As one of New York City’s oldest nonprofit alternative art centers (founded as an artist collective in 1971 and formalized as a 501c3 in 1973), The Kitchen is dedicated to offering emerging and established artists opportunities to create and present new work within, and across, the disciplines of dance, film, literature, music, theater, video, and visual art. Recognizing its longstanding legacy for innovation, The Kitchen remains devoted to fostering a community of artists and audiences, offering artists the opportunity to make—and for audiences to engage with—work that pushes the boundaries of artistic disciplines and strengthens meaningful dialogues between the arts and larger culture.

Founded as an artist collective in 1971 by Woody and Steina Vasulka and incorporated as a nonprofit two years later, The Kitchen has from its infancy been a space where experimental artists and composers share progressive ideas with like-minded colleagues. It was among the very first American institutions to embrace the emerging fields of video and performance, while presenting visionary new work in established disciplines such as dance, music, literature, and film. This unique combination generated an environment immediately conducive to groundbreaking and cross-disciplinary explorations, helping launch the careers of many artists who have defined the American avant-garde.

Among the artists who have presented significant work at The Kitchen are Muhal Richard Abrams, Laurie Anderson, ANOHNI, Robert Ashley, Charles Atlas, Kevin Beasley, Beastie Boys, Gretchen Bender, Dara Birnbaum, Anthony Braxton, John Cage, Lucinda Childs, Julius Eastman, Philip Glass, Leslie Hewitt, Darius James, Joan Jonas, Bill T. Jones, Devin Kenny, Simone Leigh, Ralph Lemon, George Lewis, Robert Longo, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sarah Michelson, Tere O’Connor, Okwui Okpokwasili, Nam June Paik, Charlemagne Palestine, Sondra Perry, Vernon Reid, Arthur Russell, Cindy Sherman, Laurie Spiegel, Talking Heads, Greg Tate, Cecil Taylor, Urban Bush Women, Danh Vō, Lawrence Weiner, Anicka Yi, and many more.

The Kitchen is temporarily located at Westbeth Artists Housing at 163 Bank Street, 4th Floor Loft during the renovation of our 512 West 19th building to support future generations of the avant-garde. To learn more about this project, click here. To follow along, follow us at @thekitchen_nyc or sign up for our newsletter.

It is a ~10 minute journey on foot and a ~5 minute car ride from both the 14th Street A/C/E subway station (the station has elevator access) as well as the 14th Street 1 train subway station to Westbeth. It is a ~5 minute journey on foot from the M20 bus stop of 8 Av/Bleecker Street and a ~10 minute walk from the Christopher Street Path Train Station.

We appreciate that for some visitors traveling on the public transit system can be vulnerable and a barrier to participation across many cultural spaces; if you are interested in attending a program but require further guidance, please reach out to accessfeedback@thekitchen.org.

Access to The Kitchen’s 4th Floor Loft is available via the Westbeth Bank Street Courtyard. There are stairs or ramp access to a door marked with The Kitchen’s name, behind which there is an elevator. The elevator enters directly into the loft. Our restrooms and dressing rooms are gender neutral. At present the ADA bathroom is under construction at the loft space. An ADA compliant restroom is available off-site for select events; please contact accessfeedback@thekitchen.org if you require additional support.

Per its experimental and artist-centered mission, The Kitchen is committed to preserving records of programmatic and administrative activities to document its history as it continues to unfold. As a part of our model of creative care for artists and staff members’ legacies, The Kitchen maintains an institutional, living archive on-site at 19th Street. Selections from these holdings are available digitally on The Kitchen's Archive Website. The full archive is accessible by appointment only: special accommodations can be made for in-person or remote viewings of paper-based and/or AV materials with the support of staff. For in-person appointments, visitors can access the viewing space via elevator. As institutional bandwidth is limited due to the strain of the ongoing pandemic, please email archives@thekitchen.org to inquire about capacity for scheduling and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

The archive of The Kitchen's 20th Century activities is additionally in the collection of The Getty Research Institute located on the West Coast. For more information, visit the Getty’s website here.

For programs and performances we will do our best to accommodate requests for ASL interpretation or captioning, as well as digital and/or large-print copies of printed materials; where this is offered, it will be noted on the program page. Additionally, seating configurations change based on the program. If you have specific access questions or needs please email accessfeedback@thekitchen.org.

The Kitchen extends its gratitude to the instruction of Recess and Carolyn Lazard’s “Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice” as a critical artist-driven guide for institutional accessibility and inclusion.