Pulled from reports written by Celeste DiNucci, organized by Abby Rolland*
As part of The Presser Foundation’s drive to be more transparent and to amplify the work of its partners, it has begun to use information from grant reports to highlight its grantees.
Each post will spotlight one partner, who has final say over the contents and structure of the post. In this way, the Foundation hopes to not only use information from grant reports (which often go unread and unused), but also to shine the light on many wonderful music organizations.
The post focuses on Ars Nova Workshop, a presenter of new jazz and improvised music in Philadelphia. As the Foundation expanded its guidelines to fund jazz in the early 2010s, Ars Nova Workshop has become a regular partner, receiving general operating support as well as several Special Projects grants.
The story below specifically highlights Ars Nova Workshop’s innovative projects and investments they’ve made to connect with their community and center diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into their work.
Background
Founded in 2000 by Mark Christman, Ars Nova Workshop (ANW) presents new jazz and contemporary music. Originally an all-volunteer organization without a permanent space of its own, ANW has presented music across Philadelphia in a variety of sites, including bars, clubs, theaters, social clubs, architectural landmarks, and more, creating unique cultural experiences as a result. Well-known jazz artists such as Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, and Nicole Mitchell have all performed for ANW, as well as rising stars.
Since transitioning from a volunteer-run organization to one with a professional staff in 2015, ANW has increased and scope and ambition of its offerings, including launching creative residencies, publications, recording releases, exhibitions, and a groundbreaking festival, in addition to presenting 30-40 performances per year.
Recently, ANW has also begun exploring improvisation, not only as an art form but as a method and strategy for approaching work and life. Recent offerings – such as a new podcast (“Ad Hoc: Why Improvisation Matters”), a touring exhibition (Milford Graves: Fundamental Frequency), and an associated catalog, with photos accompanying essays from a fascinating array of scholars, artists, and colleagues – illustrate ANW’s expanded vision and are attracting audiences from around the world.
Innovative Projects and New Staff
With all that has been done, ANW is not slowing down. As it enters the next phase of its work, it is exploring jazz’s relationship to specific Philadelphia communities.
Philadelphia is a major hub for jazz, home to such artists as John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, and Reggie Workman, and continues to produce new innovators. In helping audiences experience and understand the music as deeply connected to Black American culture – and, perhaps more important, to use the energy and momentum of this music to help better the lives of the citizens of this majority-Black city – ANW has discovered a new richness and sense of urgency.
Pictured: Irreversible Entanglements, with Moor Mother in the foreground and guest artist Marshall Allen seated. Photo Credit: Ryan Collerd.
To dig further into that work, ANW began a partnership with The Woodlands, a historic cemetery and the largest green space in West Philadelphia, on a program called New Grass, which featured performances, discussions, a symposium on John Coltrane, and more. From that effort, ANW learned how it could develop its programming and mission with a more “outside-in” approach, inviting input from community members and collaborating with community artists. Using this approach would help ANW become a better partner, facilitator, and learner with the communities it serves.
“We have come to see that we must think of our work in Philadelphia as not just building audiences but building community,” explains Celeste DiNucci, Director of Strategy and Development.
ANW has also begun asking itself about its overall place in the cultural ecosystem of Philly and the role it can play in making meaningful contributions to that ecosystem, while “continuing to honor the art form and artists that we know and love.” Its work with board member Germaine Ingram has helped ANW understand its role through the lens of “solidarity economy,” an economy that prioritizes people and the planet over endless profit and growth.
To further that work, ANW applied for a 2021-22 Special Projects grant to support a planning project that would help incorporate New Grass into ANW’s organizational DNA. Planning focused on imagining and testing new kinds of programming to see the public response, thus helping ANW better understand what programming works for its community.
From those learnings, ANW determined that a new staffing position was needed to help integrate DEI and the ideas of being in a solidarity economy into the artistic process. That led to hiring Anthony Tidd as the Chief Creative Catalyst. An international touring bassist, an accomplished composer/band leader, a Grammy Award winner, and a leader in creative music education, Tidd now advises ANW on strategies and programs, has input on curatorial approaches, and connects ANW with musicians and other professionals who can help fulfill ANW’s vision.
And as ANW continues to transition from a nomadic presence across the city to a permanent residence in South Philadelphia (more on that below), it sees new possibilities for deeper artist engagement (e.g., multi-night engagements, residencies, etc.), stronger coalition-building (with, perhaps, the Clef Club and similar organizations in South Philly and/or along Broad Street, etc.), and more of a “neighborhood” presence.
With those ideas in mind and with Tidd on board, ANW applied for and received another planning grant from the Foundation in 2022-23 to take a more proactive approach to diversifying its audiences, staff, and Board.
Staff and Board engaged the consultant group Sadao/Ghosh to develop a new strategic and operational plan, which will launch the organization into the next phase of its work. The planning grant helps support a process whereby ANW will be forming a careful, planned approach to establishing the need for resources (and the approach to finding those resources) to ensure that the lessons of community, participation, and inclusion are at the core of its future operations.
New Space
Pictured: Fieldwork, the trio of Vijay Dyer, Steve Lehman, and Tyshawn Sorey. They played a three-day “mini-residency” in June 2023 in anticipation of heading to the studio to record a new album. Photo Credit: Ryan Collerd
After 22 years of presenting in a nomadic way, ANW has found a home at last. Solar Myth, the new bar/café that has taken over the old Boot & Saddle space, has granted ANW a no-cost lease on the venue space in the back. The opportunity to not have to shuffle calendars, commitments, and costs to book other venues has removed a substantial logistical hurdle to ANW’s programming.
Thus far, the move has transformed ANW’s business operations and the parameters of programming that it works within to bring music to local audiences. Already, the organization has presented artists that it had have been anticipating for a long time (such as QWANQWA from Ethiopia) and turning on a dime to present artists whose availability only arose a few days before the event (such as with Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons).
Future Plans
With the new venue, ANW has already increased its regular programming significantly, and it plans to continue offering two to three times the number of shows it had previously, from 100 to 120 or more per year.
In addition, ANW has produced pilot episodes of a podcast called “Ad Hoc: Why Improvisation Matters.” One of these episodes features Milford Graves, the subject of their currently touring exhibition and the catalog recently published: “Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal.” Other interdisciplinary projects include “ReSounding Progressions,” a new work being developed with Odean Pope and Immanuel Wilkins and poet and African American Studies scholar Herman Beavers, as well as artist Lauren Taylor; and a second major exhibition on trumpeter Don Cherry and his wife and textile artist Moki Cherry, exploring their collaborations to create a world of “total music.”
In past efforts to focus on DEI, ANW has brought music to weekly events that focused on Black wellness, including yoga/meditation and drumming/storytelling circles. Staff intends to further investigate ways of communicating these kinds of programs to new audiences, through new formats such as creative video, podcasting, etc., while recognizing that they have many relationships to build and audiences to understand as they experiment with new possibilities.
In the future, ANW plans to look into residencies featuring musicians who can play many times over the course of a week, or setting aside a regular night monthly or even weekly to highlight local musicians. Staff are also investigating curating a special series, such as two weeks of presenting acts using two pianos or other special instrumental setups, which could remain in place for several artists. They’re also considering various educational opportunities using the new space.
“We have only begun to imagine the range of possible programs, and are excited for the possibilities ahead,” Executive and Artistic Director Mark Christman shares.
*Special thanks to Celeste DiNucci, Director of Strategy and Development at Ars Nova Workshop, for contributing to this blog post through writing various applications and reports for The Presser Foundation.
