Hi-ARTS

Hi-ARTS Hi-ARTS OPEN CALL: Solo & Duo Addition. Apply by June 30 at hi-artsnyc.org!

Hi-ARTS (formerly known as the Hip-Hop Theater Festival) is a leading organization within the urban arts movement. For fifteen years, Hi-ARTS has consistently broken new ground, advancing urban art by empowering artists to develop bold new works, while creating a lasting and positive impact on urban communities. Hi-ARTS is adding to the legacy of the HHTF at an exciting stage of growth that engages Hip-Hop while creating the new urban arts. With the move to our new home at PS 109, Hi-ARTS is poised to grow into new realms of artistic creativity, advocacy and service to the arts and the communities in which we live. Our commitment to this work has developed an audience that is equally unique within the landscape which is young and ethnically and racially diverse. Located at the center of creative and community practice in El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109, Hi-ARTS engages arts and culture both locally and nationally.

We've been announcing a LOT lately... so let's officially introduce you to the artists at the heart of it all. First up:...
10/02/2026

We've been announcing a LOT lately... so let's officially introduce you to the artists at the heart of it all.

First up: Anichi Moon [Ching-I Chang] ✨

A name discovered in a dream. A name carried gently by the wind between worlds.

Anichi moves through life with wonder in their heart and songs in their soul. They dream of a world where humans and nature remember they are one, speak with trees, listen for the wisdom in their dances, and turn ordinary moments into little celebrations of being alive.

(And yes, Anichi loves bananas. 🍌)

This season, Anichi joins us through CRITICAL BREAKS to continue developing Oceans Between Our Names, a work exploring migration, diaspora memory, and the body’s relationship to displacement through movement, sound, and paper boats. The work invites audiences into quiet acts of witness, reflecting on personal histories and the courage required for transformation.

And on October 29, you can witness that process for yourself at our first [WORK IN PROCESS] of the season.

Come meet Anichi. Come see where the work is going. Come be part of the process 👉🏽 bit.ly/4zbtFdF

🎟️ October 29 | 7PM
📍 Hi-ARTS | 10 Lafayette Ave, FL 4
💸 $5–20 | Pay What You Can

We’re deep into the process already. Stay tuned for moments from this process.👀 🌊

09/30/2026

Our Ofrenda returns . . . 🕯️

On Thursday, October 15, we gather at Hi-ARTS to open The Art of Remembrance Ofrenda, a living altar inspired by the traditions and spirit of Día de los Mu***os. Together, we’ll open this space for memory, reflection, and connection—remembering those who came before us and celebrating how their stories, love, and legacies live on through us.

We invite you to visit and contribute an offering for a loved one. You’re welcome to bring a photograph, cherished memento, flowers, a poem, drawing, or piece of art.

Come as you are, bring someone you love, and share in an evening of remembering.

Open flames are prohibited in the building. You are welcome to bring a battery-operated candle.

The evening will move through several moments of gathering and reflection:

🕯️ Altar Meditations with Donny (Donnell E. Smith)
Spiritual curator, coach, and nomad Donny will guide us through altar meditations, inviting us to slow down, reflect, and connect with what we’ve brought with us.

🌿 Altar Blessing with Rasu Jilani(Rasu Jilani (Awo Okiki Ifa) 🇦🇬🇻🇮🇨🇼🗽)
Rasu Jilani, Priest of Yemaya and Oya, will offer a blessing for the altar and the community gathered around it.

🎶 “The music still lives!” with Janis Russell(Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian)
Janis Russell, Director of the Lafayette Inspirational Ensemble, will bring music into the ceremony as we honor the ways memory, spirit, and community continue to live through song.

We’ll close the evening with remarks from Aaron L. McKinnney,(Aaron L. McKinney)Executive Director of Hi-ARTS.

This is just the beginning. Come, witness the opening, bring a name or memory with you, and join us as we begin this season of remembrance together. The Ofrenda will remain open through November 5, with opportunities to visit, contribute, gather, and reflect throughout the month.

Thursday, October 15 | 5PM
Hi-ARTS | 10 Lafayette Ave, Floor 4
Free & open to the public
RSVP encouraged, link in bio!

