Mission & Story

Whoopee Pie The Berwick Research Institute is a 501c3 non-profit art organization that provides emerging artists with the opportunity for fiscal sponsorship and a laboratory where they can experiment with new forms and concepts without the pressures of a commercial environment. The Berwick brings artists and audiences together to foster a community that is based on dialogue, while encouraging play as a means of doing research.

To learn more about Berwick programs past and present, please take a gander at our program pages or contact one of the Berwick board and staff through the Contact Page.

History

The Berwick Research Institute was founded in January 2000 by eight young artists who saw the need for a non-commercial space where they could create, perform, and present experimental work. Over the next three years, the group transformed part of a former whoopie pie bakery into a vibrant laboratory and public space for artists working in sound, film, robotics, conceptual art, dance, theatre, music and new media to test conventional artistic boundaries for an enthusiastic audience. From 2002 - 2009, the Berwick supported new creation through the Artist in Research (AIR) residency program, which started as an informal allowance of studio and exhibition space to artists interested in exploring new elements in their work.