May 20-22

Tickets $25-$30

Artist & Creative Community tickets $20-$25

“One of the most interesting and dynamic presentations of locally grown talent.”

— Nashville Scene

“A crucial incubator for stage artists and collectives experimenting between performing arts disciplines… this platform enables the brewing of boundary pushing works in progress.”

— Music City Review

Celebrate local innovation and creativity as Nashville artists push boundaries, experiment across disciplines, and bring bold new ideas to the stage in the Brave New Works Lab. This vital annual program transforms OZ Arts into a laboratory where artists explore emerging concepts, test new forms, and launch daring original performances. Having launched 20 cutting-edge performance pieces by local artists in the past five years, the Brave New Works Lab is one of the most influential incubators in the Southeast, providing a rare platform for Nashville creators to take artistic risks and imagine new possibilities for the stage. Be a part of the audience that discovers what’s next for the local performance scene.

OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Application Deadline:

Thursday, October 1, 2026

OZ Arts is now accepting proposals for original live performance works to be developed and presented in the 6th-annual Brave New Works Lab, which is designed to support the development and presentation of contemporary performance in Middle Tennessee. The Lab invites daring Nashville artists to create and premiere new works and works-in-progress at OZ Arts, with performances in May/June 2027 (exact dates TBD).

Questions about the Brave New Works Lab? Contact OZ’s Associate Director of Programming & Partnerships Daniel Jones at daniel@ozartsnashville.org.

Photo Credits:

Tears Made the Ocean by Lenin Fernandez (Above)

from their hands to ours: a continuum by Eboné Amos (Below)