At the height of the 2020 lockdowns, Erin K. McAtee and Claire Kretzschmar sought to combat widespread isolation and disillusionment among their Catholic artist friends by beginning a performance and exhibition series of in-person arts programming. What began as a word-of-mouth salon gathering for artists has since grown into a vibrant artistic community: visual artists, musicians, poets, dancers, actors, writers, filmmakers and more from across New York City’s five boroughs together comprise the robust collective that is Arthouse2B.
Our Story
Named for the Apt. #2B in which it was founded, Arthouse2B was conceived in response to the widespread isolation experienced by artists amid the height of the pandemic lockdowns. Roommates Erin K. McAtee, a visual artist, and Claire Kretzschmar, a dancer, sought specifically to cultivate connection among artists within the Catholic community of New York City.
Since 2020, our mission has brought us into collaboration with artists across disciplines: visual artists, musicians, dancers, actors, writers, filmmakers, and more have all been featured in our gallery exhibitions, live performances, screenings and artistic programming. Today, artists from across the five boroughs and beyond seek out Arthouse2B’s events for the welcome environment, spiritual nourishment, and artistic commitment they know they will find.
Our Values
Artistic Integrity
Cultivation
We work in close collaboration with our artistic peers, encouraging and supporting them as they hone their creative practice, deepen their artistic commitment, and present their work to our audiences. The work premiered at Arthouse2B comes as often from established artists as it does from those at the beginning of their careers.
Deepening Spirituality
Communion
We foster an intentional artistic community, promoting deep encounters among artists of faith and emboldening them to live out their beliefs, to allow spirituality to inform their work, and to share both their faith and work with others. The lasting friendships formed at Arthouse2B span artistic disciplines and religious beliefs.
Nourishing Hospitality
Restoration
We are transforming the artistic landscape by renewing the hearts of artists and ennobling them in their artistic vocation. The spiritual nourishment, sacramental life, and profound experience of divine intimacy discovered by artists through Arthouse2B is sustaining them as they, in turn, renew culture and the world.
Who We Are
Erin K. McAtee
Co-Founder, Executive Director
Erin K. McAtee is a New York City-based visual artist, curator, and co-founder of Arthouse2B. As the driving force behind Arthouse2B, she works diligently to ensure that artists across disciplines are supported not only in their work, but also in their human and spiritual formation. Erin believes that the restoration of culture must first be preceded by the restoration of the artist’s heart.
In her own art practice, Erin expresses the heart of her prayer through painting, utilizing fiber art, and crafting immersive experiences that engage viewers. Erin holds an MFA from Brooklyn College.
Zoe Dongas
Assistant Director
Zoe Dongas is an actor and musician based in New York City. She collaborates with Catholic communities across the U.S. as a worship leader, speaker, and writer. In all her work, she aspires to grow closer to the person of Christ through the people she encounters and the stories she tells. Zoe believes that artistic renewal begins with the renewal of our identity as children of God. In her role with Arthouse2B, she hopes to help people create beautiful art from a foundation of deep relationship with the Beautiful One.
Zoe loves her parish community at St. Joseph's Church in Greenwich Village, where she is blessed to be a catechist and leader. She holds a Bachelors of Music in Music Theatre and a minor in International Studies from Oklahoma City University.
Claire Kretzschmar
Co-Founder
Claire Kretzschmar is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and co-founder of Arthouse2B. She formerly danced with New York City Ballet for twelve years, performing ballets by renowned choreographers at Lincoln Center and at theaters around the world. Claire currently serves as the Artistic Director of Ballet Hartford. She holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Fordham University and co-hosts a podcast segment of New York City Ballet's "City Ballet: The Podcast". With Arthouse2B, Claire assists with advising, event planning, and communicating with artists, with the hope that all participants may understand their inherent dignity and capacity for greatness.
James Majewski
Creative Director
Karina Majewski
Media Manager
James and Karina are husband & wife theater artists based in New York City. Karina is a playwright and performer, while James is a director, performer, and the head of the Arthouse2B resident Acting Studio. They work together to stage productions of new work. Their previous productions with Arthouse2B include The Jeweler’s Shop, Saint Lucy, Arranged, Ruah, and Magnificat.
Through opening their home to artists and sharing the gift of their family life, they are also core collaborators in the hospitality and community-building at the center of Arthouse2B’s mission. Each holds an MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, and they live together in Manhattan with their three sons.
Our Chaplains
Fr. Samuel Bellafiore
Diocese of Albany, NY
Fr. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
Fr. Malachy Napier, CFR
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
Fr. Dominik Wegiel
Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY
Our Advisory Board
Very Rev. Philip G. Bochanski, VG
Vicar General & Moderator of the Curia, Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Helen M. Alvaré
Professor of Law & Robert A. Levy Chair in Liberty and Law
Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
R. R. Reno
Editor of First Things
Fr. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
Fr. Malachy Napier, CFR
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
Margarita Pineda-Ucero
Founder, Women Dignity Alliance
Director, GIVEN Forum Mentor Program Advisory Committee
Sr. Magdalene Teresa Mercy of the Incarnation, SV
Sisters of Life
Fr. Samuel Bellafiore
Diocese of Albany, NY
Fr. Boniface Endorf, OP
Dominican Province of St. Joseph
Pastor, St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village