Staten Island Arts is excited to announce the hire of a new Community Programs Manager, a new program series, and the first events in this new series! Keep reading for details. 

Staten Island Arts welcomes Alexandra Shoneyin to our team! 

Alexandra Shoneyin joins the Staten Island Arts team in the new position of Community Programs Manager. In her role, Alexandra oversees all programming initiatives of Staten Island Arts, working closely with our creative communities of Staten Island to identify and respond to the needs and conditions facing artists living and working in our borough. A native Staten Islander, Alexandra brings to her role citywide experience working on community art programs, and her perspective is guided by artistic expression, unity and a spiral way of healing beginning with the self, family, neighborhood, and finally, the world. Learn more about Alexandra here.

Announcing the new Our Space series and first program

Our Space is a new program at SIA that’s artist-centered: designed to meet individual and collective artists’ needs. With an aim to build a vibrant and supported network of local artists, these hybrid spaces are meant to nurture connection and collaboration, exchange knowledge and skills, and spark art activation and neighborhood change-making amongst Staten Island artists. Our Space holds pop-up shows, art walks, workshops, community conversations, skillshare events, healing circles, screenings,  and whatever else our community of artists wants and needs. These spaces center artists who have been historically under-resourced based on race, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, ability, economic disadvantage, and refugee/immigration status.

The first program in the Our Space series is Community Conversations: How Do I Open an Art Venue on Staten Island? This 3-part conversation series imagines the possibilities of creating more public venues for cultural and artistic work on Staten Island. The series launches with an in-person communal dinner at Staten Island Arts offices and continues with Zoom workshops led by Randi Berry, Executive Director at IndieSpace, home of The Indie Theater Fund, on the ins and outs of opening up a performance venue in NYC. 

This series is open to artists across disciplines with all levels of experience in opening up art venues on Staten Island. We strongly recommend artists who have been historically under-resourced based on race, ability, refugee/immigration gender identity and/or expression, economic disadvantage with future plans to open up a venue on Staten Island apply. 

All participants must fill out this brief interest form to apply, and if accepted, must commit to joining all three sessions. A modest stipend will be given to all who attend. Interest form must be submitted no later than DECEMBER 1ST AT 11:59 PM. 

Conversation Series Schedule 

Communal Dinner, December 8th 2022 @ 6pm - 8pm [in-person]

Zoom workshop led by Randi Berry, January 9 2023 @ 6pm - 8pm [virtual]

Zoom workshop led by Randi Berry, January 24 2023 @ 6pm - 8pm [virtual]

If you have any questions, please feel free to email our Community Programs Manager for more information.

This gathering is part of Reimagining New York City, a citywide series of visioning sessions and exchanges to incorporate the wisdom, imagination, and creative practices of community cultural organizations, artists, and neighborhood residents in decision making and transformative change. It is supported in part by The New York Community Trust, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.

About Randi Berry and IndieSpace
Randi Berry is an indie theater maker with an arts advocacy and commercial real estate background. She is the co-founder of Wreckio Ensemble Theater Company, The Indie Theater Fund, and IndieSpace. Randi has worked on over $11B in commercial real estate transactions and has created programs resulting in thousands of artists receiving funding, free real estate consulting services, rehearsal space, and opportunities for professional growth. Select awards include: NYIT Indie Theater Champion, The Ellen Stewart Award, Indie Theater Person of the Year, member of the Indie Theater Hall of Fame, and a Citation for Service by the New York City Council.

IndieSpace celebrates and centers independent theater-making in NYC by providing radically transparent, responsive and equity-focused: funding, real estate programs, professional development, and advocacy to individual artists, theater companies, and indie venues.

Staten Island Arts' CultureCalendar is a community-driven cultural events and opportunities list. While focused on Staten Island, we welcome relevant submissions from cultural producers working on citywide and national opportunities. Click here to view current listings, or add your own.