Performing Artists Network

Performing Artists Network
Name	Performing Artists Network
Type	Nonprofit
Founded	1990s
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	International
Leader title	Executive Director

Performing Artists Network

The Performing Artists Network is a nonprofit organization serving performing arts professionals through advocacy, professional development, and presenting initiatives. It connects actors, dancers, musicians, choreographers, directors, and producers across cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Berlin and engages with institutions like the Lincoln Center, Royal Opera House, Sydney Opera House, and Kennedy Center. The Network works with award bodies including the Tony Award, Grammy Award, Laurence Olivier Award, and Pulitzer Prize for Drama to amplify artist careers.

Overview

The Network provides membership services, training, booking resources, and artistic exchanges for practitioners linked to companies such as Royal Shakespeare Company, American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. It liaises with unions and guilds including Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Musicians, Dramatists Guild of America, and British Actors' Equity Association. The organization also curates festivals and showcases referencing venues like Carnegie Hall, Sadler's Wells Theatre, The Public Theater, and Sydney Theatre Company.

History

Founded in the 1990s amid discussions involving figures associated with Lincoln Center, Guthrie Theater, La Scala, and Festival d'Avignon, the Network expanded in the 2000s by partnering with arts councils such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Council England, Canada Council for the Arts, and Australia Council for the Arts. Early collaborations featured artists connected to ensembles like London Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard School, Royal Court Theatre, and choreographers from Martha Graham Dance Company and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The Network responded to crises by coordinating relief with bodies such as Save the Children and cultural recovery initiatives tied to events like the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Organization and Membership

Governance relies on a board with members drawn from institutions like Brooklyn Academy of Music, National Theatre, The Old Vic, Royal Opera House, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Membership tiers accommodate individual artists, ensembles, and presenters, with affiliates from Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Teatro alla Scala, Bolshoi Theatre, and Komische Oper Berlin. The Network interfaces with academic partners including Curtis Institute of Music, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Yale School of Drama, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Programs and Services

Programs include career development seminars featuring leaders from Tony Kushner, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Olga Khokhlova (choreographer), and institutions like New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Residency and commissioning schemes have supported creators whose work premiered at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Venice Biennale, Spoleto Festival USA, and Bregenz Festival. Services include touring support for companies such as Cirque du Soleil, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and Komische Oper, and legal clinics allied with American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and International Federation of Musicians.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The Network has partnered with festivals, presenters, and funders including Edinburgh International Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Sydney Festival, BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Festival d'Automne à Paris, and foundations like Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Graham Foundation. Strategic alliances extend to national agencies such as British Council, UNESCO, and European Commission cultural programs, and to production houses like Nickelodeon and broadcasters including BBC, PBS, and Arte.

Impact and Notable Projects

Notable projects have included cross-border touring initiatives with companies like English National Opera, Stuttgart Ballet, Almeida Theatre, and Mark Morris Dance Group, and commissioning programs that helped launch works later recognized by Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, Bessie Awards, and MacArthur Fellows Program. The Network’s mentorship programs cite alumni who later collaborated with Baz Luhrmann, Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar, Björk, and Philip Glass. Its advocacy contributed to policy outcomes with bodies such as Council of Europe cultural committees and influenced residency models used by Tate Modern and Museum of Modern Art performing programs.

Funding and Governance

Funding sources combine public grants from entities like the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Council England, Canada Council for the Arts, and private support from foundations including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and philanthropic trusts linked to families such as the Rockefeller family and Guggenheim family. Governance structures reference nonprofit models used by Carnegie Corporation of New York and Open Society Foundations, with auditing and compliance practices informed by standards from AccountAbility and International Organization for Standardization.

Category:Arts organizations Category:Non-profit organizations based in New York City