Category: News

 

FABnyc is currently seeking a Part-Time Administrative Assistant!

Responsibilities:
Support FABnyc’s programs, administration, and facilities management including…

• Assisting with studio and theater rental bookings 
• Processing artist contracts and payments
• Supporting communications through social media postings and monthly newsletter
• Organizing and maintaining program documentation

Qualifications:

• Highly organized, reliable and punctual
• Strong verbal communication skills; works well in a public-facing position
• Writing skills, including skills with social media platforms and messaging
• Familiarity with Lower East Side cultural and/or nonprofit dance and theater community a plus

Hours: Tuesday & Thursday: 9:45am- 2:45pm, Friday: 9:45am-1:15pm 

Compensation: $20/hour, on a biweekly pay cycle.

Email resume and cover letter to Dakota Scott, Managing Director at dakota@fabnyc.org with subject line “NAME – FABnyc Admin Assistant.” 

Please note: FABnyc’s Dance Block rental studios are not all accessible; the position requires ability to climb stairs on a frequent basis, respond quickly to sounds (ex. phone, door buzzer); and work at a computer for extended periods of time.

FABnyc has a strong commitment to principles of diversity, is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender/ gender identity/ gender expression, age, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, HIV serostatus, disability, or marital status. People of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ folk, and members of other historically marginalized groups are especially welcome and encouraged to apply.

FABnyc is subject to the Key to NYC mandate that all employees must show proof of vaccination. Additionally, all rental studios in the Dance Block program are in cultural spaces on E 4th Street which are subject to the Key to NYC mandate. Please be prepared to share your proof of vaccination with us if interested in the position.  

 

APPLY

Deadline: April 11

May is Lower East Side History Month!

To celebrate, FABnyc is issuing a call for artists to help us creatively chalk specific sites in the Lower East Side with stories and images from local history. FAB will provide all historical text.

Saturday, May 1: Chalking Black histories in the LES, various locations; 11-2pm
Saturday, May 8: Chalking LES histories on Avenue B; 3 hour call, specific time TBA

Come help us spread the LES love on city sidewalks and streets this May!
Each artist will receive $125 fee for a 3 hour chalking session.

Lower East Side-based artists (from 14th Street to Canal, Bowery to the East River; including Loisaida, East Village, Two Bridges, and Chinatown) are encouraged to apply!

FABnyc will provide chalk and breakfast at the orientation.

Please submit your application by end of day on Sunday, April 11th to be considered.

Questions? Email patrick@fabnyc.org and imani@fabnyc.org.

APPLY

FABnyc is seeking a writer to craft 8 posts, minimum of 800 words each, based on Black histories in the Lower East Side to be published May 2021 on our People’s LES website.

FAB will provide topics and majority of research needed. Fee will be $1600 ($200 per post.)

Please indicate your interest by submitting this form.
Questions can be emailed to Imani Vieira – imani@fabnyc.org
Peoples LES website: www.peoplesles.org
The People’s LES is a project of FABnyc and Downtown Art.

FABnyc is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender/ gender identity/ gender expression, age, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, HIV serostatus, disability, or marital status. People of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ folk, and members of other historically marginalized groups are especially welcome and encouraged to apply.

 

Check out our Summer Schedule here! 

This article is part of FAB’s ReparationsNYC project – which explores why and how reparations to Black communities could be addressed in NYC.

Last week, the Asheville, NC City Council made national news by unanimously voting to start a process of reparations for historic harms to its Black community.  As the Congressional bill H.R. 40 – “a study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations” awaits movement in Washington, others are taking the lead.

Besides Asheville, there are initiatives in Providence and Chicago and a proposed statewide initiative in California.  Evanston, IL has already begun the work, using 100% of the sales tax on recreational marijuana to fund its reparations program.

 

Asheville has a population of 93,000, of which 12% are Black.  Local response to the Council’s resolution was mixed as can be expected, but a reporter for the North Carolina News Daily noted how frequently commenters voiced surprise that the mountainous northwest of North Carolina engaged in slavery.  Peter Tomasek responded

“ The logic goes like this: there weren’t many plantations, so there weren’t many slaves. But there was plenty of wealth to be made on the backs of slaves. Slavery was prevalent on small farms, in hotels, mines, and plants, and even with professionals like lawyers and doctors.”

Reparations advocates like William A. Darity Jr. point out that local initiatives cannot fill the need for federal action.  Yet, local initiatives like those in Asheville may provide powerful momentum for reparations at a national scale.

