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| Roulette (Brooklyn) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Roulette |
| Address | 509 Atlantic Avenue |
| City | Brooklyn, New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Opened | 1978 |
| Rebuilt | 2012 |
| Capacity | 200 |
| Type | performance art space |
Roulette (Brooklyn) is a nonprofit presenting organization and performance venue based in Brooklyn, New York City. Founded as an experimental music and performance collective, Roulette has been central to scenes connected to John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Laurie Anderson. The organization operates at the intersection of contemporary music, dance, sound art, and multimedia production, hosting residencies, commissions, and archival projects.
Roulette grew from a late 1970s collective model tied to downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn experimental networks including founders and early participants linked to The Kitchen, Experimental Intermedia, Black Mountain College alumni networks, and artists associated with Fluxus. Early seasons featured artists connected to Elliott Carter, Morton Feldman, Henry Cowell, and contributors from New Music USA circles. In the 1980s and 1990s Roulette presented work by artists aligned with Downtown Scene, No Wave, Knitting Factory splinter projects, and avant-garde choreographers from Judson Church. Post-9/11 shifts in New York City arts infrastructure and real estate pressures influenced relocation and fundraising efforts involving partners such as National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In 2011–2013 Roulette completed a capital campaign culminating in a renovated space in Brooklyn Heights and later at 509 Atlantic Avenue, with design work influenced by firms tied to Brooklyn Navy Yard redevelopment discussions and preservationists connected to Landmarks Preservation Commission discourse.
Roulette’s facility includes a proscenium-style main hall with flexible seating, a reverberant acoustic environment used by ensembles tied to Bang on a Can, soloists associated with IRCAM residencies, and multichannel playback systems informed by work at MIDI labs and studios similar to CCRMA setups. Technical infrastructure supports collaborations with groups like New York Philharmonic contemporary initiatives, Kronos Quartet projects, and electronic practitioners trained at Columbia University’s Computer Music Center. The venue houses archival storage aligned with practices at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and digitization workflows used by Library of Congress metadata schemes. Accessibility upgrades mirror standards advocated by Americans with Disabilities Act compliance programs and local City Council arts accessibility initiatives.
Roulette’s programming has included curated series and long-term residencies for artists affiliated with Anthony Braxton, Joan La Barbara, Terry Riley, and ensembles akin to Alarm Will Sound. Collaborative residencies have linked visiting artists from Berlin’s experimental circuit, participants from Red Bull Music Academy, and composers supported by Jerome Foundation fellowships. The institution runs commissioning programs intersecting with festivals such as Miller Theatre contemporary seasons, co-productions with Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival, and partnerships with international presenters like STUK and Gaudeamus. Roulette’s residency pedagogy echoes models developed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall education initiatives and fellowship structures similar to MacArthur Fellows Program alumni engagements.
Roulette has hosted premieres and landmark performances by figures and groups connected to John Zorn, Evan Parker, Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, Arto Lindsay, Meredith Monk, Annea Lockwood, La Monte Young, Luciano Berio, Christian Wolff, and ensembles like Bang on a Can All-Stars, Third Coast Percussion, and International Contemporary Ensemble. Cross-disciplinary events included collaborations with choreographers from Martha Graham lineage, visual artists influenced by Nam June Paik, and filmmakers in the tradition of Jon Jost. Roulette’s partnerships extended to labels and presenters such as Tzadik Records, Nonesuch Records, Cantaloupe Music, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Kitchen.
Education initiatives at Roulette have worked alongside public institutions like New York City Department of Education, after-school programs modeled on Young Audiences Arts for Learning, and community arts groups similar to BRIC. Outreach involved artist-led workshops reflecting pedagogies from New England Conservatory faculty approaches, mentoring schemes related to Young Concert Artists, and internship programs connected to A Blade of Grass fellowship practices. Community concerts and free programming paralleled efforts by Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts and collaborations with neighborhood stakeholders including Brooklyn Historical Society and community boards advising Brooklyn Borough President’s cultural plans.
Critics and commentators from outlets akin to The New York Times, The Village Voice, Pitchfork, The Wire, and The New Yorker have chronicled Roulette’s influence on contemporary music and performance. Scholars referencing Roulette appear in journals associated with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and publications from Columbia University Press. The venue is cited in studies on urban cultural ecology alongside cases like Little Theatre Movement and institutions such as MoMA PS1 and Judson Memorial Church. Artists report that Roulette’s residencies catalyzed commissions later supported by Guggenheim Fellowship awards, Bessie Awards, and selections for Venice Biennale-related projects.
Preservation discussions have involved cultural advocates, local elected officials, and heritage bodies analogous to Preservation League of New York State and the Municipal Art Society of New York. Future plans emphasize archival digitization partnerships with institutions like Smithsonian Institution-style repositories, expanded international exchange with presenters from Donaueschingen Festival and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and continued commissioning supported by funders in the ecosystem including Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, and municipal cultural grants administered by New York State Council on the Arts.
Category:Music venues in Brooklyn Category:Performance art venues in New York City