By Ellis Nassour
New York’s newest cultural initiative and arts complex in thirty-five years, the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture at 18 Bleecker Street, between Elizabeth and Mott Streets, will launch with a three-week festival, September 14 through October 4.
After a top-to-bottom renovation of what was a parish school by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, it’s a state-of-the-art complex boasting a 274-seat proscenium theatre equipped with five-camera HD livestream capability, a multi-track recording studio with 32 inputs, an 80-seat black box theatre, four rehearsal studios, and an art gallery.
It’s named in honor of the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who became a media star with his often controversial Life is Worth Living series in the 50s and 60s.
The Sheen Center’s executive director William Spencer Reilly says, “This is a great addition to NoHo’s growing artistic community. It’ll be a home for dynamic programming in art, dance, film, music, poetry, theater, and discourse.”
The Center’s goal is “to showcase works that affirm the highest values of the human spirit through the performing and visual arts, symposia, lectures and exhibits. The time seems so right for a new space in New York dedicated to these ideals.”
“The Sheen Center and its mission is unique and without parallel in any diocese in the nation,” says Cardinal Timothy Dolan. “Its programming will foster thought and dialogue while challenging and uplifting visitors intellectually, artistically and spiritually.”
For the lineup of inaugural programming including several free events, visit www.sheencenter.org/events. Follow Sheen Center programming (dates, times) on FB.
To ensure Sheen Center programming is accessible, the first 100 tickets for each event will be priced at $10.