“I always felt like reparations were going to come from the federal government and trickle down. ……..But I think that’s the idea of this movement:  We’re trying to defy and dismantle the top-down power, the top-down decision-making, and do something that really focuses on empowering the people and their families and their community.

— Sheneika Smith, Asheville City Councilmember, July 2020 interview

Highlights from the Asheville City Council resolution include:

• – Apologies and intentions to make amends for the city’s history in the enslavement of Black people, enforcement of segregation, and for an urban renewal program that destroyed multiple successful Black communities 
• – Developing short, medium and long term plans which address the creation of wealth and boost economic mobility in the Black community, which may include 
  • – Increasing home ownership and access to affordable housing
  • – Increasing business ownership and career opportunities
  • – Creating strategies to grow equity and generational wealth
  • – Close gaps in health care, education, employment and pay, neighborhood safety and criminal justice 
• – Calling on other organizations and institutions in Asheville that benefitted from racial inequity to join the city in its apologies, address racism within their own structures, and work with the city to address systemic racism 
• – Calling on the State of North Carolina and the federal government to initiate policymaking and provide funding for reparations at the state and national levels

LINKS
Interview with Sheneika Smith, Asheville City Councilmember (LINK)
“North Carolina City Approves Reparations for Black Residents”, NY Times (LINK)
See definitions of Reparations at Movement 4 Black Lives (LINK) and the International Center for Transitional Justice (LINK)
Learn about the history of the national reparations movement at the ACLU (LINK)

The list below will continue to be updated. 

ARTS & CULTURE

ArtsReady
ArtsReady, an online emergency preparedness service by and for arts/cultural nonprofits, provides arts organizations with customized business continuity plans for post-crisis sustainability. 

TCG: Coronavirus Preparedness Webinar
Theatre Communications Group’s Coronavirus Preparedness Webinar provided a holistic take on preparedness for theatres, including: a deeper understanding of the virus from an epidemiologist’s perspective; general preparedness strategies; how to forecast budget shifts should productions be cancelled; how to navigate insurance; and how the theatre field might take collective action to weather this potential crisis. 

Common Field
General, crowd-sourced resources for the Artist Organization Field. Initiated by Common Field, a national network of artist-centered organizations and projects.

Impact Survey – ART NY
The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York is conducting a survey to collect the initial financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and associated programmatic changes. If you are a non-profit theatre company, fiscally sponsored project, independent producer, etc please consider filling it out with whatever information you may currently know. As the City and State respond to the COVID-19 virus, A.R.T./New York wants to understand the effects on our Membership so that we can best advocate for possible emergency funding.

Impact Survey – Dance NYC
Dance/NYC is monitoring the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the dance field. They value dancers’ input, and will use this survey to create public awareness and guide policy, resources, and program development for dance makers and organizations based in the metropolitan New York City area. 

COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources
General resources list specifically designed to serve freelance artists (including actors, playwrights, designers, etc.) and those interested in supporting the independent artist community. List also includes general guidelines, best practices for remote work and education, and other useful sources.

NY Foundation for the Arts
List of NYFA (New York Foundation for the Arts) and NYFA-affiliated resources available to artists, arts workers, grantmakers, and others in light of the COVID pandemic. 

GENERAL INFO

Notify NYC
New York City’s official source for information about emergency alerts and important city services.

CDC
American Center for Disease Control’s overview of COVID-19, including what you should know regarding spread, prevention, symptoms, what to do if you are sick, and other helpful information.

Flatten the Curve
Detailed overview of the full impact of COVID-19, including social measures, best practices, and guidelines.

Lawyers Alliance for New York
Lawyers Alliance provides legal assistance and information to strengthen nonprofits that are providing critical human and social services throughout New York City during this unusual time. They seek to help organizations whose operations are being impacted by the coronavirus as well as those who are participating in the preparation and response efforts.

Green Map Bike Ready Guide
Bike Ready, an initiative by Green Map Systems for how cyclists can aid in disaster relief and preparedness. 

Actions and Activism During COVID-19
Best practices for activism, collective action, and movement- and community building during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Dear friends –

We’ve all been watching the COVID-19 situation as it unfolds, and it’s abundantly clear that our city needs a chance to slow down the spread of this virus which means big changes in all of our lives.

Like many others, we feel the only right option is to close our offices and our Dance Block program as well as suspend upcoming public events including NO HOUSING NO PEACE which would have opened next week. Please see details below.

We will be working from home and available by email.  We are hosting video-conferencing meetings.  We’re looking at all the ways we can stay active and engaged with our community – while understanding the need for social distancing to ‘flatten the curve.’

Thank you for your understanding in this stressful, strange time. We are thinking about you, your loved ones, our elders, our vulnerable — wishing for your health and well-being.

