Welcome

The Center at West Park is a home for arts, culture, and community in the landmark West Park Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. The Center is a secular not-for-profit organization that offers a diverse range of programs for artists, audiences, and the neighborhood; manages the building’s venues; and stewards the restoration of its historic exterior.

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Upcoming Events

FURNACE FESTIVAL: TOKOPHOBIA

August 17 at 8pm
The Center at West Park's FURNACE FESTIVAL presents: TOKOPHOBIA - written by Jenny Gillett. TOKOPHOBIA Exploring our culturally created fear of pregnancy and birth, TOKOPHOBIA is based on a series of verbatim interviews with mothers, birth partners, and medical professionals, and gives voice to women and their experiences in a way that is imperative - yet rarely discussed - in our current cultural climate. Join us to change the conversation. All tickets to the Furnace Festival are just $10 and include an ice-cold Beer*, Soda, Water, or Wine* to help you beat the heat. The Center at West Park’s Balcony Theater is located on the second floor of the historic landmark West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 W 86th Street in Manhattan. Please note that the Balcony Theater does not have A/C or an elevator and is not ADA accessible. *The Center at West Park reserves the right to request ID for proof of age over 21

FURNACE FESTIVAL: And the Trees Fall Down

August 24 at 8pm
The Center at West Park's FURNACE FESTIVAL presents: And the Trees Fall Down - written by Viviana Prado-Núñez. And The Trees Fall Down Two months after Hurricane Maria, a brother, a sister, and a tree guy gather at Abuela's house for a Thanksgiving dinner of vodka, birthday cake, and an elegiac kind of nostalgia. A hilarious and heartbreaking portrait of people and places left behind—of trees, tractors, generators, aftermath, and how some people live with it (or don’t). All tickets to the Furnace Festival are just $10 and include an ice-cold Beer*, Soda, Water, or Wine* to help you beat the heat. The Center at West Park’s Balcony Theater is located on the second floor of the historic landmark West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 W 86th Street in Manhattan. Please note that the Balcony Theater does not have A/C or an elevator and is not ADA accessible. *The Center at West Park reserves the right to request ID for proof of age over 21  

An Evening of Songs with Parvathy Baul

August 30 at 7pm
An evening fundraiser featuring songs and stories of the Bengali Baul tradition at The Center at West Park. Proceeds will benefit the Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia and support the building of Parvathy's educational center in India for women and children and the preservation of the Baul path. Parvathy lives in India, and this is a very rare chance to experience the work of a Baul master. Parvathy Baul is a singer and spiritual teacher in the Baul tradition from Bengal, India. The Baul path combines traditional yoga, song and music, reverence for the feminine, and a fierce opposition to the caste system. Parvathy is renowned for both her extraordinary performances and her profound understanding of the spiritual path. She is the lineage holder of the revered singer-guru Sri Sanatan Das Thakur Baul. She is committed to providing new opportunities to women in India and around the world to engage in spiritual and creative practice. For more information about Parvathy, please visit: https://parvathybaul.com/ Tickets are $30 at the door // $25 in advance // $20 for students & seniors. WE ANTICIPATE THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT and cannot guarantee tickets will be available at the door. For more information about this event, email Jeremy Goren: info@jeremygoren.com. GET TICKETS
 
More Events

Our Artist Residency program provides affordable space for performing artists to develop and present their work in the grand 420-seat Sanctuary Theater and the intimate 74-seat Balcony Theater. Applications for the Spring 2018 season are closed.

The Center at West Park’s Arts Leaders Fellowship Program is a paid opportunity for early career arts professionals to build skills and experience while shaping the direction of a new arts and culture center in a historic building on the Upper West Side. Fellowship positions available for the 2018-2019 season include Communications and Production Management. Applications will open in June 2018.

HOT NEW WORKS, FRESH FROM THE OVEN

The Furnace Festival is a workshop forum for incendiary new plays, developed in residence at The Center at West Park. Participants are given one week in the Center’s 60 seat Balcony Theater, a small production stipend, and up to 20 additional hours of free rehearsal space to forge a new play in the fiery heat of New York in August, culminating in two workshop performances on Friday and Saturday nights.

All tickets to the Furnace Festival are just $10 and include an ice cold refreshment to help you beat the heat.

Object Movement is a curated festival and developmental residency for puppeteers and object theater artists. The residency develops new work and advances existing works-in-progress that address social, political, ethical, and/or philosophical questions through puppetry and object theater, culminating in a festival of performances. Participants meet weekly as a group to share the progress of their pieces and offer supportive feedback. The group is moderated by the curatorial team of experienced puppetry artists. Group meetings will be from September 2018 through Spring 2019, culminating in a festival of performances.

Ethics + Aesthetics

We value work that challenges aesthetic and cultural boundaries, builds lasting relationships among artists and audiences, engages with underserved and underrepresented communities, and is created and presented in inclusive contexts.

Our Spaces

Sanctuary Theater

Venue Info

Balcony Theater

Venue Info

McAlpin Hall (a.k.a. Pushkin Hall)

Venue Info

Gym (a.k.a. SWDA Studio)

Venue Info

West Park Chapel

Venue Info

Restoration Plan

Phase 1 Community House & South Facade Roof, Tower & Chimney $6.25 million Replace roofing,
Restore skylights,
Restore windows & frames
Replace flashings, accessories, gutters & leaders
Restore masonry
Restore doors, automate east doors for accessibility
Phase 2 South/Corner Tower Roof & Walls $9.25 million Replace roofing
Restore windows and frames
Restore South entrance doors, steps
Restore masonry
Phase 3 North Tower Roof, Walls & West Facade $4.75 million Reconstruct tower roof
Restore windows and frames
Restore entrance doors, steps
Restore masonry
Phase 4 Sanctuary Roof & South Facade $3.5 million Replace roofing
Restore windows & frames
Replace flashings, accessories, gutters & leaders
Restore masonry
Phase 5 North Facade (Not Pictured) $1.25 million Restore windows & frames
Restore doors
Repair areaway contrete slab
Restore masonry
All Phases Stabilization Remove loose stone material
Install temporary netting
Install smoke alarm system building wide
Maintain gutters & leaders
Complete Structural Survey

Support the Center

I’m planting a seed for…

  • a new performing arts center for the Upper West Side

  • the restoration of a cultural and architectural landmark

  • a growing community of boundary-pushing artists, activists, and audiences changing how we see the world, each other, and ourselves.

We have a plan to restore West Park, and the first step is fixing out leaky roof so everyone can enjoy our building’s beautiful interior. Our goal is to raise $100,000 to replace the Community House Roof by the end of 2018. You can join The New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Program, the Board of Directors of The Center at West Park, and the congregation of West Park Presbyterian Church in supporting this project by making a tax-deductible donation today.

Donate at Fractured Atlas

The Center at West Park, Inc. is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of The Center at West Park, Inc. must be made payable to Fractured Atlas only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Contact

Location

Address: 165 W 86th Street, New York, NY 10024
Subway: 1, B, C to 86th St

Offices & Community House

Entrance on 86th Street

Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm
Phone: 212-997-4490
Email: info@centeratwestpark.org

Sanctuary & Balcony Theaters

Entrance on Amsterdam Avenue

See our calendar of upcoming events
See our venues available for rent

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