Friday, October 16, 2009

ABC No Rio

I've lived in the lower east side for 10 years, and there's always been one place you could rely on to see or make art.. where there's a darkroom and screenprinting, where you can checkout real punk shows, a place that never turned into a little boutique or a sports bar: Art always lived there, and luckily still will! Abc No Rio was threatened to be torn down by the city and thank fuckin god the people stood up and said, "This place is important. We need it! Nyc needs it."And somehow the city granted them $1.65 Million to rebuild the space and preserve the independent arts center. This is beyond awesome. So last week they had a wake for the building that will be torn down (the bldg is condemned), but will be rebuilt for the same use with the same intentions. They dangled some sort of fabric off the roof into the coffin on the street, then we all marched around the neighborhood behind the coffin. It was a very special moment.