The Collapsable Hole collapses (again)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Maggie Hoffman | maggie@maggiehoffman.org

(New York, NY – November 3, 2026) After a decade at Westbeth, the artist-run DIY performance space is losing its West Village home. Celebration of Life Monday, November 30.

The Collapsable Hole, the experimental performance venue at the Westbeth Artist Housing complex, will close on November 30, 2026. Westbeth has found a higher-paying tenant for the space at 155 Bank Street.

The Collapsable Hole’s partners invite artists, audiences, and friends to a celebration of life (the venue’s second) on Monday, November 30, from 7:30 to 10pm at the Collapsable Hole. Admission and drinks are free, and no RSVP is needed.


The Collapsable Hole: Artist run for 26 years

Radiohole and the Collapsable Giraffe founded The Collapsable Hole in 2000 at 146 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. Over thirteen years it was home to both companies’ work and hosted many other artists, including Elevator Repair Service (the first presentation of Gatz), Young Jean Lee, Big Dance Theater, Banana Bag and Bodice, and Cynthia Hopkins. The Collapsable Hole received an Obie grant award in 2003.

In Artforum, Claudia La Rocco wrote that The Collapsable Hole “incubated a dazzling who’s who of progressive theater and performance folks during its lifespan.” The Williamsburg location closed with a funeral service and second line procession through the streets of Williamsburg on September 14, 2013.

The Collapsable Hole reopened at Westbeth in 2016 with an expanded group of partners. In Williamsburg and at Westbeth alike, the partner artists chose to run the space as a true collective, with no leader, and no corporate hierarchy. It was a venue run by, for, and with artists, an artistic home where the partners and others could both create and present new work.

• ArtForum, Dig Your Own Hole, Claudia La Rocco at the Collapsable Funeral
• American Theatre, The End of a Hole Era, by Eliza Bent
• Culturebot, The Hole is Dead Long Live The Hole, by Andy Horwitz



Partners and Affiliated Artists

CURRENT PARTNERS: Collapsable Giraffe / Jim Findlay; Immediate Medium; Mallory Catlett / Restless NYC; Object Collection; Radiohole / Maggie Hoffman & Eric Dyer; Geoff Sobelle & Sophie Bortolussi

AFFILIATED ARTISTS: Daniel Fish; Aaron Landsman; Findlay//Sandsmark; Okwui Okpokwasili & Peter Born; Cyrus Moshrefi, Category:Other / Ben Williams

THE FUTURE: The Collapsable Hole’s partners are looking for a new space and would appreciate help with leads. Contact: info@thehole.site.

DONATIONS: to support a future Hole: pools.events/o/collapsable_hole/donate


IN MEMORIAM

The Westbeth Collapsable Hole was an incubator for experimental work. Nearly 100 works were developed, rehearsed, or presented at the Westbeth Hole over the past 10 years. See the list at thehole.site/in-memoriam.


MEDIA

Click here to download high resolution photos

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1. Collapsable Hole closing Funeral Party 2013. Photo: Paula Court

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2. Collapsable Hole closing Funeral Party 2013. Photo: Paula Court

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3. Collapsable Hole closing Funeral Party 2013. Photo: Aaron Harrow

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4. Collapsable Hole closing Funeral Party 2013. Photo: Aaron Harrow

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5. Collapsable Hole closing Funeral Party 2013. Photo: Aaron Harrow

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6. Collapsable Hole opening party, Westbeth, April 1, 2016. Photo: Maria Baranova

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7. Collapsable Hole opening party, Westbeth, April 1, 2016. Photo: Maria Baranova

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8. Collapsable Hole opening party, Westbeth, April 1, 2016. Photo: Maria Baranova

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9. Amanda Bender, Eric Dyer, and Maggie Hoffman in Radiohole’s, Now Serving, at The Collapsable Hole. Photo: Maria Baranova

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10. Eric Dyer, Erin Douglass, and Maggie Hoffman in Radiohole’s, TV Party, at The Collapsable Hole. Photo: Maria Baranova

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11. Yuki Kawahisa and Nicolas Noreña in Object Collection’s Actua 1 at The Collapsable Hole. Photo: Maria Baranova

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12. Object Collection, Actua 1 at The Collapsable Hole. Photo: Maria Baranova

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13. Lisa Fagan + Lena Engelstein part of Radiohole’s Exposure at The Collapsable Hole. Photo: Regi Metcalf

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thehole.site · https://www.instagram.com/collapsablehole/ · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapsable_Hole

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