The Kitchen Receives $2,000,000 From The Mellon Foundation

The Kitchen has received a $2,000,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, the largest single gift to the organization in its 50-year history. The funding will allow the multidisciplinary art institution, now under the leadership of Executive Director and Chief Curator Legacy Russell, to expand its internal infrastructure and staff in anticipation of the reopening of its Chelsea home. The building is undergoing a renovation made possible through a separate ongoing capital campaign. These parallel sources for evolution will buttress The Kitchen’s ability to support artists, grow and deepen relationships with its audience community, function as a site for radical learning on- and off-stage, and create a more capacious home for the future of the avant-garde.

Legacy Russell says, “We are grateful for Mellon’s immense collaboration in growing with us the strategic vision for the future of cultural work and creative care, exemplified by The Kitchen’s experimental mission and unparalleled history as it continues to unfold now.”

Emil Kang, arts and culture program director of the Mellon Foundation, said, “We are pleased to support The Kitchen at this pivotal moment in its history under the visionary leadership of Legacy Russell—a vision that centers artists in boldly reimagining the systems and structures they require to sustain the audacity to create.”

The Kitchen receives this considerable contribution in a moment of comprehensive transformation for the organization. As its longtime home at 512 West 19th Street in Chelsea is being renovated, The Kitchen has established a temporary home at Westbeth Artists Housing (163B Bank Street, 4th Floor Loft) while continuing to explore the notion of a Kitchen without walls, with programming extending to other physical and virtual sites. The organization just debuted a new website and visual identity designed by Pacific (Elizabeth Karp-Evans and Adam Turnbull). The site foregrounds live recordings, video, and archival storytelling, creating a more accessible and engaging experience for visitors and sharing its offerings with local, national and international audiences. The Kitchen recently announced its Fall 2023 season programming, in which a wide range of experimental artists put forward thrilling propositions for the future of the avant-garde.