Hudson Yards pop-up previews future arts space

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - For the next two weeks in Hudson Yards, you're invited to free performances called the Prelude to the Shed. This is part of the build-up to the 2019 opening of the new arts center The Shed, which will be located a block away. Consider the Prelude to The Shed, which is a pop-up, more of a taste test where you get to experience all sorts of artistic flavor.

"There's never really been one space that could accommodate all forms of human creativity," The Shed CEO Alex Poots said.

Until now. The temporary stage opened May 1. The Shed's permanent home will be where the High Line meets Hudson Yards on Manhattan's West Side.

"It's a building on wheels—so basically it is movable," said Haans Ulrich Obrist, The Shed program advisor. "By pushing a button, this structure can open up to the plaza and cover the plaza. It can become a big hall for events, for exhibitions.

The Shed is the first arts center built in the city in 10 years and is the only one dedicated to commissioning, producing, and presenting all types of performing arts, visual arts, and pop culture.

For dancers, like Roderick George, it is a long time coming.

"People are instantly gravitating to the space," George said. "And I think that is what art is supposed to do is bring people in."

"If you are an emerging artist, an early career artist, from the five boroughs of New York, you can apply," Poots said. "And what we offer is the crown jewels of the building—so the gallery, the public space, the theater—and we will produce your work and the public can see it for free."

The open call deadline is on Friday. So far, 800 artists have applied.