The Arts at CRS

WHO WE ARE

CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) is an arts and healing center made possible by an innovative partnership between CRS and the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit company Dharma Road Productions, Inc. — d/b/a the "Center for Remembering & Sharing." Its Arts Mission is to support the work of foreign artists in New York by helping them to discover, develop, clarify, and realize their creative vision. 

Incorporated in the state of New York, the Center for Remembering & Sharing is a member of the Asian American Arts Alliance, A.R.T./New York, Dance Theatre Workshop (DTW), The Field, and Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, and is a recipient of support from Materials for the Arts, NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs/NYC Dept of Sanitation/NYC Dept of Ed. Additional funding has been provided by the Puffin Foundation, the J P Morgan Chase SOAR Program of the Asian American Arts Alliance, and the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The Center is also privileged to acknowledge its corporate sponsors, Doggy's Clothing and CRS.

The Center for Remembering & Sharing's current board of directors consists of: 

  Yasuko Kasaki — Chair
 Christopher Pelham — Treasurer and Secretary
  Satomi Kitahara

WHAT WE DO

Artist Residencies

The Artist-in-Residence Program provides outstanding artists, primarily from other countries, an opportunity to explore, evolve, and share their art at CRS and elsewhere in NYC for an extended period of time. Current artists-in-residence include Marijke Eliasberg, Mariko Endo, Akiko Furukawa, Mana Hashimoto, Hazuki Homma, Rie Hyodo, Kaori Kato, Yuki Kawahisa, Masumi Kishimoto, Nana Masuda,  Aya Shibahara, Akiko Tomikawa. Past residents have included choreographer Yoshiko Chuma (Bessie Award winner), puppeteer Chris Green (Creative Capital Fund grantee), Shinichi Momo Iova-Koga (MAP Fund grantee), and Cassie Terman (Action Theatre Master Teacher).

Foreign Service 

Foreign Service is CRS’ own performing arts company, led by CRS Director Christopher Pelham. The Company’s purpose is to provide opportunities for CRS Artists-in-Residence to share their work and to expose New York audiences to unique, creative voices from around the world. Foreign Service produces original works, created on the Company by its own members or commissioned from other outstanding artists chosen by CRS.

Exhibitions

CRS curates and presents visual art solo and group exhibitions in its lobby. Past exhibitions have included work by artists Anne Barry, Takumi Fukunaga, Fred Hatt, Eric Holzman, Akiko Kato, Jia Lu, Keiko Nelson, Erin Orr, Lake Simons, and Junko Yamada, among others. 

Movement Works

Movement Works is a curated, developmental performance series open to works of dance, theatre, video, clown and puppetry, Movement Works provides artists an opportunity to show works-in-progress to the public for the purpose of receiving feedback. Programs may be devoted to a single artist or several, and each typically receives the benefit of several hours of free rehearsal time and limited theatrical lighting designed by a house technician or other lighting professional. Artists previously presented at CRS have included Anemone Dance Theater, Artichoke Dance Company, Big Apple Playback Theatre, Yoshiko Chuma, Company So-Go-No, Heather Harpham, Celeste Hastings, Shirotama Hitsujiya, Shinichi Momo Iova-Koga, Karen Kandell, Alex Kipp, Harold Lehmann, Lake Simons, Kazuki Takase, The South Wing, Kenji Williams, Nina Wise, Ruth Zaporah, and many others.

Acoustic Soul

Acoustic Soul is a (mostly) acoustic live music series curated by CRS. Not restricted to the “soul” music of MoTown or R&B, Acoustic Soul encompasses any music that opens the heart and speaks to the spirit. CRS audiences have been treated to performances by Scott Downes, Glen Fittin, Pasang, K. S. Resmi, Scott Robinson, Shin Terayama, and others. 

Workshops & Classes

CRS offers a variety of workshops designed to help children, amateurs, and professional artists access their creative energies more easily. Past workshops have included Action Theatre Improvisation, Butoh, Movement, Voice, and the Spiritual Psychology of Acting. Ongoing classes include Ballet, Middle-Eastern Dance, and Alexander Technique.

THE HISTORY OF THE CENTER

The Center was founded in 2002 by Harold Lehmann, Sita Mani, Jean Hughes Miredin, Christopher Pelham, Lake Simons, Guido Tuveri, and Holly Twining. At the time that they founded the Center, they had already presented more than 80 original works in New York, Europe and around the world in the fields of dance, theatre, puppetry, video art, and hybrids thereof. Prior to opening its current space at 123 4th Ave, the Center produced or co-produced:

In 2004 the noted Japanese writer and spiritual counselor/teacher/healer Yasuko Kasaki founded CRS in order to support the teaching of A Course in Miracles, the practice of the healing and creative arts, and the sharing of miracles. Rather than depend on the slow process of accumulating donations, foundation support, and public funding to finance the organization, Ms. Kasaki elected instead to invest the earnings from her own successful career to immediately create a center for her students and clients to further their growth. With the assistance and partnership of Christopher Pelham and Dharma Road Productions, Inc., Ms. Kasaki and CRS opened an 1,800 sq. ft. community center near Union Square in Manhattan and CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) was born.