Brooklyn Arts Exchange

Triskelion Arts houses five lovely rehearsal studios, two of which convert to fully equipped black-box performance spaces, the Aldous and Zoo Theaters. Opened in 2000, this thriving arts center is located in the heart of Williamsburg at 118 N. 11th Street, offering affordable rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of working artists and hosts a full roster of shows and classes. The Triskelion Arts Presents program produces the work of over 20 select companies each year on their two stages. Additionally, Triskelion’s three curated festivals feature the work of over sixty individual choreographers and clowns annually.

The organization is grateful for past and current support from Dance Theater Workshop, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, NYSCA, the Brooklyn Arts Council/JP Morgan Chase Regrant Program, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

Triskelion was founded in 2000 by the collective, Kick Stand Dance (a.k.a., Cary Baker, Abby Bender, Layla Childs, Anna Luckey, and Sonya Robbins) who met in the dance department at Bard College in the early 90s. Triskelion originally consisted of Studio A only, which was made into a convertible black-box theater in 2002 with the help of our friend, Brian Aldous. 2002 also marked Triskelion Arts/Kick Stand Dance Inc.’s receipt of its 501(c)3, not-for-profit status. Kick Stand Dance jointly ran Triskelion from 2000-2004 and developed and presented much of their own work on its stage. The collective amicably parted ways in fall of 2005. Abby Bender and Andy Dickerson took the reins, and built a second space in 2006. Between September 2009 and February 2010, the pair built three more studios and a second theater. The Aldous and Zoo Theaters have hosted over 200 different performances, and countless rehearsals and classes in these 11 years. The “do-it-yourself so it’s affordable” approach that Abby and Andy have taken, has allowed this organization to survive and even thrive despite tremendous financial pressure and a nearly surreal shift in the status of its neighborhood. Now, Triskelion’s renter base is in the thousands and our website receives over 10,000 hits per year. The spaces serve an enormous and increasingly varied population. Artists need reasonably-priced, convenient places to create, practice and perform their craft. Affordable venues are few and far between. Triskelion aims to keep its overhead as low as possible, so that it may continue to meet the space needs for the performing arts community for many years to come!