Buffalo's homegrown arts collaborative Sugar City will soon be moving out of its Allentown space. As organizers of all sorts of arts and community events, Sugar City has been a boon to our city since its conception in 2008. We were shocked to hear they'd been evicted, so we turned to 'Sugar Citizen' Pat Kewley for answers... He told us about the awesome final month they're planning. You can get involved at the public meeting they're holding this Wednesday, March 7th at 7pm.
Lauren Mook: Tell us about the situation, why do you have to leave?
Pat Kewly: Basically the situation is that the building which houses Sugar City at 19 Wadsworth St has been sold to a new owner who has other plans for the space and doesn't want to keep Sugar City as a tenant, so after three and a half years in Allentown we're going to have to close up shop on that space and find a new home. It doesn't mean the end of Sugar City as a group staging events and promoting the arts and community engagement, but just that Sugar City won't have a physical address for a bit.
From what I'm told I guess the new owner is a gentleman who wants to renovate the space and turn it into a venue for chamber music performances, with plans to re-open later this year. Speaking for myself, I'm obviously disappointed that we have to leave such a wonderful location, but on another level it's a relief that at least the space is going to continue to be something unique and arts-oriented that contributes to the cultural fabric of the city and the neighborhood, and not just a cellphone store or Mobil or whatever. So there's that
The previous owner, our wonderful and heroic landlord Wendes, has been super-supportive of our little group and looked out for us over the years and helped us out in millions of ways big & small, but at the end of the day she has her own considerations to attend to beyond just little old us, and everyone understands that. It's just one of those little shakeups that occur in the life of any organization, and I honestly think it's going to propel Sugar City to bigger and better things in the near future.
LM: When did you guys find out? How much warning did you get? When do you have to move out?
PK: Well, we just found out within the week or two that the new owner wants us to leave ASAP, but our landlord has had the building on the market for some time, so this isn't a complete shock --- we always knew in the back of our minds that there was a possibility it could be sold to someone who didn't want to keep us as tenants. With that in mind, even before this new owner asked us to leave we had been thinking about plans to move to a more permanent space that we could have a bit more control over. Plans have been afoot recently to make that happen, and things are still in the early stages so I'm not sure how much I should say, but I think it's safe to say that 19 Wadsworth St will not the last address that Sugar City will have.
Our last day of official operation in our current space at 19 Wadsworth is going to be Friday April 13th when we host the legendary Calvin Johnson and his new band the Hivedwellers for our big going away bash, which will be a fitting sendoff since he's always been heavily involved in the DIY movement and supported all-ages spaces like ours. And in the 30 days leading up to that last show we're going to have a final month of celebration by hosting a different event every night, which should be a wild and fun time.
LM: What will you miss most about the current space?
PK: Oh, so many things. The artist Dylan England just recently completed a new mural on the back wall of the performance space that is a really amazing piece of work, and I really hope we can figure out some way to preserve that. I know I'm not alone in saying that I'll miss the space just because of all the great sentimental memories I have associated with it, all of the fantastic shows and art and other events that have happened there, all of the wonderful people who have passed through the doors and friends that I've made and experiences I've had there. Since I've gotten involved with Sugar City, a lot of the best times that I've had in the last few years have been inside those walls, and that will definitely be something that I'll think about and miss -- it's definitely become a special place in my life. But then again I have to remember that that's all thanks to the art and the people and not the physical space itself, so I know wherever Sugar City finds itself in the future will be just as special.
It's definitely been a blast being there in Allentown and being a part of the fabric of that neighborhood, but at the same time, Allentown is always going to be there, and there are other neighborhoods that need Sugar City and what Sugar City does more than Allentown does, so there's that to look forward to. Moving to a new location is going to be a really interesting opportunity to grow what Sugar City does and who it serves and that sort of thing. By being in a new neighborhood, building new relationships with community groups, and meeting new people, it's going to be really good to see what the space will evolve into, see fresh faces that might not otherwise have been involved, and see the space getting used for things it might not otherwise have been used for, so I think we’re all looking forward to that.
