BOARD UPDATE AUGUST 12 2021
In 2021, HOBT has been working to restart our organization and adapt to the impacts of COVID-19. We considered every path forward that would put us in the best possible position to live out our mission and carry the important work of the MayDay Council into the future.
In conversation and with the input of HOBT staff and the MayDay Council, the HOBT Board of Directors has voted to sell the Avalon Theatre, our home since 1988.
It”™s time to find a new, smaller home that will allow us to live into our vision of a decentralized MayDay. That includes moving into a new space that is more sustainable and accessible.
HOBT is also in the process of moving out of our puppet storage warehouse, which was rented to store the thousands of puppets in HOBT”™s collection.
The puppets will return to the artists that created them, museums who can house them (both locally and nationally), and HOBT will be maintaining a smaller collection to carry our work into the future.
We have come to these decisions out of a fierce commitment to the power of puppet and mask performance to create new ways forward together with our beloved community.
We give abundant gratitude for all the brilliant work done over the past 48 years: the many artists, staff, board members, and volunteers who have given their whole hearts to the work of HOBT. Thank you!
As we sell the building and move out of puppet storage, we are turning the page on this chapter of our organization.
With hope, we are embarking on a new journey: finding a new space, creating new decentralized MayDay experiences, and choosing a new name for our puppet and mask theater.
For more information and to read our full announcement, go here: https://hobt.org/the-avalon/
