MISSION AND HISTORY
The Tank is a Home for Emerging Artists.
WHEN WE WENT ELECTRONIC by Caitlin Saylor Stephens, directed by Meghan Finn (October 2018)
MISSION STATEMENT
The Tank is a small, Manhattan-based non-profit arts presenter and producer serving emerging artists. Our goal is to remove economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers or experimenting within their art form, while being inclusive and accessible. We keep ticket prices affordable, expanding the creation and attendance of the arts for a broad and diverse community.
Founded in 2003, The Tank champions emerging artists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression working across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. From the company’s two-theater home on 36th Street, The Tank serves over 2,500 artists every year, presents over 1,000 performances, and welcomes 36,000 audience members annually. The company fully produces a curated season of 13-18 theatrical World or New York premieres each season.
Recent work includes hit productions of Midnight Coleslaw Tales from Beyond the Closet!!! by Joey Merlo (2024), Invasive Species by Maia Novi (2023), Joan of Arc in a Supermarket in California by Chloe Xtina (2023), Mahinerator by Jerry Lieblich (2023), New York Times Critics’ Picks Simon and His Shoes (2022), Taxilandia (2021, 2023 OBIE Award), OPEN by Crystal Skillman (2019), Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan (2018), and The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman (2016); as well as Drama Desk Award-nominated productions The Hunger Artist (2018), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy (2017), Ada/Ava (2016) and youarenowhere (2016). Artists who have come through The Tank include Alex Timbers, Amy Herzog, Lucy Alibar, Kyle Jarrow, Reggie Watts, Kyle Abraham, Andrew Bujalski, We Are Scientists, and tens of thousands of others.
VALUES STATEMENT
The Tank seeks to contribute to a performing arts ecosystem dedicated to the vision that art must be accessible to people of any background, especially those to whom it has historically been denied.
We value artists, their time, and the space required to make artistic choices.
We aim to offer equitable support to artists based on their need and experience, with consideration given to the way(s) their identity, background, and socio-economic status influence their level of access.
We believe that it is imperative to foster an environment that embraces experimentation, where success is not contingent upon commercial viability but upon the narrative and artistic parameters set by the artists themselves.
We commit to being an active participant and partner in dismantling white supremacy, creating spaces where artists feel safe asking and answering the questions that matter to them, and fighting for collective liberation.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Tank offers resources, community, and stability to new and experimenting artmakers to lower the economic burden and hurdles to accessibility in artmaking, especially for artists who are early in their careers or have historically been denied access.
The Tank recognizes that representation matters and will always strive to be more inclusive. We understand that including one member of a historically excluded group doesn’t negate the need to include other groups.
We are invested in the continued existence of New York City’s arts ecosystem. We build the experience, exposure, and skill of artists who might not otherwise have the opportunities by supporting their livelihoods and abilities to make and share work.
In order to dismantle white supremacy to better serve the artists we work with and fight for our collective liberation, we are committed to examining and changing our methods and systems on an ongoing basis. The Tank continues to offer resources, community, and stability to new and experimenting artmakers.
OUR COMMITMENTS
To provide free, clean, safe and well-maintained spaces to emerging artists where they can make and perform their work.
To welcome audiences to a safe, clean space where they can experience work for a price they can afford whatever their socioeconomic status.
To provide insurance, front of house, marketing, general management, printing and publicity services free of charge to artists.
To offer support to artists and audiences based on their stated need, with consideration to the ways their race, economic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, neurodiversity, immigration status and/or national origin influence their level of access.
To reach new audiences, serve our existing audiences, and challenge all audiences.
To pay attention to the financial capacity, programming ideas and interests of our audiences.
To create an environment where artists feel safe and empowered asking and answering the questions that matter to them.
To guide and nurture our collective ability to share resources.
To provide clear accountability measures and policy to artists so that they may easily report instances of harm, harassment, and violence including microaggressive behavior and witness consequences for these actions.
To foster an environment of equity and artistic choices that are consistent with the values stated above by providing avenues of communication between the staff, artists, and audiences at The Tank.
The Tank’s first home on 42nd Street, circa 2004