Acclaimed nonprofit residency receives major gift from Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation to support musicians

 

Space on Ryder Farm Launches New Initiative for Musicians in Honor of Bryan Gallace 

SPACE on Ryder Farm, a nonprofit residency program and organic farm located on a 224-year-old family homestead in Putnam County, NY, announced the launch of a substantial music initiative thanks to a major gift from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation on behalf of Posthumous Prodigy Productions. The gift will allow SPACE to significantly deepen and expand its support of musicians across genres beginning in 2019, and will also support a strategic planning process for SPACE’s continued growth and development as the organization begins its ninth year in operation.

The Posthumous Prodigy Productions gift is given in homage to the late Bryan Gallace of Southport, Connecticut. A 2014 graduate of Fairfield Ludlowe High and the Regional Center for the Arts, Bryan was a senior at Berklee College of Music pursuing a B.A. in Professional Music when he tragically passed away at the age of 21. A uniquely talented and dedicated musician from early childhood, Bryan was a guitarist and self-taught drummer who studied jazz and loved rock and roll. He played in several bands including If Looks Could Kill, Fistfight, Shark Rock and Heavy Breath. Bryan was also a fervent supporter of equal rights and progressive causes. 

“Music is intrinsically sacred, but this project is even more so,” said Caroline Kellen, SPACE on Ryder Farm board member and a director of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation. “Bryan’s tragic passing is devastating to everyone that knew him. A light like Bryan can never be allowed to go out and I feel called to be part of transforming this loss into something positive, honor his spirit and the creative potential he carried in life by supporting and amplifying the work of other talented musicians. Most of all, I am comforted knowing that Bryan’s family will be deeply involved in this initiative. They are amazing people and we are so grateful that they are willing to partner with SPACE. I truly believe Bryan will be guiding us.”

The centerpiece of SPACE’s new music initiative is the Bryan Gallace/Posthumous Prodigy Productions Fellowship , an annual award which offers a musician time and space on Ryder Farm to create new work, as well as transformative financial support to be used for professional growth. The recipient of the inaugural Bryan Gallace/Posthumous Prodigy Productions Fellowship is singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, performer and spoken word artist Celisse, who will receive $30,000 to support the recording of her debut full-length album at the
legendary Dreamland Recording Studio in Woodstock, NY as well as a residency at SPACE in 2019. The album is due to be released in Fall 2019. More information about Celisse can be found at celissehenderson.com.

“I feel more proud of this work than anything I’ve ever done,” said Celisse. “Recording this album is the culmination of so many years in the industry, and I’m honored and grateful to be the inaugural recipient of this Fellowship.” In addition to the Bryan Gallace/Posthumous Prodigy Productions Fellowship, SPACE is also launching new partnerships during its 2019 season with two major organizations devoted to supporting musicians. SPACE will host an all-female songwriting residency with She Is The Music , a nonprofit aimed at increasing the number of women
working across all levels of the music industry. SPACE will also welcome musicians to Ryder Farm through a partnership with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the global leader in music rights management serving songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses.
“Musicians have always been part of the fabric of SPACE on Ryder Farm,” said SPACE Co-Founder and Executive Director Emily Simoness. “As we strive to better serve our residents, musicians have long been a group that we wanted to invest in more deeply. This extraordinary gift from Posthumous Prodigy Productions has truly unlocked a world of potential for the support that we can provide to musicians both on and off of the farm and has allowed us to build exciting new partnerships with visionary organizations like She Is The Music and BMI. As SPACE enters its ninth residency season and begins to envision our next decade, we are honored and inspired by Bryan’s memory to
play a greater role in nurturing the next generation of musicians.”

Other musicians in residence at SPACE on Ryder Farm in 2019 include Or Matias (The Working Farm), The Bengsons (The Family Residency), Asante Amin & Chen Lo, Gabriel Ebert & Brendan Spieth, Grace McLean, Zack Zadek and Georgia Stitt (Creative Residency) and Janelle Lawrence (Greenhouse Residency). For a full list of the 2019 residents and finalists, please visit spaceonryderfarm.org/2019-residents.

Applications for 2020 residencies at SPACE on Ryder Farm will open in late August. Visit spaceonryderfarm.org to learn more.

ABOUT SPACE ON RYDER FARM

SPACE on Ryder Farm is a nonprofit residency program and organic farm located on the grounds of a 224-year-old family homestead in Putnam County, New York, just an hour north of New York City. SPACE’s mission is to create an environment singular in its ability to invigorate artists and innovators and their work and to contribute to the sustainability and resourceful preservation of one of the oldest organic family farms on the East Coast. Through unique programs supporting playwrights, filmmakers, activists, working parent-artists and more, SPACE has served over 1,300 residents since its founding in 2011 and has developed a national reputation as one of the most
sought-after residency programs in the country. SPACE counts among its alumni Academy Award winners, Tony Award nominees and winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, Guggenheim fellows, Obie Award winners and MacArthur “Genius” Fellows. Past residents include theatre artists Clare Barron, Adam Bock, David Cale, Linda Cho, Lucas Hnath, Samuel D. Hunter, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Young Jean Lee, Martyna Majok, Dave Malloy, Adam Rapp, Sarah Ruhl, Mfoniso Udofia and Anne Washburn; theatre companies Ars Nova, Ensemble Studio Theatre,
Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Soho Rep and Woolly Mammoth TheatreCompany; musicians Cesar Alvarez, Grace McLean and Shaina Taub; filmmakers Janicza Bravo, Begonia Colomar, Nia Dacosta, Josh Mond, Chioke Nassor and James C. Strouse; and visual artists Alta Buden and Tiffanie Turner, to name some.

Located on Starr Ridge Road in Brewster, New York, Ryder Farm was first established in 1795, was an early adopter in the organic movement and one of the founding farms to participate in the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. In 2019, SPACE assumed management of the agricultural operations and is deeply committed to ensuring Ryder Farm is a source of inspiration and nourishment for all. In addition to stocking SPACE’s residency kitchen, produce from Ryder Farm is available at the Friday Union Square Greenmarket in NYC, at SPACE’s roadside stand on Starr Ridge Road in Brewster and via a sliding scale CSA (community supported agriculture) membership program
serving both NYC and Brewster.

Programs at SPACE on Ryder Farm are made possible with generous support from Amazon Studios, Anne Anastasi Charitable Foundation, Around Foundation, Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Gerald and Janet Carrus Foundation, Deupree Family Foundation, Distracted Globe Foundation, Dramatists Guild Fund, Deann Dylandale Foundation, The Getter Foundation, Hargrove Pierce Foundation, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Lillian Hellman Fund, The Hyde & Watson Foundation, JKW Foundation, The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Henry J. Kimelman Family Foundation, The Lilly Awards Foundation, Lost Man Foundation, Marjorie Weil & Marvin Edward Mitchell Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, Michael Palm Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Putnam Arts Council’s Arts Link Grant Program, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, The Shubert Foundation, Still Point Fund, Sustainable Arts Foundation, Tamarack Foundation, UNCSA Foundation, The Rafael & Diana Vinoly Foundation, Watershed Agricultural Council, The Westchester Community Foundation's Emily and Harold E. Valentine and Evelyn Gable Clark Scholarship Fund, Tamara White Charitable Foundation and hundreds of individual donors. SPACE is a Playwrights Horizons Company in Residence.

For more information, visit spaceonryderfarm.org.

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Submitted by Brewster, NY

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