Grantees
and Partners

IndieSpace

Overview:

IndieSpace celebrates and centers independent theater-making in New York City by providing radically transparent, responsive, and equity-focused funding, real estate programs, professional development, and advocacy to individual artists, theater companies, and indie venues.

By its nature, theater work is episodic and small, and independent theater companies work at the margins. Theater artists move from one production to another, sometimes with big gaps between shows, and they are often underinsured. This can create income insecurity as well as concurrent mental health challenges.  At the beginning of the pandemic, IndieSpace realized that there was a great demand for mental health support for indie theater artists who had lost wages, work, and community.

Grant:

Purpose: To support IndieSpace’s Community Care Program and Mental Health Resources, which primarily supports BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ disabled and immigrant individual artists.

In Spring 2020 in response to pandemic isolation, IndieSpace began offering free, virtual mental health sessions with licensed mental health practitioners, called Community Care sessions. Through their Mental Health Micro Grants, IndieSpace offers financial support to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled and immigrant artists to cover individual mental health expenses. Grants can be used for any mental health services including medication costs, one-to-one therapy, retreats, classes, workshops, etc.

Impact:

As of April 2024, IndieSpace has awarded 840+ Mental Health Micro Grants, totaling more than $420,000+ in support. More than 70% of applicants and grantees identify with at least one historically excluded group, including the Global Majority (BIPOC), d/Deaf, people with disabilities, transgender/gender non-conforming/non-binary, and immigrant artists. Grantees are using it in ways that are very personal to them, but in general, the money has given recipients a level of peace to pursue their work during uncertain times.