Headwaters Theater & Water in the Desert

It is with great sadness that we announce that the Headwaters Theater and Waterline Studio are closing. Originally a hub for butoh in the Pacific Northwest, Headwaters has been hosting movers, artists, healers, dancers, actors, musicians, film screenings, and experimental artists for 13+ years.

Founded by mizu desierto, the theater was built from scratch, including custom lampshades, lamps, reclaimed wood, theater seating, and more. 2020 brought a shift to the theater and our administrative team started operating as a nonhierarchical pod. 

This shift brought Switch residency, which provided free movement/practice spaces to Black, queer, low income artists. 

A successful pilot, it evolved to our Subsidized Space Program, which provided free space to Black, brown, Indigenous, queer, trans, disabled, low income, &/or elder artists without the expectation of production of work. Since 2021, we have had over 75 residents breathing life into and moving in the spaces. 

At the end of 2022 we suddenly and unexpectedly lost a major butoh funder, The DuBois Foundation. Unfortunately, this deficit put us in a bind. Our efforts shifted to grant writing and we repeatedly found that funders didn’t want to fund this work. At this same time, we learned that GRID Property Management would not be renewing our lease. Our financial issues coupled with the toll of finding a new space compounded. 

We would like to express our deepest thank you to all residents, artists, movers, dancers, healers, audiences, passersby, and anyone else who have interacted with the space, performed in the space, or spent time in the space. Thank you for the outpouring of support and compassion as we navigated our financial troubles as best we could. 

This space has such an incredible energy and a piece of old Portland has died upon the closing of our doors. Thank you to all those who have said goodbye to the spaces with us. 

We are grateful for the love and kind words. We close out the end of an era confident in the work we have done, knowing our work and physical spaces provided such a unique offering to local and international artists and the Portland arts landscape. 

With love, 

WiTD Team 

keyon gaskin, maxx, leo ariel

Water in the Desert extends deep gratitude for our sponsors and donors.

Thank you Collins Foundation, Miller Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Community Foundation, Regional Arts and Cultural Council, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, Seeding Justice, and the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation for your contributions.