Text and Photo by Brian J Pape, AIA.

A unique rehearsal space has been created in an unprecedented collaboration between Community Board 2 (CB2), Developers Aurora Capital Associates and William Gottlieb Real Estate, and four performing arts organizations: HERE, IndieSpace, New Ohio, and Rattlestick. Celebrating the creation of the West Village Rehearsal Co-Op at 60-74 Gansevoort Street, opening remarks were made on January 24 by Council Member Erik Bottcher, Gansevoort Arts Advisory Committee Chair and CB2 Member David Gruber, and representatives from the theater groups, Randi Berry (IndieSpace), Robert Lyons (New Ohio), Kristin 
Marting (HERE), and Daniella Topol (Rattlestick), pictured here in front of the entry. The organizations are partnering to ensure the space supports the work of 1,500 artists annually and is programmed 50 weeks a year.  This space was also made possible through the support of the Hyde & Watson Foundation and the Thompson Family Foundation.

With a 99-year lease, the fully ADA-compliant 1,500 square-foot co-op studio provides a new space for a diverse membership of performing artists and companies to develop and create new work, after the pandemic forced the closure of many rehearsal studios, leaving a shortage of spaces for artists to do their work.