Civic Programs

We believe art offers an essential way to understand the urgent issues of our time. But what happens after a visit to The Shed? How do the artworks and ideas we present live on?

Civic programs allow the exciting aha! moment inspired by an artwork to take root in our lives after a performance ends or an exhibition closes. Through participatory and socially engaged programs, The Shed works to foster belonging, creativity, and civic-mindedness in our audiences, staff, artists, and wider communities.

The Kinds of Programs We Offer

Civic programs at The Shed fall into four categories:

Artistic Intervention

We support local artists through programs designed to amplify their work, including:

Open Call: A large-scale commissioning program for early-career NYC artists, launched as part of our opening 2019 season, Open Call has supported 116 artists and collectives and counting. Artist applications to Open Call are free, and events are free to attend. The program employs a democratized selection process, involving 75 reviewers and panelists to choose participating artists.
The Social Practice Artist-in-Residence (SPAIR): This program provides opportunities for artists to democratize artmaking, co-creating new possibilities for social transformation with communities through events like dance and writing workshops, public choir rehearsals, reading groups, and more. Our current artist-in-residence, Tanya Birl-Torres, leads The Zora Project, honoring groundbreaking writer, cultural anthropologist, folklorist, and theater-maker Zora Neale Hurston while continuing her legacy, through 2027. Past residencies include The Fire Ensemble, DIS OBEY, and FlexNYC.

Troy Anthony leads members of The Fire Ensemble during the open rehearsal Sparks! at The Shed, November 20, 2023. Photo: Noel Woodford.

The Fire Ensemble choir rehearses in an event space at The Shed. To the left, the choir's artistic director Troy Anthony stands holding a microphone facing the choir, his head turned to the side with a broad smile on his face.

Artist LATASHÁ on stage during POWERPLAY, a production that evolved from the DIS OBEY program, May 17, 2019. Photo: Kate Glicksberg.

LATASHÁ, a black woman with bleached blond hair to her shoulders, stands in a spotlight on stage. She wears a bright orange jacket and on a curtain behind her are projected the words "All the women in me are tired" in bright red letters.

Artist Garrett Zuercher works at The Shed during a residency week in February 2024, ahead of his Open Call performance in July. Photo: Noel Woodford.

The artist Garrett Zuercher is seen from behind seated at a wide table in front of a large tv monitor. The desk is covered with a laptop and a stack of post it notes. Garrett is training his attention on the tv screen which shows a split screen of him and a Black Deaf artist in a recording of a virtual meeting.

Dancers performing during a salon event for The Zora Project, choreographed by artist-in-residence Tanya Birl-Torres, February 9, 2026. Photo courtesy Tanya Birl-Torres.

A Black woman dancer curves her body dramatically to the left with one arm oustretched, while three Black men dancers stand in the background clapping and watching in encouragement. The dancer in the foreground wears a black tank top and a long dark blue skirt.

Installation view: Open Call: Portals, The Shed, New York, June 27 – August 24, 2025. Photo: Adam Reich.

An installation view of a gallery exhibition. The gallery is a cavernous space without walls and cast in dim light. At the center stand several sculptural artworks including green ceramic sculptures of animals from the Eastern zodiac. Video screens with video artworks playing dot the space.

Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre, Gathering: New York City, 2024, performed as part of Open Call at The Shed, June 20, 2024. Photo: Heather Cromartie.

Seven dancers stand in a roughly circular formation in a spotlit stage area. They stand with their left arms gracefully outreached, leaning slightly in that direction. Around them are scattered bright oranges on the stage.

FlexNYC dancers and teaching artists Risa, Deidra, and Shellz performing in MAZE, a production which evolved from the FlexNYC program, July 23, 2019. Photo credit: Kate Glicksberg.

Three women dancers stand in a row on a dark stage. They are spaced with about 3 feet between them and each stand straight and tall with their right fists raised.

Troy Anthony leads members of The Fire Ensemble during the open rehearsal Sparks! at The Shed, November 20, 2023. Photo: Noel Woodford.

Public Programs

We offer free, accessible programs designed to promote enrichment, belonging, and active participation in the arts through workshops, panels, classes, and community events. Often these events are related to other programs at The Shed and in the past have included conversations on Indigenous rights worldwide, climate change, and racial justice, as well as a science fair for and by local teen scientists, a Shed open house, and more.

Attendees of United Nations’ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues gathering dance and laugh in The Shed’s Doctoroff Lobby, April 18, 2023. Photo: Heather Cromartie.

Attendees of United Nations' Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues gathering stand in a warmly lit lobby, dancing and laughing. At center, a woman in a bright pink skirt and a green and pink jacket smiles and claps her hands.

