Our Mission

Babycastles is a NYC based collective fostering and amplifying diverse voices in videogame culture. Babycastles provides artists support to actualize ideas and expose that work to new audiences.

We are a volunteer-run 501c3 nonprofit and we maintain a cultural space on 14th street in Manhattan.

Beginning in 2009 and drawing values from our history in New York’s DIY scene, Babycastles provides an open, accessible and collaborative platform for sharing experimental work across a broad community of artists, musicians, writers, technologists, gamemakers, students, organizers, activists, researchers, chefs, scientists, teachers, animators, zinemakers, filmmakers, moms, modders, curators, speedrunners, builders, journalists, storytellers, comedians, poets, dancers, LARPers, playwrights, Wikipedia editors, botmakers, programmers, performers, algorithms, AI...

We primarily exhibit videogames, but also feature visual art, digital media, and mixed media installations. We host a variety of events up to four nights a week, including exhibition openings and closings, artist talks, presentations, readings, live music and coding shows, game development workshops, game jams, creative salons, student showcases, coworking nights, and more.

Meows (current members)

Lauren Gardner (2010 - pres.)
Steph Clark (2012 - pres.)
Krissy Rubbles (2013 - pres.)
Todd Anderson (2014 - pres.)
Sonya Belakhlef (2014 - pres.)
Samuel Johnston (2014 - pres.)
Frank DeMarco (2015 - pres.)
Karl Hohn (2015 - pres.)
JP Bruneau (2015 - pres.)
Prashast Thapan (2015 - pres.)
Flan Falacci (2017 - pres.)
Yuxin Gao (2017 - pres.)
Lillyan Ling (2018 - pres.)
Emily Koonce (2018 - pres.)
Hyacinth Ramsay (2018 - pres.)
Lee Tusman (2019 - pres.)
Stefan Pelikan (2019 - pres.)
Eva Khoury (2019 - pres.)

RECURRING EVENTS

Momcat (past members)

Kunal Gupta (2009 - 15)
Syed Salahuddin (2010 - 14)
Arthur Ward (2010 - 12)
Joe Salina (2010 - 17)
Ben Johnson (2010 - 17)
Jen Taclas (2011 - 16)
Hillary Dvorkin (2012 - 14)
Robin Enrico (2012 - 15)
Emi Spicer (2013 - 16)
Zara Steadman (2014 - 17)
Charles Reinhardt (2014 - 17)
Iasmin Omar Ata (2014 - 16)
Joe Perez (2014 - 16)
“Coach” Kyle Keller (2014 - 15)
Audie Maginley/chortletortle (2016 - 20)
Blake Andrews (2017 - 19)

Coworking

Every Monday, 6pm-12am

Bring your laptop, snacks, and project materials, and work independently alongside others doing the same. Request and provide help as well as feedback. Exchange ideas and become inspired. Coworking is the meeting place for many relationships that lead to greater collaborations within the local creative community.

WordHack

Monthly, every 3rd Thursday

A series of talks and performances featuring artists who explore language and technology. Presentations can be anything from live-coding of visual systems, to reading out neural network poetry, to writing about technology, musical performance or even new forms of writing. Sign up for “Open Projector” to present your project for five minutes, prior to the start of the program.

♫꒰･‿･๑꒱ （★￣∀￣★） o (^‿^✿) (୨୧ ❛ᴗ❛)✧

A safe, respectful, and positive environment

Babycastles is a community committed to being a safe, respectful, and positive environment, supporting artists and guests by providing a space for free expression of all people. Upon entry, all attendees agree to respect personal boundaries and take responsibility for their actions and experience.  

Babycastles will not tolerate language or behavior that is oppressive. We define oppressive behavior as: any kind of uninvited physical contact, sexual or otherwise; comments or other behaviors that are racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic, ableist, classist, ageist, or otherwise discriminatory; deliberate intimidation; harassing photography or recording; and sustained or willful disruption of events, programming, or services.

A safe and respectful community is everyone's responsibility. We encourage you to make friends and look out for each other. If you see someone who might be in trouble or in need of assistance, don't hesitate to ask them if they need support or let Babycastles staff or volunteers know.

Individuals who have engaged in oppressive behaviors outside of Babycastles will be held accountable within it. Those with a history of being called out for sexual assault, abuse or other oppressive behaviors may not be permitted entry into the space.

Any member of the Babycastles staff/organization may ask you to leave at any time if your behavior makes others uncomfortable. Additionally, Babycastles is not above its own policies—all members of Babycastles are expected to adhere to all of the above.