The Kitchen was founded in order to carve out a place for artists working along the boundaries of new media and performance. The foresight and the passion of that original vision have provided some of the most potent material in new performance and launched the careers of many influential artists like Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Steve Reich, Peter Greenaway, Nam June Paik, Meredith Monk, Brian Eno, Robert Mapplethorpe, Bill Viola, Robert Wilson and others.
In keeping with this history, The Kitchen continues as a cultural center where emerging artists can challenge and expand the accepted definitions of performance, and experienced artists can test out new directions for an adventurous audience.
Founded in 1971 by two video artists, Woody and Steina Vasulka, The Kitchen has been a powerful force in shaping the cultural landscape of the USA. It literally began in a kitchen. In the unused kitchen of the Mercer Arts Center three video makers and performers invited friends to see the results of a collaborative project. Within this atmosphere of adversity and excitement, The Kitchen grew along with the new art form it presented, and it gradually embraced music as part of its presentations.
As well as film, it was also presenting performance and dance as part of its season, work that was both daring, non-traditional and at the cutting edge, a sort of hotbed of artistic activity
In part of the Kitchen is an archival storage. The distribution archive is huge and contains hundreds of tapes from more than 200 artists.