Timeframe
- Extended application deadline:
September 23, 2022 - Awards announced:
January 2023 - New Works performance tickets Public on-sale:
January 2023 - New Works performance event:
June 10, 2023
Questions?
Contact us at
NewWorks@TheCenterPresents.org.
About New Works: An Arts Commission Project
Now in its second season, New Works: An Arts Commission Project is an initiative by the Center for the Performing Arts to promote and sustain central Indiana’s working artists and arts communities in an inclusive way by supporting the creation of new works across all performing arts disciplines. Commissions will be awarded for three selected projects to be developed and presented onstage at the Center's Palladium concert hall for an on-site and online audience.
In celebrating artists’ voices here in central Indiana, we promote more diverse, connected and thriving communities. The core theme of the new works must align with one or more of the Center’s Core Values: Integrity, Excellence, Innovation, Collaboration and Inclusion. See further details and application instructions below.
Live Performance Commissions
Three (3) awards will be presented to performing artists or groups based in central Indiana for works to be performed at a joint event on the Palladium stage in Spring 2023.
Performance requirements:
- Proposed works must reflect one or more of the Center’s Core Values, which are Integrity, Excellence, Innovation, Collaboration and Inclusion.
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The work cannot have been created prior to Sept. 16 and must not be performed publicly prior to the premiere event on June 10, 2023.
- The new work should be 10 to 20 minutes in length.
- Only original or royalty-free music is allowed. If copyrighted music is used, all licensing for live and rebroadcast must be obtained by the artist.
Support for winners includes:
- $2,500 artist award
- Technical support prior to the performance to assist in development of lighting, sound, and/or set concepts for the new work (must fit within technical guidelines provided)
- Onstage rehearsal time prior to the performance
- Onstage performance at the Palladium in a joint event with other New Works awardees
- Professional-quality video of live performance for future use by the artist
Public engagement opportunities/requirements:
- One virtual education chat moderated by a Center staff member, profiling the artists involved in the project and the concepts behind the created works, to be shared on the Center’s social media platforms during Spring 2023
- One behind-the-scenes conversation moderated by a Center staff member about the creation process, in person and/or shared on the Center’s social media platforms during Spring 2023
- One preview/talkback with students from central Indiana schools, in person or online, during Spring 2023
- Best-effort availability for press interviews
Please note: Artists of color, indigenous artists, artists in the LGBTQ+ community, artists with disabilities, and women artists are strongly encouraged to apply. There is no application fee. Questions? Please contact us at NewWorks@TheCenterPresents.org
New Works Project Submissions
The submission deadline has been extended: applications for the New Works awards are due Sep. 23, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Winners will be announced in January 2023.
If you have questions contact NewWorks@TheCenterPresents.org.
There is no fee to apply.
The application is your opportunity to share your creative vision. You will be asked to fill out a form with the following information. All criteria (Parts A, B, C and D) MUST be addressed.
Part A. Complete applicant information
Part B. Upload a written statement addressing the following topics in no more than three pages. (word, doc, docx & xls files accepted)
- Begin with a brief artistic statement that describes your existing creative work, the discipline(s) you identify your work with, and your process.
- Share your concept for your new work and how it addresses one or more of the Center’s Core Values (Integrity, Excellence, Innovation, Collaboration and Inclusion).
- Identify all known or intended collaborators and additional artists, if any.
- Please address how this new work fits artistically, technically and spatially on the Palladium stage. Be specific about your ideas for sound and or musical accompaniment. Indicate the intended length of the new work (work should be 10-20 minutes in length and take no more than 10 minutes to set up/remove from the stage).
- Only original or royalty-free music is allowed. If copyrighted music is used, all licensing for live and rebroadcast must be obtained by artist.
Part C. Provide video representations of your work through online video link. Items 1 & 2 below required.
- Proposed new work: Recording or visual representation of the new work you are interested in developing. Professional-quality video and/or editing is NOT expected (i.e., feel free to set up a camera in the corner of a room, parking lot, field or rehearsal studio and press record).
- Existing work: Recording(s) of existing work demonstrating your work history.
Part D. Additional creative representation
It is important for us to get a clear picture of your ideas for a new work. We understand that your artistic vision has its own, unique way in which it must be shared. Include a minimum of one additional creative representation that best supports/communicates your proposal. Some suggestions are listed below. Please do not limit yourself to these suggestions, but rather be as exploratory as you see fit in sharing your creative vision and process. (jpg, jpeg, png, doc, docx, xls file types accepted as well as online video links)
- Costume or scenic design sketches
- Graphic/artistic representation, photographs, or slides of choreographic sketches
- Music sample
- Storyboard of your current plans for the work
Application
Submit materials and information through the application form at TheCenterPresents.org/NewWorksApplication.
Applications for the New Works awards due Sep. 23, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Winners will be announced in January 2023.
If you have questions contact NewWorks@TheCenterPresents.org.
Previous New Works Awardees
Watch the inaugural New Works: Premiere Performances on YouTube, livestreamed from the Tarkington on June 4, 2022.

Kenyettá Dance Company
A Place in Time
Kenyettá Dance Company presents work that sparks conversation around social, political and spiritual topics. This four-part piece incorporates contemporary, modern, ballet and African dance, along with creative costuming, video projections and live and recorded music, to address systemic oppression with a message of hope and promise that empowers audiences.

Award-winning jazz pianist-composer Monika Herzig and her son Zackary have created music and choreography inspired by the family’s journey through Zackary’s gender transition. Zackary designed the costuming and performed to the live musical accompaniment on the Cyr wheel, a large metal hoop that the performer stands inside to roll, spin and perform acrobatic moves. They were joined by guitarist Peter Kienle, Monika’s husband and Zackary’s father.

Women's Work
This short play explores the complexities women face as they navigate external and internal challenges in the workplace. Six actresses – three younger and three older – represent three characters at the beginning and end of their careers in medicine, education and business, showing how their stories evolved over a 50-year span. Written and directed by Callie Burk-Hartz and Alicia LaMagdeleine with musical accompaniment by guitarist Dave Pelsue.