Some of you may have seen on my Instagram stories last week that there was a four-alarm fire at the building where the Cinebar resides and with it, the majority of photos from the Muchacho collection (I think I have 3 or 4 pieces in storage). Thankfully, there were no injuries. The investigation is still pending, so my friend Stacy, who co-owns the bar is unaware of what damage may lie on the other side. There will be water damage, no doubt, but beyond that is anyone’s guess. You can read more about the fire HERE and also watch a video HERE.
I drove down there last weekend to see the building and the entire block is closed to traffic and there’s a fence around the building. You can’t see much, but the entire top floor is gone:
I feel so bad for the owners, who were already hurting because they’ve been closed since March 2020 due to COVID-19, and now this. It went from bad to worse in a matter of hours. The fundraiser they had previously going to just maintain a closed business has now been increased so they can rebuild. If you haven't already, please donate whatever you can on their GoFundMe.
In the current state of life on earth, it feels ridiculous to even mention it, but my photos from the last Muchacho exhibit were still up on the walls! Am I upset about losing my work? Absolutely. Am I pissed off? No. But dammit! I still have my fingers crossed that a few can be salvaged…maybe? There was quite a bit of artwork at the Cinebar, not just my photos. A couple of weeks before the fire they were taking submissions for a fundraiser. A lot of artwork had recently been dropped off there. It sucks on so many levels. I was hoping the bar would reopen maybe late summer or fall and we could restart the exhibit and welcome people back to drink, socialize, and help save the bar. But that’s all on the back burner for now. So now we wait for the investigation to finish, for a peek inside to assess the damage, and then REBUILD!
