The 52nd Street Project Inc in New York City

The mission of The 52nd Street Project, a community-based arts organization, is to bring together young people from Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, starting at age ten and lasting through their teens, with theater professionals to create original theater offered free to the general public. By building on the core experience of accomplishment and collaboration, the Project fosters a sense of inclusion in a place where the young people belong and where their creative work is the driving force. Through long-term mentoring relationships and exposure to diverse art forms (including Spoken Word, Photography, Theatrical Design, Dance, Stage Combat and Filmmaking), the Project seeks to expand the children’s means of expression and to improve their literacy, their life skills and their attitude towards learning.

Founded in 1981, the Project engages 150 underserved kids in Hell’s Kitchen with year-round playwriting and acting programs. Each program consists of class work, collaboration with professional artists, and free public performances. This unique mix of theater education and one-on-one mentoring focuses on the individual young person and gives each child an experience of success.

In 1996, the Project opened its first Clubhouse on 52nd Street and 10th Avenue, a space for the Project community - staff, volunteers, and Project members - to meet, rehearse, and build long lasting friendships. In 2010, the Project opened its current facility, which includes spaces for kids to create work, rehearse, and have classes; a much larger Clubhouse with enough room to adequately support staff, volunteers, and the Project’s after school Homework Help and mentorship programs; as well as The Five Angels Theater, the Project’s very own 150-seat theater, in which the work created by the young people is featured.