The Wire relocating, rethinking
By Aaron Yeager, Staff Writer
October 20, 2007 | 3:45 p.m.
The Wire, a volunteer-run organization that hosts a variety of community-oriented events, recently vacated its building on 21 Kern St. Faced with the task of finding a new building and new funding sources, members are rethinking the direction of the colorful body.
"Even though we've temporarily put a halt to operations, the Wire is still going to survive," said Sarah Warda, one of eight active volunteers.
Warda mainly assists with the "art end" of the Wire, designing fliers, cleaning the art space and assisting with many workshops. She hopes to expand this area by hosting art shows similar to the ones at Casa Nueva, as well as coordinating "uptown art walks" in which many businesses would participate.
"There's going to be a strong focus on art and music," Warda added.
Other changes under consideration include cooperating with other businesses to serve soup and cookies, starting a "radical" bookstore and providing an Internet cafe for patrons. At night, the building will serve as a free concert venue, as it has in the past.
Max Wheeler, who handles concert booking for the Wire, said he has been talking to many bands on Planet X records about playing at the venue. Wheeler plans to resume booking winter quarter.
Warda also mentioned that the Bike Co-op, a weekly do-it-yourself bicycle repair shop, will no longer be affiliated with the Wire.
As for the relocation, many properties are still under consideration, "all near Uptown," Warda said. Warda was hesitant to divulge any possible locations because she claims the last property they were seriously considering, a gray facade on Court Street, was snatched away by Campus Crusade for Christ because of excess press.
"It's unlikely we'll have as much space," Piper Avalokita, another volunteer, said.
Many of the available properties are either "too expensive, or office space, which doesn't lend itself [to their mission]," Warda added. Nonetheless, the group expects to move within the next two months.
The Wire's old location at 21 Kern St., a brick building with an earthy, expansive interior, has been hastily remade as a "sex shop" called Passionate Kisses. While some have speculated this quick transition was due to conflicts between the Wire and its landlord, David Lusty, both parties have expressed that it was motivated purely by financial reasons.
"We didn't get kicked out," Warda explained. "The landlord asked us if we wanted to [pay] month-to-month, then he told us he had found someone to sign a year-long lease for more money. There were no hard feelings."
Lusty affirmed this statement, saying that the Wire had said it was unsure if it could continue making payments, prompting him to search for a new client.
Warda mentioned that fundraising has become easier now that the Wire does o't have to worry about making rent payments. One fundraiser she hoped to sponsor was a burlesque troop. Wheeler also mentioned dance parties and bake sales as possible candidates.
"The hope is that we have the same amount of energy [when we move] as we have now," Warda said.
Wheeler expressed a similar sentiment about the move. "I think it's really exciting. It was sad to see the Wire die, but it was necessary," he said.
Wheeler explained that with most of the Wire's founders gone, the organization in its original incarnation had grown stagnant.
"Instead of coming into someone else's playhouse, they're now building a playhouse," he said.
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