Okwui Okpokwasili News

Mentorship, education, and community building are hallmarks of the National Sawdust ethos. This Spring, building on our previous sessions with luminaries of new music, National Sawdust presents seven masterclasses from March 9 to May 18.

The Center for the Ballet and the Arts at NYU and National Sawdust today announced the 40 composers and choreographers named as Toulmin Creators who will collaborate on new work for the virtual medium and participate in a slate of digital performances and programs, free and open to the public.

UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA), a leading West Coast presenter and creative producer dedicated to the advancement of the contemporary performing arts in all disciplines, believes the power of collaboration can nurture the arts ecosystem through the pandemic.

Performance Space New York announces its Spring 2021 programming, with collaborative, connective processes and hybrid projects—embracing virtual and audio forms necessitated by the pandemic while safely welcoming the public back into the building.

Wendi Norris, founder and president of Gallery Wendi Norris and executive producer of When We Gather, and Justine Ludwig, executive director of Creative Time announced today that the release of the film When We Gather and the accompanying behind-the-scenes special When We Gather: Together, has been postponed one week and will launch instead on January 27, 2021, 7pm EST.

Artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Okwui Okpokwasili, and LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs are launching a multifaceted art project that includes a three-minute art film, directed by Codie Elaine Oliver (Black Love, OWN Network) and narrated by Emmy and Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Alfre Woodard.

The 36th Annual NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, reconceived this year to honor all of the 2019/20 nominated artists, took place tonight as a virtual ceremony.

Black Dance Stories continues during the month of October featuring dancers and choreographers who use their work to raise societal issues, strengthen community through their programming, and use history as a source of inspiration.

In an effort to lay out a larger welcome mat to artists of many disciplines, BAM is offering residencies to seven artists/artistic teams to support the development of their work at a challenging time.

Black Dance Stories announces its September 2020 lineup featuring dancers and choreographers who use their work to raise societal issues, strengthen community through their programming, and use history as a source of inspiration.

Black Dance Stories has announced its August 2020 lineup featuring dancers and choreographers who use their work to raise societal issues, strengthen community through their programming, and use history as a source of inspiration.

Black Dance Stories announces its July 2020 lineup, featuring stories by and discussions with, well-known dancers and choreographers who use their art to create commentary on the Black experience.

Black Dance Stories announces its July 2020 lineup, featuring stories by and discussions with, well-known dancers and choreographers who use their art to create commentary on the Black experience. Created and conceived by performer, producer, and dance writer Charmaine Warren, the newly launched story sharing and discussion series highlights Black creatives in the dance world. Black Dance Stories streams live via Zoom every Thursday in July at 6 pm. Join Black Dance Stories here.

Broadway Black, the multimedia organization highlighting the achievements of Black theatre artists, will present the inaugural Antonyo Awards, a celebration of the Black Broadway and Off-Broadway community.

WNYC and The Public Theater have joined forces to reimagine Free Shakespeare in the Park's RICHARD II as a radio play that speaks to this current moment in our nation's history.

Broadway Black, the multimedia organization highlighting the achievements of Black theatre artists, has announced the inaugural Antonyo Awards, a celebration of the Black Broadway and Off-Broadway community.

The Herb Alpert Foundation and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) have awarded the 2020 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts (HAAIA) to five exceptional mid-career artists. Now in its 26th year, the annual award provides five unrestricted $75,000 grants to independent artists working in the fields of dance, film/video, music, theatre and visual arts. The recipients will be honored at a virtual ceremony hosted by Herb Alpert, his wife Lani Hall Alpert and the Herb Alpert Foundation on Friday, May 22, 2020.

Okwui Okpokwasili  performed a monologue from King Lear as part of The Public Theater's Brave New Shakespeare challenge!

Mario Cantone will host this year's Lucille Lortel Awards, which are being presented as a virtual broadcast and benefit for The Actors Fund on Sunday, May 3, at 7pm. The online event will bring together theatre performers, industry veterans, and fans worldwide in a celebration of Off-Broadway.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??The Drama League has announced the 2020 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much- coveted Distinguished Performance Award.