It’s Autumn Solstice, fam! With this sweater weather comes a cozy season at Hi-ARTS. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, and plan y...
09/29/2026

It’s Autumn Solstice, fam! With this sweater weather comes a cozy season at Hi-ARTS. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, and plan your fall with Hi-ARTS!

This is is a high level snapshot of our Fall 2026 Programming! There will be more updates and links in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime head over to hi-artsnyc.org to visit our calendar and check all of this out!!!

Capacity is limited so snag your tickets NOW!!

09/08/2026

Hi-ARTS is thrilled to welcome Kevin Alicea, Elinor Kleber Diggs, Anichi Moon (Ching-I Chang), and Camille Simone Thomas as our 2026-27 Artists in Residence. Through CRITICAL BREAKS and SKY LAB, this group of Artists will spend the season experimenting, researching, and developing new work at Hi-ARTS.⁠
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This season, artists turn their attention to the possibilities of solo and duo performances, bringing projects across theater, movement, and performance. Artists will continue developing The Line, (Alicea), DUEL (Diggs), Oceans Between Our Names (Moon), and Bad American (Thomas) — works that explore family, migration, memory, identity, love, connection, and abolition through distinct approaches to solo and collaborative performance.⁠
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At Hi-ARTS, CRITICAL BREAKS and SKY LAB residencies create space to follow and discover new work before it has taken its final form. Artists are given the time and space to ask questions, try things out, take risks, and discover what comes next. Throughout the season, audiences will have opportunities to experience these works as they take shape through our [WORK IN PROCESS] programming.⁠
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Meet the Cohort at the link in bio!

ALUMNX SPOTLIGHT | Sarah Jones Tony Award winner Sarah Jones returns to the New York stage with a virtuosic new solo sho...
09/03/2026

ALUMNX SPOTLIGHT | Sarah Jones

Tony Award winner Sarah Jones returns to the New York stage with a virtuosic new solo show directed by OBIE winner Eric Ting (The Comeuppance) that is hilarious, provocative, and deeply human.

Called “a once-in-a-lifetime artist" by Meryl Streep and “a master of the genre” by The New York Times, Jones embodies a remarkable cast of characters spanning 250 years of America’s history.

Through her singular blend of comedy, storytelling, and transformation, she invites us to reckon with the myths we inherit, the realities we share, and the future we are creating together.

Sarah Jones launched the national premiere of her early Off-Broadway solo show "Surface Transit" through the Hip-Hop Theater Festival 2000. The work went on to become a Tony and Obie Award Winner! We are so proud to see her continuing to shine. Congratulations, Sarah.

America, Who Hurt You?
September 10-27, 2026
Polonsky Shakespeare Center
262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Grab your tickets at https://tfana.org/events/america-who-hurt-you-2026-09-10-730-pm

Hi-ARTS is now on RoundUp.org, a platform that partners with Visa and Mastercard to let you automatically donate your sp...
08/20/2026

Hi-ARTS is now on RoundUp.org, a platform that partners with Visa and Mastercard to let you automatically donate your spare change by rounding up everyday credit card purchases. It takes less than a minute to sign up, is completely free to use, and your small change can have a lasting impact.

On average, supporters contribute about $30 a month, just by rounding up their purchases on RoundUp.org. And now for a limited time, every person who signs up and rounds up for at least 3 months will help unlock an additional $25 donation for Hi-ARTS!

Your recurring support helps Hi-ARTS continue to nurture Artists of the Global Majority through residencies, commissions, professional development, and community-centered programming. If you're looking for an easy way to support our work year-round, we'd love to have you join us.

Every purchase becomes an opportunity to invest in artists, creative expression, and the future of our communities.

RoundUp now at https://www.roundup.org/nonprofits/hip-hop-theater-festival-inc-ny-brooklyn-q85g55p

FROM OUR FRIENDs // Haiti Cultural ExchangeOur neighbors and friends at Haiti Cultural Exchange are now accepting applic...
08/20/2026

FROM OUR FRIENDs // Haiti Cultural Exchange

Our neighbors and friends at Haiti Cultural Exchange are now accepting applications for their 2026 Lakou Nou Artist-in-Residency Program.

Snag the deets below and hit that link in bio for more info.

Haiti Cultural Exchange (HCX) is thrilled to announce the 2026 Lakou NOU Artist Residency cycle 10 is now open for applications!

