The Performance Project @ University Settlement will receive a $50,000 grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture program, the nation’s first settlement house announced today.
The Performance Project (TPP) supports professional artists to create community-led art in partnership with neighbors engaged with University Settlement’s programs, providing opportunities for community members to be performers, creators, and producers of meaningful and innovative performance art that centers the issues that matter to them. It intentionally partners with young adult artists, established artists, and cultural leaders from diverse backgrounds to help build a more equitable ecosystem of support and representation in the arts, with a particular focus on engaging artists and community members who are people of color, immigrants, public housing residents, or who are from low-income backgrounds.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture program honors the legacy of Charles E. Culpeper by supporting the artists and arts and cultural organizations that make New York City one of the world’s most dynamic creative capitals. The Fund is inspired by the conviction that arts and culture promote free expression, foster a deeper understanding of human experience and diverse communities, and provide a fresh lens on persistent problems and emerging challenges.
“The Rockefeller Brother Fund’s significant grant to our program will help The Performance Project engage more comprehensively with the professional artists we work with,” said Baba Israel, Artistic Director, The Performance Project @ University Settlement. “It means we will be able to support our artists’ creative processes more effectively, further empowering them to partner with University Settlement’s communities to create art that engages with the social justice issues of our time.”
“The Performance Project @ University Settlement’s efforts to strengthen NYC neighborhoods by engaging professional artists to create community-led art meaningfully contribute to the development of a new generation of artists reflective of New York City’s tremendous diversity,” said Ben Rodriguez Cubeñas, director of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Culpeper Arts and Culture program.