NEW YORK: New York Stage and Film has announced a $100,000 commitment to their NEXUS Initiative, offering direct support to 20 stage and film artists. Each multi-hyphenate artist will receive $5,000 and will participate in a series of conversations on the needs of new and expanded forms of storytelling.

“Bringing artists together in community is a guiding principle for New York Stage and Film and is the motivation behind NEXUS,” artistic director Chris Burney said in a statement. “We are thrilled that so many inspiring creative thinkers from across the country will be a part of it, and we look forward to building even newer, more flexible processes for their work.”

The inaugural NEXUS participants are director and performance, video, and installation artist Garrett Allen; actor, graphic designer, and photographer Ace Anderson; storyteller and projection designer Brittany Bland; actor and producer Elisa Bocanegra; choreographer Nichole Canuso; playwright Sam Chanse; writer and director Shayok Misha Chowdhury; poet, playwright, and actor Kristiana Rae Colón; theatre and film director Giselle Durand; playwright and screenwriter Jennifer Gibbs; filmmaker Aleem Hossain; director, writer, and filmmaker Kimille Howard; playwright and producer Joanna Castle Miller; playwright and director Tara Moses; playwright and performer Erlina Ortiz; writer and performer Mason Alexander Park; playwright Phanésia Pharel; producer and director Gabriela Sanchez; and writer and editor Vera Starbard.

New York Stage and Film is dedicated to both emerging and established artists in the development of new works for theatre, film, and television.