Showing posts with label Club 57. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Club 57. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

A campaign to co-name St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue 'Club 57 Way'

There's a campaign underway to co-name St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue "Club 57 Way" — after the seminal nightlife venue (1978-1983) at 57 St. Mark's Place.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently met Stanley Strychacki, Club 57's founder, and the petition organizers, East Village residents Dany Johnson (in Club 57 shirt below) and Ande Whyland... 
The organizers, via Club 57 Artists Fund, a nonprofit organization, are looking to collect signatures (the petition is here) of support from residents who live in this immediate area to present to Community Board 3 for consideration.

"Usually, they consider the naming for people who have died. But we figure that many artists and performers who came out of Club 57 have died, most from AIDS," said Johnson, the resident DJ at Club 57.  "Instead of trying to get a co-naming for one person, this would be a great way to bring attention to that part of the history of the East Village."
Club 57 was housed in the basement at the time of the Holy Cross Polish National Church. Workers refurbished the building last year, adding a plaque commemorating Club 57.

The subcultural heyday of the venue received significant attention in the fall of 2017 with the MoMa exhibit titled "Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978–1983" — "the first major exhibition to fully examine the scene-changing, interdisciplinary life of this seminal downtown New York alternative space."

You can find the co-naming petition at this link.

The process of co-naming a street within the confines of Community Board 3 is explained in this PDF.

Monday, August 31, 2020

A look at the new-look 57 St. Mark's Place



Been meaning to note that workers recently removed the sidewalk bridge and construction netting at 57 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... revealing the building's refurbished exterior ...





Unitas: St. Mark's Place Institute for Mental Health is the current occupant.

The building now also features a plaque commemorating a tenant here from 1978-1983 — Club 57... the influential venue in the basement of the Holy Cross Polish National Church (at the time) ...



Speaking of Keith Haring... as you may have seen in recent days, Sotheby's will auction more than 140 of his works in an online sale this fall. Proceeds from the auction, titled "Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring" will benefit the LGBTQ Community Center of New York.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Video: Opening night at MoMa's Club 57


[Image via]

As you likely read about somewhere, "Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978–1983" opened last month at MoMa ... the retrospective explores the influential venue at 57 St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (This exhibit has generated a lot of press... most recently with this interview published Thursday at The Brooklyn Rail with guest curator Ann Magnuson.)

Yesterday, MoMa posted this video from the opening...



You have until April 1 to catch "Club 57" at MoMa.

H/T Christine C.!