This Web app is an OpenTable for NYC artists in search of rehearsal space

Founded in 1998, Fractured Atlas is a New York-based non-profit organization that serves a national community of artists and arts organizations.

Earlier this week, it launched a pretty neat Web app aimed squarely at artists in The Big Apple. NYC Performing Arts Spaces helps you find, schedule, and rent available rehearsal and performance space based on a range of needs – the key ones being date, time, cost, and location.

It’s pretty simple to use – you click what option you want, be it music, dance or theater. You then say which borough you’re interested in and your price range:

You can then click ‘Go’, or hit ‘Skip this, show me all 20 search filters’. This option will take you to a much more granular search feature, letting you filter your options by distance from a particular address, or even availability on a specific time and date.

Users can search by more than 150 criteria – including date, time, price, and location, to more specific amenities such as WiFi, acoustics, and sound and lighting systems – you can then click on a specific venue and request a booking for a specific time-slot on a given day.

If you’re simply looking to browse, you can select ‘All Spaces’ and scroll all 2,000+ venues currently listed, from OPERA America’s new 25,000 square feet National Opera Center in Manhattan, which boasts 13 rehearsal and performance spaces, to The Brick Theater, a 535 square feet artist-run space in Brooklyn.

So whether you’re a budding band looking to jam the night away with your college buddies in a room, or a squadron of aspiring ballerinas looking for a mirrored hall to fine-tune your Fouetté, NYC Performing Arts Spaces offers a pretty extensive library of options.

This platform essentially solves two problems by matching artists with unused rehearsal and performance spaces. According to Fractured Atlas, 50% of artists who used the service during its beta testing period were looking for space in the next seven days, with 25% seeking something within 48 hours. This is something it’s hoping to cater for with this new database and, unlike many other booking services, renters don’t pay any booking or searching fee to Fractured Atlas.

Adam Huttler, executive director of Fractured Atlas, says that the service has already significantly increased bookings for venues participating in the beta phase. For instance, Fourth Arts Block, a non-profit that manages space for several venues on East 4th Street as part of its Dance Block program, rented the same amount of space in one month using the service as it had in the prior four months.

“NYC Performing Arts Spaces is a win-win for both venues and artists,” says Huttler. “By matching available space with a targeted local audience of potential renters, the service enables venues to increase revenue and artists to focus on what’s most important: making art.”

In addition to New York City Performing Arts Spaces, Fractured Atlas has already launched online rehearsal and performance marketplaces in several other areas, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia.

However, New York City is currently the only conurbation that offers a search function for unbooked rehearsal and performance times. We’re told that it plans to launch the feature later this year on SpaceFinderLA, which it operates jointly with LA Stage Alliance. Fractured Atlas is also planning to launch online marketplaces in Minneapolis, Sacramento, Atlanta and Austin over the coming year.

➤ NYC Performing Arts Spaces