Silent Barn supporters are giving the DIY space its “last rites” on Sunday.
At 7 p.m. “family and friends” of Silent Barn will gather for one last show at the venue on Bushwick Avenue after organizers announced in March that financial challenges were forcing the space to close.
The Barn is an independent arts organization run by volunteers and community fundraising for 12 years, but after six years of an “unstable environment with no realistic way forward” at 603 Bushwick Ave., it was time to shut down, according to a statement released last month. The space officially closes on April 30.
Although lovers of The Barn will be saying goodbye on Sunday night (with an action-packed lineup of DJs, musicians, and poetry readings) organizers have said that it’s not the end.
The grassroots art program Educated Little Monsters is working with Bushwick Street Art and other local collectives to raise money to open another event space in the area. As of today, the With Friends fundraiser has received almost $45,000 of its $50,000 goal, or about 90 percent. Five days remain until the campaign ends.
Silent Barn organizers summed it up on their event page with a quote from Optimus Prime, the transformer: “Above all, do not lament my absence, for in my spark, I know this is not the end, but merely a new beginning. Simply put, another transformation.”
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Cover image from the Bushwick Daily archives