Performance Opportunity Program
In a recent survey, “more venues to perform/display art” was the #1 ranked and most desired outcome of a cultural plan for the City of Somerville. In response to this need, we launched our first Performance Opportunity Program series in February 2022.
Creating and producing a live event requires access to resources that are not always readily available to artists seeking to present their work. This is where POP comes in.
The Performance Opportunity Program provides artists and cultural workers with use of the Armory Performance Hall at a highly subsidized rate. Arts at the Armory is providing opportunities that are critical to an artist’s trajectory. Being able to present work in a professional venue allows for funding, marketing and PR opportunities, audience development, capture of video/photography needed for a myriad of uses, and more.
Approximately once per month, Arts at the Armory selects an individual or group to host a POP event in our Performance Hall on an off-peak night of Sunday-Wednesday. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis, and are chosen based on how well they reflect our values of community, creativity, and inclusivity. Events must be open to the public, and feature music, theater, dance, circus, film, media arts or spoken word/literary arts. Arts at the Armory will also assist with marketing and promotion.
Some participants in POP have included Louise Bichan (music performance), DrumatiX Percussive Dance and Drum, Two Truths and a Lie (storytelling), Tongue in Cheek (all women vocal ensemble), Kina Zoré (Afro pop), Kotoko Brass (Afro Pop), Paul Kafka Gibbon’s Thang Performance Series, AIR Performances produced by Callie Chapman and Somerville Arts Council, and more!
If you would like to become a sponsor of the Performance Opportunity Program please contact [email protected].
“These days, renting a theatre space or being curated by venues to present dance/art is not attainable, especially to smaller independent companies such as mine. Having the opportunity to showcase our program in a geographically and physically accessible venue, at rates that allow us to see a profit and remain sustainable, and one that provides all members of the population the possibility of enjoying an affordable and quality show, has to be a priority, and supported, especially after two difficult and impactful years of Covid.”
-Noa Barankin, Founder/Choreographer, DrumatiX
To be considered for POP, please first read these POP FAQs, then complete the form below, and a staff member will contact you after you submit it. The Center for the Arts at the Armory welcomes individuals and groups of all backgrounds to apply. Please contact [email protected] if you experience any difficulty with the form.