In 2002, Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation was formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation to support a vibrant, artist-run exhibition space, rehearsal studio, and performance venue in Brooklyn, New York. Founded and guided by artists under the leadership of Founding Director Jonah Bokaer, the organization is dedicated to live performance and interdisciplinary art, with a strong focus on new choreography and technologically-driven art.
Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation pursues its mission through the following activities:
• Affordable Studio Rehearsal Space: The company maintains a dynamic rehearsal space branded “Chez Bushwick”. The studio is made available to a diverse range of artists for $8/hour. Over the course of nearly 5,800 operating hours each year, Chez Bushwick serves, on average, 1,000 artists annually. Additionally, the program collaborates with Brooklyn-based community groups, including, The Coalition for Hispanic Family Services.
• Artist Residencies: Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation runs an triannual residency program for 15 artists each year. The program provides 75 hours of free rehearsal space to each artist for the creation & presentation of original works in dance and multi-media.
• Presenting & Producing: Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation produces a monthly curated performance series which features up to 50 different NYC-based choreographers annually, hosts residencies and performances by national and international choreographers, and presents dance, theater and installation-based works in collaboration with other local venues in Brooklyn and around NYC.
• Sustaining the multi-disciplinary work of Jonah Bokaer: Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation serves as the home base and management company for all of the Founding Director’s creative projects, which include choreography, media art, video, sculpture, and installation-based practices. JBAF has been the vehicle through which Bokaer has developed a corpus of more than 57 works, which have been presented at some 192 venues in 30 countries.
• Overseeing and sustaining the Center for Performance Research: JBAF is one of two founding partners of the Center for Performance Research (CPR), an advanced-technology, LEED-certified facility for the arts in Williamsburg established in 2009. Though established as an independent 501(c)3 organization, CPR receives on-going financial investments from JBAF and serves as our main presenting venue.
