New York, NY - Works & Process announces Bart Friedman has stepped down as Chair of Works & Process, a role he has held since 2008, becoming Chair Emeritus, with Stephen Kroll Reidy succeeding him as Chair. Friedman, who guided Works & Process through a founder transition and pandemic transformation hands over to Reidy, an advocate for supporting artists and their creative process.

During his tenure, Friedman guided the organization through a seamless founder transition with Mary Sharp Cronson, who had been at the helm of Works & Process since its foundation in 1984, transferring leadership to Executive Director Duke Dang and Producer Caroline Cronson. Friedman’s tenure spanned the pandemic, a transformative period for Works & Process. In creating an industry-leading bubble residency model, Works & Process expanded beyond the Guggenheim and, in a widely duplicated model, enabled Works & Process to lead the way to the reopening of live outdoor performances in New York State in the Hudson Valley in Summer of 2020 and then live indoor performances in New York State in the Guggenheim Rotunda on March 21, 2021. During this time Works & Process was awarded first time grants from Mellon and Doris Duke Foundation, honored with the 2021 Dance Magazine Award, and nominated in 2021 and 2022 with the Association for Performing Arts Presenter’s William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence and Sustained Achievement in Programming. Friedman joined the Board in 2017, and shortly thereafter was elected as Board Chair.

Before his tenure with Works & Process, Friedman served as Vice Chair of The Juilliard School. Friedman continues to serve on the Boards of The Brookings Institution, Lincoln Center for The Performing Arts and as a member of the Membership Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations. He also continues to serve as Chair of Giant Eagle and as Senior Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. His steadfast leadership as Chair over the past 6 years has helped Works & Process through an era of deep transformation and expansion.

Friedman will be succeeded by Stephen Kroll Reidy. During his eight years on the Board, Reidy has consistently been at the heart of Works & Process, serving on the Finance Committee and providing instrumental funding for Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process as Destination”, an evolution of Works & Process’ bubble residency program. An advocate and supporter for artists and their creative process, during his tenure as a Board Member of the New York City Ballet, Reidy created the First Steps initiative supporting company dancers develop their choreographic interest. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Paul Taylor Dance Company (Development Committee Chair); Board President of BalletCollective, supporting deep collaboration and original process; and on the board of Dance Lab New York, a choreographic incubator.

“I am honored to have served as Board Chair of Works & Process, and am proud of all we have accomplished together,” said Bart Friedman, Chair Emeritus. “We are well-positioned for a strong future supporting artists and their creative process, and Stephen is the leader to bring us into the next chapter. He is committed to artists, learning what their needs are, and how to aggregate the resources and build systems to best support them. Stephen will be a phenomenal Chair.”

“Bart has provided timely and insightful leadership for Works & Process through the pandemic, with Works & Process emerging more robust and with an expanded footprint,” said Stephen Kroll Reidy, newly elected Board Chair. “I look forward to working with Bart as Chair Emeritus, Executive Director Duke Dang, Producer Caroline Cronson, the wonderful Works & Process board and staff, our presenting partners including the Guggenheim, Lincoln Center, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, SummerStage, Arts Brookfield Manhattan West, and Works & Process LaunchPAD residency partners to support artists and their creative process, and sharing that process with an ever growing audience.”

“Bart’s wisdom was instrumental as Works & Process started our founder transition, a process that is often fraught, but under Bart’s guidance, smooth and seamless,” said Caroline Cronson, Producer of Works & Process. “There could not be a better successor to Bart than Stephen. Stephen is widely admired across the community, a trusted partner to so many, generous, and has the complete confidence of the Works & Process community.”

“Bart provided us with astute oversight to seek the necessary medical, legal, and ethical counsel as we created and pioneered the bubble residency model, making it safe for artists to gather, work, and create during the darkest days of the pandemic. The model would go on to be shared and duplicated widely by the field,” said Duke Dang, Executive Director of Works & Process. “As the pandemic wound down our bubble residency initiative was transformed into our LaunchPAD residency program. Stephen provided the early support which has garnered additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, and Howard Gilman Foundation, making it possible for us to serve hundreds of artists in hundreds of days of fully-funded residencies every year. The growing impact can be seen in the breadth of touring and expanded representation in what is now presented by peers in the field.”

About Works & Process

An independent performing arts non-profit organization, Works & Process champions performing artists and their creative process from studio to stage. We provide rare, longitudinal, and fully-funded creative residencies, commissioning support, and present at the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, with the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. We platform artists from the world’s largest organizations and amplify underrecognized performing arts cultures. Each summer Works & Process curates and presents free dance programs with City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage, NYC Parks, and Arts Brookfield Manhattan West.

Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process as Destination” provides artists multi-week residencies with 24/7 studio availability, on-site housing, health insurance enrollment access, industry leading residency fees of $1,050 per week, and transportation to residency partners in Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. LaunchPAD partners include: ArtYard in Frenchtown, NJ, Bethany Arts Community in Ossining, NY, Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, NY, Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter, NY, Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY, The Church in Sag Harbor, NY, Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence in East Hampton, NY, Modern Accord Depot in Accord, NY, NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts in New York, NY, The Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, NY, Watermill Center in Water Mill, NY, and The Yard in Chilmark, MA.