LM: Tell us about your final month of celebration!
PK: I'm really excited for this. Basically the plan is, in the 30 days leading up to our big moving-out bash with Calvin Johnson & the Hivedwellers on April 13, we're going to open up Sugar City to have a different event every single night for 30 days straight in order to say goodbye to the space in style. There's going to be shows, workshops, art openings, film screenings, and whatever else anyone can think of. We have some plans running, but also want to invite everyone to a public meeting on Wednesday March 7th at 7pm at Sugar City to discuss event ideas and out goals for the future. So if you've ever had an idea for an all-ages event that you've always wanted to do or want to get involved in any way, this could be your chance! I'm really looking forward to see what happens and the ideas that everyone comes up with. Let the fun begin!
PK: Well, we just found out within the week or two that the new owner wants us to leave ASAP, but our landlord has had the building on the market for some time, so this isn't a complete shock --- we always knew in the back of our minds that there was a possibility it could be sold to someone who didn't want to keep us as tenants. With that in mind, even before this new owner asked us to leave we had been thinking about plans to move to a more permanent space that we could have a bit more control over. Plans have been afoot recently to make that happen, and things are still in the early stages so I'm not sure how much I should say, but I think it's safe to say that 19 Wadsworth St will not the last address that Sugar City will have.
Our last day of official operation in our current space at 19 Wadsworth is going to be Friday April 13th when we host the legendary Calvin Johnson and his new band the Hivedwellers for our big going away bash, which will be a fitting sendoff since he's always been heavily involved in the DIY movement and supported all-ages spaces like ours. And in the 30 days leading up to that last show we're going to have a final month of celebration by hosting a different event every night, which should be a wild and fun time.
LM: What will you miss most about the current space?
PK: Oh, so many things. The artist Dylan England just recently completed a new mural on the back wall of the performance space that is a really amazing piece of work, and I really hope we can figure out some way to preserve that. I know I'm not alone in saying that I'll miss the space just because of all the great sentimental memories I have associated with it, all of the fantastic shows and art and other events that have happened there, all of the wonderful people who have passed through the doors and friends that I've made and experiences I've had there. Since I've gotten involved with Sugar City, a lot of the best times that I've had in the last few years have been inside those walls, and that will definitely be something that I'll think about and miss -- it's definitely become a special place in my life. But then again I have to remember that that's all thanks to the art and the people and not the physical space itself, so I know wherever Sugar City finds itself in the future will be just as special.
It's definitely been a blast being there in Allentown and being a part of the fabric of that neighborhood, but at the same time, Allentown is always going to be there, and there are other neighborhoods that need Sugar City and what Sugar City does more than Allentown does, so there's that to look forward to. Moving to a new location is going to be a really interesting opportunity to grow what Sugar City does and who it serves and that sort of thing. By being in a new neighborhood, building new relationships with community groups, and meeting new people, it's going to be really good to see what the space will evolve into, see fresh faces that might not otherwise have been involved, and see the space getting used for things it might not otherwise have been used for, so I think we’re all looking forward to that.
LM: Tell us about your final month of celebration!
PK: I'm really excited for this. Basically the plan is, in the 30 days leading up to our big moving-out bash with Calvin Johnson & the Hivedwellers on April 13, we're going to open up Sugar City to have a different event every single night for 30 days straight in order to say goodbye to the space in style. There's going to be shows, workshops, art openings, film screenings, and whatever else anyone can think of. We have some plans running, but also want to invite everyone to a public meeting on Wednesday March 7th at 7pm at Sugar City to discuss event ideas and out goals for the future. So if you've ever had an idea for an all-ages event that you've always wanted to do or want to get involved in any way, this could be your chance! I'm really looking forward to see what happens and the ideas that everyone comes up with. Let the fun begin!
Nice interview! I hope they land on their feet. Should be an interesting month.