Focusing on being an open space for all types of music genres, performance art, community events, and more, Aurora seeks to capture the creativity and energy that makes Providence vibrant in an accessible space for everyone.

Located on Westminster Street in the hub of downtown Providence RI, Aurora resides in the previous home of both The Roots Cafe and The Providence Black Repertory Company. The space consists of a full bar, main stage, and ample seating and standing room accompanied by a cozy lounge area.

Since their opening in the spring of 2014, Aurora has made a concerted effort to continue the previous inhabitants’ tradition of diverse programming and community engagement. The venue has quickly grown in popularity due to its being operated largely by Providence locals, hosting a variety of events appealing to multiple music, art, and cultural scenes, and striving to be an inclusive space for all identities.

Aurora | Photo by Justin Case

Aurora focuses on generating a calendar packed with events ranging from live music of all genres, to jazz and salsa nights, performance art, dance parties, comedy shows, movie screenings, and basically anything that is going to get people out and moving in a community-focused environment. While the venue has become a popular spot for the local punk and metal scenes in Providence, the space is welcoming to all music genres and types of events.

“We’re 100% involved in our community,” says Aurora Booking and Operations Manager Jenny Young. “We wouldn’t be where we were if it wasn’t for our friends playing here and putting on events. Providence is such a small community. When we first started and people didn’t really know where we were or anything, we were able to get local support by having ‘on the fringe’ events, stuff that would usually happen in more experimental DIY spaces. Having that connection with the local scene has helped us gain acceptance from the community.”

Aurora also focuses on being a safe and creative space for the queer community, hosting events like “Dyke Night” and “Gay Goth Night,” a sister event of a monthly queer and goth dance party in Montreal of the same name.

Aurora stage | Girls Rock! RI | Photo by James Latowski

Young holds the venue’s cover-nights that she organizes—where local bands each play up to two songs of a designated artist—especially close to her heart. This year’s cover-nights included music by Tom Waits, P.J. Harvey, and Fleetwood Mac. Aurora partnered with Providence local organization Girls Rock! RI on two of the shows. “It was a really fun event,” she says. “Everyone knew the songs and was jamming together. It had to be one of my favorites of the year.”

Upcoming events at Aurora include “Network and Chill: Fly Sweater Party” on December 14th, a sweater-themed networking party, and the second installment of “Gay Goth Night” on December 16th.

Keep up with what’s happening at Aurora on Facebook and Twitter

Top image Rafay Rashid of Ravi Shavi at Aurora | Photo by James Latowski

The post Aurora Catalyzes Variety and Community in Providence appeared first on Take Magazine.

In 2012, Vitek Kruta was in search of a new studio space when a friend told him about a building for sale on Race Street in Holyoke, Massachusetts. “I needed a professional space,” recalls the Czech artist. “We came to look at it and we were like, ‘this is insane, this is huge,’ but we kind of fell in love with the building.”

Kruta and his partner, Lori Divine-Hudson, decided to purchase the building and have Kruta’s studio there. But then came the question of what to do with the rest of the property, which included three floors of space and a large warehouse next door. Actively involved in local art communities, they decided to convert the warehouse into a concert hall, and build a variety of workshop spaces. Four years later, the once-abandoned industrial building by the Holyoke Canal has been reborn into Gateway City Arts, a multifaceted space for the Holyoke community to engage with art, music, theater, and more.

Gateway City Arts currently features a large event hall, as well as co-working studios including art studios, a woodshop, a ceramics studio, and the option to rent out personal workspace. They are home to a variety of local artists such as Cactushead Puppets, Elevation Art and Framing, Main Street Writers, and Ghost Light Theater.

Gateway City Arts | Image courtesy Vitek Kruta

Kevin Tracey, co-creator of Ghost Light Theater, chose Gateway City Arts as the theater production company’s new home in 2015. The company’s home stage needed reconstructing and they decided to use this as an opportunity to find an up-and-coming space in the pioneer valley to host their production, Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

“Gateway was one of the first places on our list,” says Tracey. “We were knocking on every door to see who would want [to host] an off-center upstart group. Tough sell, believe me. However, Vitek and Lori Divine-Hudson met with us and were eager to host Hedwig and see where [it] would go. Vitek described growing up in Prague where every third basement was doing some off-the-wall theater, and he wanted to see that kind of thing happening here. Cue the romance music.”