Visitors gather for food trucks in The Shed’s McCourt during our free open house event, Meet at The Shed, January 11, 2020. Photo: Andy Jackson.

In a partially enclosed plaza, crowds line up for three food trucks parked in the space.

Panelists Dário and Davi Kopenawa, Claudia Andujar, and Thyago Nogueira during a public program related to the exhibition The Yanomami Struggle, February 4, 2023. Photo: AJR Photos.

Four panelists sit on a stage with large windows behind them. On the left are Dario and Davi Kopenawa, two Yanomami men who wear head dresses made of colorful feathers. On the right of them sits artists Claudia Andujar, a Brazilian white woman with brown hair wearing an off white outfit. To her right is curator Thyago Nogueira, a white Brazilian man wearing a dark button down shirt in a check plaid pattern.

Musicians Jennifer Kreisberg (seated) and Laura Ortman perform during the public program Indigenous Rights, Art, and Environmental Justice, March 4, 2023. Photo: Heather Cromartie.

Musician Jennifer Kreisberg sits with a handheld drum on her lap while violinist Laura Ortman stands to her side playing her instrument. Both women wear all black. Jennifer looks to her side to watch Laura play.

Attendees of United Nations’ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues gathering dance and laugh in The Shed’s Doctoroff Lobby, April 18, 2023. Photo: Heather Cromartie.

Community and Government Partnerships

We collaborate with local and governmental partners to support historically undermined communities, focusing on strategic partnerships through the Ticket Access Program for CUNY students and NYCHA residents and the West Side Cultural Network, which hosts the annual West Side Fest.

Visitors dance during a free DJ set by Soul Summit on The Shed’s Plaza as part of West Side Fest, July 12, 2025. Photo: Filip Wolak. Courtesy West Side Cultural Network.

A group of people in tank tops and t-shirts dance wildly with arms outstretched and smiles on their faces on a hot summer afternoon.

Visitors dance during a free DJ set by Soul Summit on The Shed’s Plaza as part of West Side Fest, July 12, 2025. Photo: Filip Wolak. Courtesy West Side Cultural Network.

Two young women face each other singing and dancing on The Shed's outdoor plaza in the summertime. One wears a skirt and sleevless top and the other wears a white t-shirt and denim skirt.

Members of The Shed’s Civic Programs team during West Side Fest, July 12, 2025. Photo: Filip Wolak. Courtesy West Side Cultural Network.

A group of four Shed staff members pose with arms over each others' shoulders. Three of the staff members were light blue t-shirts with West Side Fest branding.

Visitors dance during a free DJ set by Soul Summit on The Shed’s Plaza as part of West Side Fest, July 12, 2025. Photo: Filip Wolak. Courtesy West Side Cultural Network.

Social Organizing

We take on local, urgent issues to contribute to the well-being of our neighboring communities, upholding our commitments as a civic institution. These initiatives include:

Open Arms Resource Fairs: Responding to crisis levels of homelessness in the city, and in order to support all families in temporary housing, The Shed has partnered with the The NYC Department of Education to produce regular resource fairs that have served nearly 10,000 New Yorkers so far, connecting thousands of individuals to dozens of organizations that provide resources from food assistance programs to education services, to health insurance registration, vaccinations, dental screenings, and free glasses. Our efforts are ongoing; if you’d like to learn more, feel free to email us at community@theshed.org. The Shed would like to thank M&T Bank, Union Square Hospitality Group, FreshDirect, and Related Companies for their generous support of this initiative.
Serving as a Board of Elections poll site: The Shed serves as a Board of Elections poll site for primary and general elections for city, state, and federal elections.

NYU College of Dentistry volunteers at an Open Arms Resource Fair, April 1, 2023. Photo: Dorothy Lin.

A group of 15 dentists in yellow protective gear gather for a group picture behind a table draped in a purple cloth emblazoned with "NYU College of Dentistry"

Participants supporting young people with disabilities at the INCLUDEnyc Resource Fair at The Shed, January 24, 2026. Courtesy INCLUDEnyc.

Two women, one Asian and one white, sit behind a table draped in a bright orange cloth that reads "Include NYC: Love, equity, and access for young people with disabilities." They both smile directly at us.

Participating organizations at an Open Arms Resource Fair, April 1, 2023. Photo: Darren Biggart.

A line of tables set up with organizations providing services at a resource fair. Each table is covered by a tablecloth with the organization's name.

NYU College of Dentistry volunteers at an Open Arms Resource Fair, April 1, 2023. Photo: Dorothy Lin.