Well folks, we have heavy hearts today. DIY venue, Silent Barn just announced that they will shutter their doors on April 30. Another scrappy, innovative venue set to bite the dust.
The Bushwick space has long been home to nightly music shows as well as an array of artists-in-residence programs and provided a safe community meeting space for Educated Little Monsters, a grassroots outlet that provides resources and artistic outlets for youths of color.
In a statement released by the Silent Barn Collective, the group reflected on how the community and over 70 volunteers banded together to raise funds to keep the space running after numerous near closures in the past, but the costs were still too high to sustain the venue. “After a prolonged assessment of the financial realities of this project, the leaseholders have decided that the most responsible option left is to end operations at 603 Bushwick as of April 30, 2018.”
Silent Barn has no doubt majorly impacted the DIY scene in countless ways. Bushwick isn’t losing just another cool, under-the-radar music venue, it’s losing a community center which provided a voice and creative space for artists who might not have the opportunity or means to explore and develop their craft otherwise.
Read the full statement regarding the closure from the Silent Barn collective here.