Greenwich Village & its environs have been a heart of artistic innovation in NYC for centuries. New York University has planted its purple flags around Washington Square Park since 1832, and in the past two centuries, the neighborhood that now holds NYU Skirball have seen a shifting landscape of scenes, trends, and epicenters – from bars, to stages, to bookstores.

With this ongoing series, NYU Skirball honors and highlights the robust history of the arts in Downtown Manhattan (East and West Village, SoHo, and the Lower East Side neighborhoods), as well as the contributions and continuing work of local artists and scholars to NYU Skirball’s mission and intellectual community.

Why Downtown?

If you ask us, anywhere north of 14th Street is “uptown” – but Downtown is more of a sensibility than a location. What’s Downtown? – and when’s Downtown?

NYU Skirball carries the tradition of bringing cutting-edge work to Downtown audiences. Learn more about the vibrant histories that have made so much of the work on our stage possible.

Downtown Series by Jennifer Krasinski

Dive into the first essay in this commissioned series by cultural critic Jennifer Krasinski, reflecting on the cultural and historical contexts of downtown art and performance in NYC.

The Origins of Downtown: 1858–1948

New York, like the avant-garde, rarely invests itself history as much as it does in an idea of futurity.

Artifacts by Steven Watson

Artifacts x NYU Skirball

Explore interviews with Downtown legends, commissioned by NYU Skirball.

Archives Onstage

NYU’s “Archives Onstage,” an interdisciplinary, cross-campus series, aims to activate the NYU Division of Libraries’ significant performing arts-related archival holdings in relation to contemporary art and scholarship on campus. Using panels, talks, performance and more, the series situates these archives as integral to the past, present and future lives of the university and its neighboring Downtown artistic communities.

Archives Onstage

An interdisciplinary, cross-campus series, in collaboration with the Division of Libraries.

On Display: Lobby Gallery

Take some time before or after you see a show to take in the lobby display.

Richard Foreman Wants You to Wake Up

A semester-long celebration of the ongoing impact of Richard Foreman and the Ontological-Hysteric Theatre.

African Grove Theater

The history and legacy of the African Grove Theater (on display Fall 2023).