Gibney Community works at the intersection of arts and social action.

All Community programs are being held online due to Covid-19. More information specific to each program can be found below.

Programs are mostly being held online this Fall due to COVID-19. More information specific to each program can be found below. During this time, our team has created several resources for self-care, including the Gibney Cares Podcast, our Take Care video series, and Grounding & Energizing Self-Care Activities. We have also compiled a library of resources for artists and community members, available here.

Community programs bring a range of social issues in the spotlight, with a focus on gender-based violence and Gibney Community activates the arts to address social action. We are committed to working directly with communities impacted by intimate partner violence, preventing gender-based violence, rigorous research, and advocacy through our programs:

A youth-centered program that uses dance to start conversations about healthy relationships.

Hands Are For Holding® is a youth-centered workshop series which uses dance and movement to engage in conversation about healthy relationships, bullying, equity, and choice in everyday interaction.

Developed in close partnership with Day One and the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic & Gender-Based Violence, Hands Are For Holding® has reached over 35,000 young people, across the nation, in the past six years. 

Movement workshops for survivors of gender-based violence and their families.

“Movement gives me wings and a sense of freedom.”Workshop participant

Workshop participant

Move to Move Beyond is an innovative program that offers the transformative power of movement to survivors of gender-based violence and their families.

Launched in 1999 in partnership with Sanctuary for Families, Move to Move Beyond provides an environment for positive physical expression and has vividly demonstrated that movement, physical awareness and creativity can play a remarkable role in healing trauma. The program has since expanded to include partners such as Safe Horizon, Barrier Free Living, Henry Street Settlement, Community Health Action of Staten Island among many other New York City organizations. 

Investigating the Role of Movement in Addressing Trauma 

In partnership with Teachers College, Columbia University and Sanctuary for Families, one of the country’s most prominent domestic violence organizations, Gibney is conducting a two-year research study funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. This study aims to evaluate the effect of Gibney’s Move to Move Beyond program and looks at the impact of movement for those affected by intimate partner violence. Findings will be shared in the coming year. 

Creating Connections through Performance

The Move to Move Beyond Storytellers offer performances that promote advocacy, connection, and awareness.

Gibney’s history with the Storytellers dates back to 2005. Through the Survivor Leadership program at our first partner organization, Sanctuary for Families, we connected with those who felt drawn to the power of expression and creation that movement offers. This planted the seeds for the Move to Move Beyond Storytellers. In 2019, the program was formalized and expanded thanks to support from Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.