), China Young, Tommy Young and Ex-officio Barbara Busackino. 

The auction will be open until Friday, May 16th at noon ET. Available items to bid on include a Northeastern Arts & Mt. Tremper Getaway which includes a 2-night stay at a mountain retreat in the Catskills and tickets to Opera Saratoga, Jacob's Pillow and Barrington Stage, Brooklyn Artisan Experiences, including exclusive sessions at Brooklyn Metalworks, Recess Grove, and a giftcard to Craftsman's Avenue, a premium "Twelfth Night" in the Park and dinner at Tavern on the Green, and much more!

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