By Julianne Cuba
It is time for an Exchange!
The Brooklyn Arts Exchange will celebrate the 25th year of its Artists in Residence program with a festive gala and a series of performances at Roulette on March 25. Many artists have passed through the Park Slope performing arts center, but they never stray too far — something its executive director and founder is proud of, she said.
“I’m most proud of the fact that so many artists remain deeply committed to the organization and long after their residencies bring new projects to us,” said Marya Warshaw, who lives in Park Slope.
The Brooklyn Arts Exchange formed in 1991, and its Artists in Residence program, which provides rehearsal and performance space, as well as critical feedback and support to artists of all kinds, kicked off two years after that. A quarter-century later is the perfect time to celebrate everyone’s hard work, said Warshaw.
“It’s the first time we’re celebrating the program, it feels like 25 is a good long time,” she said. “We’re celebrating the artists that have come through the program by showcasing a small group of them to perform.”
The gala will feature performances by about a dozen artists who will come back to showcase their work, including a song from the musical “Employee of the Year,” by Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone, a dance excerpt from “Colored” by choreographer Dean Moss, and a Japanese Butoh-style performance from Kristine Haruna Lee, among many others. The night will also feature excerpts from a documentary about the program, titled “How to Make a Residency.”
Every minute of the performances, video, and commentary will be a treat for the audience, said Warshaw.
“I’m excited about all of them, these are all people extremely close to my heart, people I’ve worked with extensively,” she said.
The gala — which also honors Warshaw’s role as both founder and director of the program — also offers a chance for older Residence artists to reunite and to connect with a new crop of performers, she said.
“It’s going to be a wonderful chance to see old friends and meet some new people and really get to honor the people that need to be honored,” Warshaw said.
The gala will be followed by an after-party at the Armory, a few doors down from Roulette on Fourth Avenue.
“A Gala Celebration of 25 Years of Artists in Residence” at Roulette (509 Atlantic Ave. at Third Avenue in Boerum Hill, www.bax.org). March 25 at 6:30 pm. $50–$250.
