Celebrating $pread magazine at Dixon Place

Text and photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy

Along with a standing room-only crowd, I attended $pread magazine’s book-launch party last night ("$pread: The Best of the Magazine that Illuminated the Sex Industry and Started a Media Revolution," edited by Rachel Aimee Eliyanna Kaiser, and Audacia Ray; Feminist Press) at Dixon Place.



The book is an anthology covering 10 years of the defunct magazine (the first U.S. magazine by and for sex workers and allies), which was birthed in the East Village in 2005.

The magazine was crafted in the early years at the tables of Avenue A’s Café Pick Me Up and edited at Ludlow’s Earth Matters (RIP), and financed by repeated fundraising events at the Slipper Room. It was first for sale at Bluestockings. (I recall seeing brightly colored neon posters and fliers for the magazine all over the neighborhood back in the day.)

The former editors, writers, artists and staffers shared funny, touching and emotional stories about how sex work affected them and their friends, families and coworkers, and read some of the early responses to their work – such as a bowl of torn-up copies of their first issue, snail-mailed back to them with some seriously nasty notes.

It was also opening night of the art show “Spark to a Flame,” featuring art from the magazine.







The art show, curated by Damien Luxe, features artwork by artists Fly Orr, Molly Crabapple, Hawk Kinkaid, Xandra Ibarra/La Chica Boom and Cristy Road, and is still on view at Dixon Place, 161 Chrystie between Rivington and Delancey, until March 20.



“Spark to a Flame” is made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Dixon Place unveils its new gallery space tonight

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Dixon Place is pleased to introduce its new in-house exhibition space, The Gallery at Dixon Place. The gallery’s inaugural show, HOTSHOTS, opens Wednesday, May 2, and features six photographers who journey where no lens is safe to bring you all of the blood, guts and glitter of live rock 'n' roll.

The group exhibition, curated by Jacquelyn Gallo, focuses on the theatrics and spectacle of live performance, and is presented in conjunction with Dixon Place’s show The Talking Band's: The Peripherals, a rock musical opening May 3.

"By converting our lounge area into an official gallery space, Dixon Place is proud to include visual arts in our myriad of programs," said Ellie Covan, the founder/artistic director of Dixon Place.

Learn more via the Dixon Place website here.

Reminders: Losing the Fun this Tuesday

Author David Freeland hosts a stellar panel of historians, experts and urban planners to explore what happens to the city when a neighborhood’s cultural soul is stripped away to make way for luxury housing and bland architecture. Details here. (The event was originally scheduled in February... but the snowpocalypse took care of that...)

The Lounge at Dixon Place holds its grand opening tomorrow night

The Lounge at Dixon Place celebrates its official Grand Opening tomorrow night at Dixon Place, the nonprofit that provides space for literary and performing artists...

It's a Lower East Side bar that directly supports artists and a theater that presents their works in progress. "All of our proceeds go directly to helping support the Dixon Place mission. It keeps our ticket prices low and allows us to present free music and other events in the Lounge," Tim Ranney, Dixon Place's director of marketing, told me.

So is the bar open all the time? Or just before and after performances?

"We are open every night at 6 to the public just like a real bar. It's a neighborhood bar as well as for folks coming here for a show," he said.

And there's a 2-for-1 happy hour special every night of the week from 6 to 7. "No plans yet to adopt the 'buy a keg' concept from Superdive but we do have a bar special called 'The Bull Dyke' -- a shot of whiskey and a PBR."

Ranney also noted there's an agreement with the building and neighbors that mandates the Lounge closes by midnight Monday-Thursday and by 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. "And we keep the music very, very low," he said.

Details on the grand opening are here. Dixon Place is located at 161A Chrystie St. between Rivington and Delancey.