Mission

Founded in 2002, Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation is an artist-guided 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of interdisciplinary art and performance, with a strong focus on experimental dance. The mission is reflected in the following goals:

1

To foster the development, research, and presentation of new multi-disciplinary performance works. Main programs include rehearsal and performance subsidies, arts advocacy, education, outreach, and community development.

2

To establish and provide affordable art spaces for the creative community - notably Chez Bushwick (2002), CPR (Co-Founded 2008), Space 428 Hudson (2016) as incubator of The Hudson Eye, and Window On Hudson (Co-Founded 2020).

3

To sustain the programs of Jonah Bokaer Choreography, a leading practitioner of dance in museums: which includes choreography, media art, video, works on paper, and installation-based works.

4

To produce and document programs of contemporary performance that engage audiences in rich intellectual experiences, which help to enlarge the role of contemporary performance and enhance its contribution to society.

 

Chez Bushwick

In addition, Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation is responsible for a number of monthly performance programs, which are presented in a variety of spaces- encouraging artistic freedom, collaboration, and creative risk-taking.  The Brooklyn studio, lovingly known as “Chez Bushwick,” provides affordable rehearsal space at some of the lowest rates in New York. It also hosts two re-occurring artistic programs:

RECESS: The RECESS program provides a monthly salon space where both works-in-progress and established pieces can be shared in an intimate setting. Audiences have a chance to enter creative dialogue with the performers, and connect in an artistically engaging way. To learn about upcoming performances, please check the RECESS page.

AIR: Chez Bushwick also hosts an Artist-In-Residence program 3 times a year that provides up to 1000 hours of free rehearsal space and a performance showcase for the supported artists. To apply to the AIR program, or to learn more about upcoming performances please check the AIR page.

 

Choreography (JBC)

Jonah Bokaer is a Tunisian-American choreographer, LGBTQIA leader, and exhibiting artist.  A multi-disciplinary artist (dance, choreography, drawings, motion capture works, interactive installations, mobile applications, and film), Bokaer’s work has been produced in venues around the world, including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Festival d’Avignon, Spoleto Festival, La Triennale di Milano, and SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival. Bokaer has performed at the Guggenheim Museum, P.S.1 MoMA, and The New Museum in New York City. He founded Chez Bushwick in 2002, and co-founded CPR  (Center for Performance Research) with John Jasperse in 2008. He also helps to support his Hudson, NY community with his new Space 428 Hudson - incubator for the annual arts festival, The Hudson Eye.  During the COVID-19 pandemic Window On Hudson, a 4th facility was co-founded in Hudson, NY with sculptor Jeremy Kristin Bullis in order to multiply pandemic exhibition opportunities for artists in prominent windows: responding to mandates forbidding indoor gatherings.

Bokaer has collaborated with artists including Azzedine Alaia, Lynda Benglis, Anne Carson, Angela & Jennifer Chun, Merce Cunningham, Robert Gober, Anthony McCall, Narciso Rodriguez, Tino Sehgal, Lee Ufan (Guggenheim Retrospective 2011), Robert Wilson. His gold standard for meaningful collaboration is the ongoing collaboration and iterative artistic dialogue with Charles Renfro, Principal Architect of Diller Scofidio + Renfro. As choreographer for Robert Wilson, he has completed 6 operas including Faust (Polish National Opera), Aïda (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma), KOOL (Academie der Kunst Berlin), On The Beach (Baryshnikov Arts Center) and others. Bokaer has collaborated with Daniel Arsham on ten full-length works beginning in 2007, whose body of collaborative work was showcased in a 3-act program called “Rules Of The Game,” with an original score by Pharrell Williams; toured world-wide; and sold out the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in 2016 for multiple performances, including a nonprofit Gala honoring longtime supporter Diana Widmaier Picasso.

Jonah Bokaer Choreography cultivates a new form of choreography merged with visual art & design. He is the author of 67 original works, produced in 35 nations, 27 of the United States, and 292 cities – including 41 museum exhibitions. Earned & contributed funds from Jonah Bokaer Choreography between 2002-Present have realized 4 permanent Artspaces for younger artists, creating over 14+ diverse jobs, and $11M+ in revenue. 

 

Land Acknowledgment

Chez Bushwick recognizes that we are located in D#34 of Bushwick, Brooklyn since 2002, and co-founded CPR shortly after in 2008. Our organization respectfully acknowledges that we are located in Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Canarsie and Munsee-Lenape peoples. We call on arts/organizations, as well as ourselves individually, to acknowledge the histories of the land's first peoples, and commit ourselves to building more inclusive and equitable spaces for all. For information on our Hudson Valley land acknowledgment, plus programs and language guided by our Curator with Native American artists of our programs, please visit www.thehudsoneye.com.