With art galleries abounding, performance groups, an unrivaled food scene, and deep history as home to the world’s most incredible creatives, it’s no surprise that the Lower East Side is a renowned international cultural capital. Just walk down the lively streets, and you can tell there is an imaginative spark almost everywhere you look. One of the choicest vantage points to encounter it all is the refined and elegant Lower East Side apartments of One Manhattan Square. And just under a 15-minute walk from these extraordinary Downtown NYC apartments for sale, you’ll find one of the area’s leading artistic hubs—Abrons Arts Center.
This cultural institution was founded in the 1970s in association with prominent nonprofit Henry Street Settlement to give area residents an accessible place to learn, create, and enjoy the performing arts. But its past reaches back to 1915 when a small theater was built to house the Neighborhood Playhouse company. Throughout the early part of the 20th century, many illustrious innovators of performance, like Martha Graham, Orson Welles, and Aaron Copeland, presented their groundbreaking work in the space. That jewel-box theater was augmented to create the Abrons Arts Center complex you can visit today.
Presently, the Abrons Arts Center is home to a wide array of multidisciplinary arts and resources for artists, including galleries, rehearsal space, and various venues for live performances.
With a commitment to public safety, community, and supporting cutting-edge artists, Abrons Arts Center has lined up a programming schedule that is sure to be as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. Let’s take a look at some of the planned events.
Quell your “Sunday scaries” with interactive and immersive programming alfresco. Bimonthly on Sundays, Abrons hosts an ever-changing roster of engaging events in the Abrons Amphitheater. This spring and summer, gather the family and get ready for fun in the sun. Dance to the rhythm, whether you’re a novice or a master dancer, during Salsa on 2, a “freestyle” salsa workshop. Or channel your inner hippie as you learn colorful and natural tie-dye techniques.
Carl Soprano: The Day I Became a Minimalist
Performer Tess Dworman uses her background in choreography and movement to transform herself into a multitude of characters in this video production. Dworman, along with filmmaker Daniele Sarti, reimagines late-night TV viewing. Just as you flip through the channels before bedtime, Dworman flips through myriad male characters to create a work that examines masculinity itself. And, yes, one of those male personas she inhabits is Tony Soprano.
In our world, flags are ubiquitous symbols that signify everything from nation to gender identity. With the Counterflags exhibit, curator Natalia Viera Salgado brings together artworks that expose the true meaning people around the world imbue in these pieces of cloth and zooms out to how they can act as “counteracts to colonial violence.”
The Abrons Arts Center is just one of the many spots on the Lower East Side where you can experience the city’s most imaginative and moving artists of today. Schedule a tour of One Manhattan Square to see what else awaits in this singular neighborhood.