The purpose of the Art Bridge program is to facilitate a growing network of organizations using video conferencing and live streaming technology to further their artistic process, creativity, and collaboration.
In 2017, Art Bridge's fifth year, Artspace paired two past participants from two distinct artistic communities in a one-year, in-depth exploration of the distance collaboration model: The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) in Alaska and the Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (Pregones/ PRTT) in New York. Through video exchanges and in-person interactions, the two groups bridged the geographic distance to remix cultural elements and create a new, shared expression. The resultant performance, "A Tale of Two Tricksters," showcased creation myths from both cultures while utilizing the Alaskan Raven and Puerto Rican Vijugante as guides—both “trickster” characters that do things the wrong way to teach us what is actually right. Each organization performed in front of a live audience, while interacting with each other in real time via projected sounds and images. The entire event was also live streamed. The 2017-18 program was made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
In addition to ANHC and Pregones/PRTT, past Art Bridge participants include: Ashe Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans, LA; CultureHub Seoul Arts/La MaMa in New York, NY; Dance Place in Washington D.C.; First Peoples Fund in Rapid City, SD; La MaMa in New York, NY; Miami Light Project in Miami, FL; National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) in San Antonio, TX; PA'I in Honolulu, HI; The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts in Minneapolis, MN; The Longhouse Education and Cultural Center in Olympia, WA; and Youth Speaks in San Francisco, CA.