FAB – Ryan, Patrick, Dakota, Imani, and Janeill

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DANCE BLOCK: If you had a booking with Dance Block, we’ll provide you a full refund – and will be in touch about those details.  Please reach out to us via e-mail at space@fabnyc.org with questions or concerns.

NO HOUSING NO PEACE:  If you have already purchased tickets to a performance, we will reach out to you individually. You can choose to have your tickets honored at a future performance or receive a full refund.

Deadline: December 1st, 2020

Apply Now | Resources (also listed below)

Chosen projects notified December, 2020. Project to be produced and presented Spring 2021.

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NOTE: This call was originally launched in February 2020. It was put on hold due to the NYC COVID-19 shutdown. FAB is pleased to have secured funding to relaunch the call at this time.

FABnyc is issuing an open call for socially-engaged artistic projects that draw attention to African and African-American histories of the Lower East Side, with a focus on highlighting Black culture and community in the LES neighborhood throughout New York’s history.

From the African Burial Ground under Sara D. Roosevelt Park to the African Free School of the 18th century; from the mixed-race dance halls on the Bowery to the impact of the Draft Riots, the Lower East Side is home to crucial layers of African-American history, too often missing from the stories of struggle and transformation that continue to define the neighborhood. While some remnants of these narratives can be read on building plaques and seen in other public memorials, the vibrancy, collective life, and stories of change in the neighborhood’s Black communities remain hidden.

This call aims to bring greater visibility to African and African-American histories and cultures of the Lower East Side, to better understand their legacies, and to connect the past to the neighborhood today. With the African Burial Ground in Sara D. Roosevelt Park as a geographical and historical anchor point, the call aims to honor, heal, and otherwise further conversations around African heritage in the Lower East Side.

SELECTION PROCESS
Project proposals must be submitted in a single 3–5 page PDF file.

Applicants must also submit a 1–2 page resume/CV and 3–5 work samples.

Proposals must include description of COVID-19 safety measures in context of proposed project (see NYS Safety Plan Template for reference).

Full applications will be reviewed and final projects selected by a panel consisting of FABnyc staff and community stakeholders. Panelists bring a range of experiences and perspectives, many of them from outside the professional arts arena; please review your proposal writing for clarity and accessibility before submitting.

Applicants may be contacted for more details on proposed project elements. Finalists will be contacted directly to conduct an interview over Zoom.

For questions regarding the application, please email patrick@fabnyc.org.

Click here to apply.

RESOURCES

African Burial Ground at SDR Park

• – About the African Burial Ground / M’Finda Kalunga Garden
• – Sara D Roosevelt Park Coalition
• – Article: “When Will There Be A Memorial for NYC’s Second African Burial Ground, Hyperallergic
  
• – Article:  “African Burial Ground, Chrystie Street’, New York Cemetery Project

NYC History:

• – Bowery Boys Podcast
• – Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• – Article: “Black History in Greenwich Village’, 6ftsq
  
• – Article: “African American History in the East Village”, GVSHP

LES Issues and Needs

• – Community Board 3 District Needs

FABnyc is currently seeking a Part-Time Administrative Assistant!
Must be able to work on Sundays and one other day a week (M-F) 9:45am-6:15pm.

Responsibilities:

• Support Dance Block studio rental program for dance artists — manage online booking program, communicate with artists, provide access and orientation to studios, work with studio owners to address any day-to-day issues
• Organize and work with Communications Manager in leading communications — including FAB’s monthly newsletter and active social media positing on multiple platforms
• Provide administrative support for other FABnyc activities as needed
• Help maintain a welcoming lobby stocked with literature on our programs

Qualifications:

• Highly organized, reliable and punctual
• Strong verbal communication skills; works well in a public-facing position
• Writing skills, including skills with social media platforms and messaging
• Familiarity with Lower East Side cultural and/or nonprofit dance community a plus

Compensation: 17.50 an hour, on a biweekly pay cycle.

Email resume and cover letter to Dakota Scott, Managing Director at dakota@fabnyc.org with subject line “NAME – FABnyc Admin Assistant.” Please include your M-F availability in your email.

Please note: FAB Dance Block studios are not all accessible; the position requires requires ability to climb stairs on a frequent basis, respond quickly to sounds (ex. phone, door buzzer); and work at a computer for extended periods of time.

FABnyc has a strong commitment to principles of diversity, is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender/ gender identity/ gender expression, age, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, HIV serostatus, disability, or marital status. People of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ folk, and members of other historically marginalized groups are especially welcome and encouraged to apply.