Torn Space Theater is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $25,000. This grant will support a digital arts performance series with the Buffalo audiovisual collective Groupwork.
“Projects like Torn Space Theater exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
“Torn Space has been working closely with Groupwork for the past few years and we are thrilled to strengthen this partnership through funding from the NEA. This collaborative project will explore the possibilities of the digital arts and create immersive performance environments that both groups are known for.” – Dan Shanahan, Artistic Director
Beginning in May 2025, Torn Space Theater (TST) will partner with Buffalo-based audio-visual artist collective Groupwork to develop original multimedia performances that integrate digital technologies in its newly-renovated flexible performance space. The project will consist of two new original productions, a digital arts residency that culminates in a third collaborative production, and community workshops. This series builds on two previous successful productions by Groupwork at Torn Space- middle distance: a guided calibration (2023) and inversion/presence, and marks the evolution of the theater company as a performance laboratory where multimedia artists can experiment with new forms of contemporary performance and audience engagement. This initiative will be supported by the completion of a nearly $5 million renovation of its east side home to create a complete multi-use arts campus geared for community engagement.
The project will enrich and amplify Buffalo’s digital art scene and foster connections with the broader world of digital arts. Inspired by events series such as Ambient Church (Brooklyn), CURRENTS New Media Festival (Santa Fe), Gray Area Festival (San Francisco), BEMIS (Omaha), Movement Electronic Music Festival (Detroit), Unsound Festival (Kraków; New York), and MUTEK (Montreal), TST and Groupwork aim to push boundaries, nurture innovation, and expand access to the digital arts in Buffalo and beyond.
About Groupwork
Groupwork is a Buffalo-based collective that seeks to create complex, multidimensional projects, blending experiential design, visual arts, and sound engineering.
For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.