STORY

In October 2010, a small group of Spanish artists gathered at New York’s Spanish Benevolent Society (Centro Español) to give voice to the growing community of Spanish creatives in NYC. AENY – El Puente emerged as a way to bring Spanish contemporary work to the United States.

With the generous backing of the Cultural Department of the Consulate General of Spain in New York and the Embassy of Spain in Washington D.C., AENY debuted its first full-length production. Wearing Lorca’s Bowtie premiered at the renowned theater The Duke on 42nd Street in New York City in 2011. Following enthusiastic reviews from local, national, and international press, AENY expanded its programming and initiatives in the subsequent years.

STAGED READING SERIES / An annual series of staged play readings that introduces New York audiences to emerging Spanish playwrights and their notable works.

AENY MAIN STAGE / The company’s annual production of a full-length play, selected from the Staged Reading Series, began in 2014. Past productions include Días Estupendos (2014), Ronensbourgh (2015), and An Invisible Piece of this World (2016). Días Estupendos was awarded a 2014 HOLA Award for Excellence in Theater for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast.

PLAY LOUD! / A music festival dedicated to exploring the intersections of music and storytelling launched in 2013.

WORKSHOPS and NETWORKING EVENTS / Programs that bring together the NYC creative community to connect, learn, collaborate, and dream.

In 2013 AENY – El Puente changed its official name to AENY – Spanish Artists in New York (AENY is an acronym for “Artistas Españoles en Nueva York”). Today the company’s affiliated artistic community includes actors, dancers, composers, directors, musicians, performers, playwrights, theater designers, and visual artists. It also has a growing base of technicians, artisans, craft tradespeople, and administrative workers. In 2014, the company formed as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization to fulfill its mission: to foster interdisciplinary artistic collaborations and encourage a unique cultural bridge between Spain and the United States of America.

AENY is committed to maintaining an experimental, collaborative approach throughout its production process. AENY’s artistic leadership works to establish a stable and enriching relationship between Spanish and US artists. Moreover, AENY seeks to enliven the New York arts scene through its focus on collaborative productions, which illuminate and examine the challenges of contemporary society. AENY believes firmly in building stable and mutually beneficial relationships with its audience, artists, and benefactors.

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“These wordless scenes, mounted by the AENY-El Puente company, at the Duke on 42nd Street, evoke the peculiar disorientation and loneliness of navigating a new city.”
Jason Zinoman
Theater Critic, The New York Times
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“Wearing Lorca’s Bowtie is a sincere, impressionistic, sometimes static, yet often powerful portrait of the lonesomeness of life in New York City.”
Lisa Jo Sagolla
Theater Critic, Backstage Magazine
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“Thanks to AENY’s excellent “experiment,” Lorca’s ghost is alive and well not only at the Duke on 42nd Street, but on the streets of New York.”
Sandra Bertrand
Theater Reviewer, GALO Magazine
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