Gateway City Arts | Image courtesy Vitek Kruta

On top of hosting off-center theater companies, concerts, fundraisers, and creating studio space for artists, Gateway also hosts community art classes to residents of the area. For three years, Kruta has worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Holyoke to provide free painting and restoration classes to young students in the area. He’s also worked with Enchanted Circle Theater, a non-profit, educational theater company of Holyoke that uses theater arts as a dynamic teaching tool in the classroom, to teach mathematics through painting at Morgan Elementary School.

“It’s all part of my contribution to the community,” says Kruta.

One project close to Kruta’s heart was working with Career Point, a non-profit career center in Holyoke, on a mural located behind Holyoke’s City Hall with 16 local teens. The mural creates the illusion of stained glass windows across a concrete wall, showcasing Kruta’s skill in teaching old-world painting styles for modern use.

Mural by Vitek Kruta | Image courtesy Vitek Kruta

Gateway is now expanding to include a restaurant, Gateway City Bistro, and continuing to create a safe space for artistic creation and community development.

“Holyoke is a very underappreciated city,” says Divine-Hudson. “I love creating a safe place for people to realize their potential and have fun doing so. One of the things that I’ve noticed over the years is that people, unasked, have used the word magical to describe Gateway. I love hearing that; it’s what we’re trying to foster.”

Kruta’s paintings are sold through R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, MA.

Vitek Kruta | Image courtesy Vitek Kruta

More information on Kruta can be found on his official website and follow Gateway City Arts on twitter, facebook, and instagram.

Top Photo Gateway City Arts Building | Photo courtesy Vitek Kruta

The post An Artspace Grows In Holyoke appeared first on Take Magazine.

The Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department, Big Heavy World, and Vermont Community Access Media (VCAM) are collaborating to create a video they hope will preserve the legacy of 242 Main and the ideas and people that have made it an essential part of Burlington’s history.

242 Main was founded in 1984 as a project of the city’s youth office. The venue was largely supported by the mayor of Burlington at the time, Bernie Sanders. After Sanders was elected in 1981, he tasked Jane O’Meara, his future wife, and local youth organizers with finding a way to improve relationships between the city’s youth and the municipal government.

The solution was to help create a youth music scene, supervised by youth organizers, with programming created by the teens themselves. After the success of a show put on by the organizers at a local auditorium, they decided to build a music venue in the vacated office of the Burlington Water Division. Sprung from these efforts, 242 Main evolved into a vibrant youth center and hub of the northeast punk music scene. Until its doors close in December of this year, the venue will be one of the oldest standing, all-ages, and substance-free music venues in the United States.

War on Women performing at 242 Main | Photo by James Lockridge

242 Main is revered by many in Burlington and beyond, credited with creating a much-needed space for empowering adolescents through innovation, political involvement, music, and the arts. The venue gave voice to the city’s youth and gave them a space for community involvement and creativity.

Bill Simmon, artistic director and videographer for the documentary, says that the film “seeks to celebrate the history and legacy of the longest running all-ages punk venue in the country. The stories from that venue in the last 30 or so years are as thick as the layers of punk rock stickers that cover the walls of the place.” The filmmaker and his collaborators will be shooting interviews with staff, musicians, former youth members, city government officials, and anyone who feels that 242 Main impacted them.

“As the building the venue is in is set to close—maybe forever—we want to look back and appreciate what an amazing jewel the space is in the ‘Queen City’s’ crown. It is a fundamentally safe space. It is drug and alcohol free, all ages, no hate speech, homophobia or racism is tolerated. It’s a place where youth who sometimes have a hard time fitting in have a place to call their own. A place where young musicians can play their first shows alongside more seasoned pros, and cut their teeth as artists and self-promoters,” said Simmons.

Deferred maintenance has caused Memorial Auditorium, the location of 242 Main, to close until it is decided to either repair or redevelop the building. This makes the upcoming documentary, focusing on the impact of 242 Main on local youth throughout the decades since its incarnation, coming at an crucial time for the continuation of the venue and its social presence.

Poster image courtesy of Big Heavy World/James Lockridge

The final show at 242 Main will be held on December 3rd, 2016 – Lineup TBD
Top photo by James Lockridge of Big Heavy World

The post Documenting 242 Main appeared first on Take Magazine.