Westbeth Artists Community

The Westbeth Artists Community, located at 463 West Street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the largest such community in the world. This low to middle income rental housing was developed with the assistance of the Kaplan Fund and federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1968 to house artists, their families, and their studios.

History

Westbeth is a complex of 13 buildings bound on the north by Bethune Street; on the east by Washington Street; to the south by Bank Street; and to the west by West Street. They were designed by the Architect Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz and others, and were built between 1880 and 1900. The complex was originally the Bell Telephone Laboratories (1868-1966), one of the largest industrial research centers and home to many inventions, including the vacuum tube, the condenser microphone, and the transistor. The complex remained empty after Bell Labs left until it was decided to renovate the complex for affordable housing for artists with funds provided by the Kaplan Foundation in the late sixties. The architect for the renovation of the building was Richard Meier and Associates. Westbeth opened in 1970 for artists, dancers, musicians, actors, writers and film makers. Artists of all disciplines are admitted for residency in Westbeth after review by a committee in their discipline. They also must meet certain financial requirements. As of March 2007, the waiting list for new applicants was closed until further notice. There are 383 residential units as well as commercial spaces, and rehearsal and artists' studios in thirteen inter-connected buildings [cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth T. |title=The Encyclopedia of New York City|year=1995 |publisher=The New York Historical Society; Yale University Press|location=New York, NY |isbn=0-300-05536-6 | pages=P. 1254] .

Organizations

The tenant-elected Westbeth Artists' Residents Council provides free cultural events to the public such as readings, performances, and films, and runs the Westbeth Art Gallery which exhibits the work of both resident and outside artists. The Council receives grants from the offices of NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Assemblyman Thomas Duane as well as public funding from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs for its programs. Recently (2008) the Council was awarded a major grant from the Pollack Krasner Foundation for the Council's official website - www.westbeth.org. The website hosts individual artists' pages showing the work of its artist-residents , as well as publicizing events and exhibitions sponsored by the Council. Other tenant groups include the Westbeth Artists Committee and the Westbeth Artists in Residence.

In addition to housing, Westbeth is also home to a number of cultural organizations, including the New School Drama School, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Bank Street Theatre, the Brecht Forum, and Beth Simchat Synagogue - the first gay and lesbian synagogue in the village.

Famous Residents

Westbeth Artists Housing has been home to a number of influential artists including Diane Arbus, Gil Evans, Moses Gunn, Vin Diesel, Billy Harper, Joseph Chaiken, Hans Haacke, Robert De Niro, Sr., Ed Sanders, Ralph Lee, Christina Maile, Edith Stephen, Toni Dalton Robert Beauchamp, Dr. Barnaby Ruhe, Merce Cunningham, Arnold Wechsler, and Jon D'Orazio.

References

External links

* [http://www.westbeth.org/ Official website]