Cultural Sites:

Film Forum

Almost 50 years old, Film Forum is a widely recognized alternative screening space for both independent American films and  foreign art films. When it first opened in 1970, it was actually located on Vandam Street on the site of the former Richmond Hill and what is now the current SoHo Playhouse. It was a small space with only one projector, a couple dozen folding chairs, and a meager budget.

Now, located on West Houston in a cinema built in 1989, Film Forum has three screens, over 400 seats, and is the only autonomous nonprofit cinema in New York City. The cinema still presents two distinct programs — American independents and foreign art films — but now also includes classics, genre works, festival pieces, and a third screen for extended runs of popular selections. Location: 209 W Houston St., New York, NY 10014.

HERE Arts Center

Photo courtesy HERE Arts Center

Started in 1993, HERE Arts Center is a multidisciplinary performance and arts space that specializes in nurturing and showcasing “hybrid” art. From programs and residencies to exhibitions and live performances in theater, dance, music, puppetry, media, and visual art, the center supports that which is contemporary and experimental. It has supported artists such as Eve Ensler, who produced The Vagina Monologues, and Young Jean Lee, writer of the play Songs of The Dragons Flying To Heaven. 

As much as the center aims to support its emerging and mid-career artists, it also aims to involve the community and public surrounding it. The physical space includes a proscenium-style theater with 63 seats and eight stools, a black box theater that seats up to 150, an exhibition space, and a lounge, all of which serve as entry points to art. All are utilized to involve the public, from work-in-progress showings and workshop productions to postshow artist talkbacks and informal discussions. Current and upcoming productions in April and May include Symphonie Fantastique, a performance in puppetry, music, dance, and abstract art, Assembled Identity, a duet of music and live cinematography, and The Diana Tapes, a play about one of the greatest media scandals in British history. Location: 145 6th Ave., New York, NY 10013.