The performance arts scene has long been a vibrant and colorful asset in our culture. These artists serenade us with their music, inspire us with their dance and move us with their acting. However the productive life of a performance artist was long under threat of rising rents, and diminishing rehearsal spaces. Children can join dance and theater camps, school plays and keep performing through college but eventually finding training spaces for adult performers becomes a challenge.
In Boston, this situation reached an inflection point with the closure of Green Street Studios in 2019. This sent shockwaves through the performance community, forcing a reckoning that the scene was not prepared for. There were simply not enough spaces for artists to consolidate into.
After some community meetings and petitioning underused spaces: churches, warehouses, vacant storefronts, frustrated performers eventually dispersed with no good solutions. Making our own space seemed the only way forward, so the art @ the Nawn team began touring commercial storefronts throughout the area.
Unfortunately the world dealt another blow to us that hit performance artists particularly hard. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a global lockdown that led to in home quarantines, more business closures and the closing curtain on theaters that have yet to fully recover.
While reading up on local community notices, Jon Smalls, our founder, spotted a request to renovate an abandoned building in his hometown of Roxbury. We immediately began to adapt our plans according to the requirements, submitted them to the powers that be, and waited.
After years of planning and engineering, with help from stakeholders in the community, city staff and local funders, the project is nearing the end of its predevelopment phase. We look forward to the next stage in its life cycle, and the chance to throw open our doors, and serve the community. We can not wait to meet you as your new performance arts studio.