“It became really apparent to us that, unless we were backing it up programmatically, whatever we were writing was hollow,” Fernando Maneca, the president of the Dance Alliance’s board, said in an interview. The group decided to reach out to Black artists to determine what kind of material support would be useful. On Friday, New Dance Alliance announced the start of its Black Artists Space to Create Residency, a pilot program that will give recipients the chance to spend two weeks at Modern Accord Depot in Accord, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley, where they will enjoy unlimited access to a dance studio and a quiet, comfortable living space. Because the program was designed to give recipients the chance to create away from everyday stresses, participants will not be required to present new work at the end of their time in the Hudson Valley. “We wish to radically reimagine what it means to serve Black artists right now and to do so in the specific spirit of reparations,” Mr. Maneca said in a statement.

Source: New York Times August 14, 2020 16:52 UTC