Fostering artistic and creative dialogue and mutual friendship between the United States of America and Europe. Fighting against discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism by means of art.
Elysium’s history is closely linked with Erwin Piscator and his groundbreaking ideas of a politically and socially relevant theater. Founded on October 11, 1983 by Gregorij von Leïtis as a theater company in New York, Elysium presented numerous American premieres of German-language plays in English translation. From the very beginning, Gregorij von Leïtis used the arts for the integration of socially marginalized groups; he worked with Puerto-Rican children in the East Village and initiated the program Theater for the Homeless. In 1993, Elysium Theater Company was transformed into the trans-Atlantic cultural exchange organization, Elysium – between two continents. Since then, we have focused on rediscovering and presenting music and literature created by artists who were persecuted by the Nazis.