What’s Lakou NOU?
Haitian Kreyòl for “Our Yard”—Lakou NOU adapts Haiti’s Lakou communal living tradition, where land, family, and spirituality intertwine to create collective resilience. Since 2016, HCX has invited artists of Haitian descent to activate this legacy through community-engaged art in Brooklyn neighborhoods like Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush, and Canarsie.

What’s included in the residency?

A $7,500 stipend to support your artistic development, implementation, and documentation.

Mentorship and professional development workshops focused on social practice, cultural preservation, community engagement, project planning, and evaluation.

Collaboration opportunities with residents, nonprofits, community gardens, small businesses, and cultural institutions. You’ll build relationships, deepen your practice, and shape art with real social impact.

Interested? Apply now and bring your creative vision to life: https://haiticulturalx.org/programs/artists-opportunities/lakou-nou/

Let your art shape and be shaped by community.

The 2026 application cycle is open until Friday, September 4th until Midnight ET.

08/11/2026

Hi-ARTS is hiring for a temporary Audio Technician to support the fundraising concert "Make Me Wanna Holla: The Rhythm of Our Resistance", hosted at Hi-ARTS. Please note that technical rehearsals take place the same day as the concert.

On-Site Date: August 29th, 11am-4pm
Compensation: $35/hour

To apply: email [email protected] an updated resume and the subject line “Audio Technician” and a Hi-ARTS team member will be in contact.

Apply by August 17, 2026

Responsibilities:

🔊 Sound board operation during technical rehearsal and live performance, including but not limited to: multiple microphones and keyboard amplification

🔊Required proficiency with the following technical equipment:

👉🏾 Mixing Console: Yamaha QL1, 2 Yamaha Rio1608-D stage boxes

👉🏾 Intercom System: 2-channel Clear-Com intercom system, 6 1-channel beltpack with headset

👉🏾 Loudspeakers: 4 D&B E8 compact 2-way audio speakers, 2 D&B E15X 15” Subwoofer, 2 D&B M6 2-way 12” monitor speakers

👉🏾 Playback: Tascam BD-MP4K Bluray Player

👉🏾 Microphones: 2 Shure pga31 headsets, 6 Shure sm58 mics, 2 Samson C01 condenser mic, 1 AKG Acoustics Perception 200 Condenser mic

👉🏾 Direct Boxes: 4 Radial J48 Active DI Box, 2 Radial J48 Stereo Active DI Box, Radial USB Pro Active DI Box, Radial Pro AV2 Active DI Box

🔊 Additional Equipment: 16 in x 4 out Snake, 6 in x 2 out Snake

⏰ LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ⏰⁠⁠Applications for Hi-ARTS’ 2026–27 CRITICAL BREAKS and SKY LAB Artist Residencies close 🚨...
06/30/2026

⏰ LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ⏰⁠
⁠
Applications for Hi-ARTS’ 2026–27 CRITICAL BREAKS and SKY LAB Artist Residencies close 🚨tonight at 11:59 PM ET🚨⁠
⁠
Over the past year, artists have filled our home with movement, conversation, experimentation, collaboration, and works in PROCESS. ⁠
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Whether you’re developing a performance or building a community-centered practice, Hi-ARTS is committed to supporting artists with the time, space, resources, and community to deepen their artistic process.⁠
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Could this be your next chapter?⁠
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✨ Applications close tonight, June 30, 11:59 PM EST⁠
🔗 Apply now through the link in our bio.⁠
⁠
Image Credits:

(1-3)SKY LAB Resident Artist MODArts Dance Collective, residency documentation, February 2026.⁠ Photos by MJ Martinez

(4-6)CRITICAL BREAKS Resident Artist Maleek Rae, GUTTAH PART II [WIP], March 2026.⁠ Photos by Julian Elijah Martinez (Elijah Martinez)

(7-9)CRITICAL BREAKS Resident Artist Luz Lorenzana Twigg, America is in the Heart [WIP], April 2026.⁠ Photos by MJ Martinez

(10-12)CRITICAL BREAKS Resident Artist Nikhil Mahapatra, SWEETFISH! [WIP], May 2026. Photos by Blue (Blucie)

Address

10 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
11217

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 3pm

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