American
black box nonprofit performance space and
art gallery in
New York City which presents
interdisciplinary work in
video,
dance, music, film, and performance. Currently located at 512 West 19th Street in a former
ice house.
The Kitchen is most noted for presenting work of the American avant garde. During the 1970's and 1980's it presented works (often their first shows) by Laurie Anderson, Eric Bogosian, David Byrne, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Peter Greenaway, Jenny Holzer, Bill T. Jones, Robert Longo, John Lurie, Robert Mapplethorpe, Meredith Monk, Vernon Reid, Dana Reitz, Cindy Sherman, and Elizabeth Streb, in addition to many others (Anderson, Glass, and Monk currently serve on its Board of Directors).
The organization takes its name from its original location, an actual kitchen in the Mercer Arts Center in New York. On July 5, 1971, two video makers and performers showed a collaborative project to friends there, beginning a tradition of interdisciplinary pollination.