Salvage Vanguard Theatre Loses Lease, Must Vacate June 30 2016
Are the arts important to Austin?
Founded in 1994, Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) is a hub for Austin performing artists, musicians, visual artists and patrons. In 2006, the experimental theater company renovated a 6,000 square foot warehouse on E. Manor Rd. The space on Manor houses a gallery, 49 seat theater, 99 seat theater, scene shop, storage, office space, and a puppet workshop. For the past ten years the space has been home to over 50 artists and arts organizations.
In their 2014-15 season Salvage Vanguard Theater produced three award-winning world premiere performances, including Thr3e Zisters- a zombie retelling of Chekhov’s classic by Moscow director Yury Urnov and Baltimore playwright Lola Pierson, and the piece AM I WHITE, an examination on race in America, by local playwright Adrienne Dawes. Salvage Vanguard Theater hosted over 50 artists and arts organizations in the past calendar year including OUTsider Fest, the inimitable Trouble Puppet Theater, and critically acclaimed KDH Dance Company. The Salvage Vanguard Theater hub proudly served over 30,000 arts patrons in 2015 alone.
SVT will have to vacate their Manor Rd venue on June 30th 2016 after being denied the opportunity for a lease renewal from their new landlord. Artists who have worked in the building for many years are faced with packing up their belongings and finding a new space to call home.
For over a decade Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) has met a critical need in Austin by being a key element in its creative landscape. Salvage Vanguard has also put Austin on the map nationally and internationally in the performance world. SVT, who managed to thrive in a struggling economy and contributed to the successes of businesses along the Manor corridor, finds it increasingly hard to find their next home. Victims to the struggle of “affordable housing”, SVT like many residents in Austin, face the challenge of surviving in a city where there are no longer affordable spaces available.
Kathy Dunn Hammrick, choreographer and Artistic Director of KDH Dance Company, shared, “SVT has become a home for our dance company and for our audiences. SVT is the only theater in Austin that is affordable, suitable for my work and available during our season. I can honestly say that without SVT, I don't know where I would be able to present our dance season.”
Artist and scholar Omi Osun Joni L Jones urges that “SVT is willing to open its doors to non-traditional events, and it is beginning to attract a racially diverse audience--which is essential in an increasingly racially divided city. Austin is losing affordable spaces for art. If it is to maintain its identity as an "art town," it has to be hospitable to artists. SVT helps significantly in this regard.”
Austin is a rapidly growing and ever changing city. This growth and change can be exciting, but how is the city protecting its cultural institutions? With the SVT Manor Rd hub closing their doors, and with others sure to follow, where will Austin’s creative class present their work? Will you be a guardian of the Vanguard?
ABOUT SALVAGE VANGUARD THEATER Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) is a nonprofit arts organization located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1994, SVT is a hub for Austin artists, audiences, and arts organizations. It creates and presents transformative high-quality artistic experiences that foster experimentation and conversation.
For more information visit http://salvagevanguard.org/guardians
Contact: Jenny Larson at jenny@salvagevanguard.org or (512) 474-7886
