Closing art venue to host free event

"I was just thinking of how many people have passed through our basement," said Marc Moscato, an organizer and agent provocateur of local independent art venue My House. "It must have been thousands."

Moscato has reason for reflection. After hosting more than 40 events during 13 months, the humble My House venue will close its doors. Moscato formed the venue with the house's owner, Jesse Garlick, who recently decided to sell the property. My House has presented everything from independent films to zine workshops to almost any musical act capable of performing in a basement.

"I came out here from Buffalo, New York, about two years ago and realized that there were no venues for independent arts," said Moscato, a recent University graduate. "I felt there were all these things that Eugene lacked. Soon I met others with the same frustrations, and things began to take off."

Local, national and international music acts, along with internationally acclaimed artists, filmmakers, cartoonists and zine writers have all made appearances at the humble basement of Moscato and his fellow organizers Garlick, Inga Markstrom, Carly Boyer and Erik Kessler.

The group has also hosted events outside of the basement. One of these, the "No War" art show held in March, attracted hundreds of patrons and artists.

"(As a measure of its success,) it didn't stop the war. But it was an opportunity to bring lots of points of view together," Moscato said.

The House isn't planning to leave quietly, either. On July 26, organizers will be throwing ASuperHappyFunDayinthePark, a free event to be held in the Washington/Jefferson Park 3 to 11 p.m.

"It's a combination of all the work we've done in the past," Moscato said.

While the schedule is still tentative, the event promises to be a major one. Musical acts, mostly from the Northwest, will be performing on the main and side stages of the event. Eugene bands like Bloody Castles Ragtime Band, Black Darts, Jungle Madness, The Lullaby League and Energy Brigade are scheduled to make appearances, as are Portland's The Culottes and Bobby Birdman. Even a few bands from Olympia are on the bill, such as Old Time Relijun and The Strangers, according to the My House Web site. Updates are available at www.notmyhouse.com.

Music aside, there will also be handmade crafts, zine and poetry readings, the hand-cranked films of Lee Krist and The Image Nation Puppet Show. The night will close with a My House film retrospective. Documentary zines about the venue will be available throughout the event.

Just because My House is closing doesn't mean there isn't hope for the future of independent arts in Eugene, however. Boyer and Markstrom have plans to open another venue of the sort as soon as they can find a space suitable for the venture.

"Our ultimate goal would be to find a warehouse space we can use as an arts and entertainment studio and performance space," said Markstrom, a University student.

Moscato said he hopes the work he does influences young people to think and be active.

"There are a lot of people interested in working without institutional support, somewhere outside of business-as-usual. People not interested in being defined by traditional approaches," Moscato said. "It's not hard to put up flyers, have people come into your basement, organize a community. This could be done by anybody."

Ryan Nyburg is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.

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