Announcing the Fall 2024 Development Fund Awardees
February 3, 2025 • 4 minute read
Nejla Yatkin in Ouroboros.
The National Performance Network (NPN) is pleased to award $40,000 and leverage $185,000 through the Fall 2024 Development Fund to further support four Creation Fund projects that advance racial and cultural justice.
The Development Fund is the second phase of NPN’s Creation & Development Fund (CDF) and assists in offsetting managerial, artistic, or technical needs when developing projects. These needs can include supporting technical residencies, deepening community engagement, relationship building, expanding storytelling, or studio time to prepare a project for travel.
NPN’s approach to artistic support is built on the notions of partnership and long-term relationship building. NPN actively strives to expand the capacities and connectivity of its constituents. The Development Fund is structured to maximize these goals. Artists can apply independently or as a team with a co-commissioning partner of their choosing, depending on the needs of the project.
“NPN support was so different from other grants or forms of support because there is a team of people behind you, supporting the progression of the work and also the exposure of our company as a whole. Coming from a company who created our first production rehearsing in our company member’s living room, with little to no resources, this type of support both financial and relational amongst presenters provided BRKFST with the time, dignity and connections to not only create our best production to date but to also create opportunities for the future.”
The Creation and Development Fund is made possible with support from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.
Fall 2024 Development Fund Recipients
Pioneer Winter Collective
Co-commissioning partner: Miami Light Project (Miami Shores, FL)
The development phase of Apollo—a dance-theater work exploring intergenerational queer dynamics, memory, HIV/AIDS, and legacy by the Pioneer Winter Collective—comes from a deep desire to explore the complex dynamics of mentorship and the ever-evolving landscape of the queer experience. The Development Fund will be used for the integration of Pioneer Winter into the Apollo cast through a series of residency activities (with associated rentals and artist fees); as well as designing and construction of scenic elements that engage with the choreography.
Nejla Yatkin
Co-commissioning partner: Art2Action Inc. (New York, NY)
With the development fund, I will embark on a comprehensive two-month rehearsal period in January and February to prepare Ouroboros for its upcoming tour in March, which will include performances in Evanston, Tampa, Washington, Boston, and Houston. The development fund will play a crucial role in allowing me to dedicate the time and resources necessary to ensure Ouroboros is ready for its tour. This support will enable me to honor the memory of Shamou through the music, deepen the performance’s impact, and establish meaningful connections with communities as I bring the work to new audiences across the country.
Read more about Nejla Yatkin’s inspiration for Ouroboros in her Voices from the Network post, “Cosmic Wisdom: How a Channeled Poem Inspired Me to Create the Solo Piece Ouroboros.”
San Cha
Developmental partner: Performance Space New York (New York, NY)
Inebria me is a new experimental opera by Mexican-American artist, San Cha, we are requesting funds for the further development of the work ahead of it’s premier at Performance Space New York.
Dora Arreola & Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro
Co-commissioning partner: Art2Action Inc. (New York, NY)
Dora Arreola will develop Queering the Border: Que el amor nos haga (Love Makes Us) in a series of residencies with Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro in Tijuana, Mexico, and with Art2Action in Tampa, FL. The process will include script and song development, choreography, collaboration with designers, and community workshops.
