UPDATE- 2020
by E. Stephen
Our firehouse was built in 1869 and named "Torrent Engine 18" after the water torrent engine it housed.
We (E.Stephen and Katherine Bergeron) purchased Torrent Engine 18 in 2012 and we've been working on it ever since.
Our goal is for the ground floor of Torrent Engine 18 (TE18 for short) to serve as weirdo temple of art and culture, containing "The Empire SNAFU Restoration Project", (more about that later) and to serve as a gathering place, venue, and anchor for performing arts, film, music, science, and open exchange of ideas. We intend to live-stream events and also provide audio/video documentation to performers.
The old "art-world infrastructure" doesn't support living performers and artists.
New cultural models need to evolve.
We believe there need not be a contradiction between ethically managing a "safe space" and presenting "dangerous" ideas.
In troubled times, it is the responsibility of the arts to provide a sandbox for testing the uncomfortable.
TE18's ground-floor is wide open, and comfortably contains an audience of over 100 people. Its 12-foot ceilings make the room feel spacious even when packed.
It has multiple exits, a concrete floor, and is already almost handicapped-accessible. rendering handicapped and able-bodied visitors safer from fire than many "underground" arts-spaces.
There are other spaces around Boston that fit audiences of less than 50 people. And there are larger venues that are great for shows with 300+.
But I love 100 people as an audience size, and that is a capacity that's hard to find around Boston at the moment.
Katherine and I hope to consolidate costs by living on the upper floor of TE18, and also provide complimentary onsite guest-quarters to traveling performers.
If you know Katherine and me, you know we have a lifetime dedication to the arts.
And if you know us only via our FaceBook profiles, you probably have some feel for the blend of culture, science, social issues we find relevant.
We want to bring that mix of interests to life, with the real people, sharing and culture in the same room together. Our main focus will be on Boston based creators, and we also hope to foster cross-pollination between social circles that don't usually interact. (AKA "de-siloing")
It's also our goal to dedicate part of TE18 as a posthumous archive to the work of my deceased friend, and sometimes collaborator, Lisa Bufano, and to have an artist residency program in her name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Bufano
MORE ABOUT EMPIRE SNAFU
In addition to being a performance space, The main room TE18's ground floor would be the long-term home of the Empire SNAFU Restoration Project art installation, and the side area would be workshop for continued construction of that work
Empire SNAFU is a massive, multi-layered installation based on a series of visions I had during a prolonged fever when I was 12.
Empire SNAFU is a modular, multimedia sculptural temple made of discarded machinery, ephemera, and animal bones, with audio and video components.
It depicts the fall of the American empire (and the potential salvation of humanity) thru the eyes of a deceased, gender-neutral, semi-autobiographical persona named SNAFU.
I worked full time on building Empire SNAFU from 1986 to 2012, and I've previously produced well received Empire SNAFU events all over Boston and NYC.
Empire SNAFU has never been about marketing salable objects. It's about providing a full-sensory physical experience for the people who experience it.
https://www.instagram.com/empires.n.a.f.u/
WHAT THE FUCK DO WE DO NEED SO MUCH MONEY FOR?
When we bought TE18, we knew it needed repairs. But despite extensive research and inspection prior to purchase, we were not prepared for all the hidden expenses. We made enormous progress in the first few years, but the past few years have been slow going.
(Perhaps someday we'll write a book about all the catastrophes we've been thru with TE18.)
TE18 has beautiful bones and enormous potential, but as is, it's basically a moist, unheated, brick barn.
Our next fundraising goal is to raise $150,000 for a new roof and related issues.
We hope to rehab TE18 to be green/energy efficient, with solar panels, and maybe small wind turbines to take advantage of the constant sea-breeze, and a greenhouse for vegetables.
Building green is the right thing to do for many reasons.
But the upfront expense is high even with the green building grants.
The total addition budget we require to get TE18 operation is close to a million dollars
One million is a lot of money, but its a comparatively small budget for a project of this scope. And if we succeed, we'll be providing a lot of bang for the buck.
FUNDRAISING GOALS
Our immediate circles of friends and community in the creative sphere have already been extremely supportive. But unfortunately, most artists and musicians are not wealthy. And we need to reach new sponsors.
We're NOT seeking bank financing or loans.
What we need most is help raising money.
But we also welcome anyone who can help us with publicity, or who has skills in seeking fundraising and grant-writing or bookkeeping.
Connections to influential or famous people are also welcome.
If you have a cousin with a backhoe, or dump truck, or access to surplus building material that is also useful!
(We'll be compiling a wish lists of specific stuff we potentially need as the project progresses.)
If we can clear the hurdle of getting the building usable, we have the opportunity and connections to create a sustainable cultural center in an urban area, without being vulnerable to the whims of landlords.
We believe that the creation of art and culture are a necessary to improving human lives, and we believe it's worth it to keep fighting for the future of Boston's artists, performers, dreamers, thinkers, and weirdos.
Tax deductible donations may be made here:
http://www.torrentengine18.org/donatevolunteer.html
We (E.Stephen and Katherine Bergeron) purchased Torrent Engine 18 in 2012 and we've been working on it ever since.
Our goal is for the ground floor of Torrent Engine 18 (TE18 for short) to serve as weirdo temple of art and culture, containing "The Empire SNAFU Restoration Project", (more about that later) and to serve as a gathering place, venue, and anchor for performing arts, film, music, science, and open exchange of ideas. We intend to live-stream events and also provide audio/video documentation to performers.
The old "art-world infrastructure" doesn't support living performers and artists.
New cultural models need to evolve.
We believe there need not be a contradiction between ethically managing a "safe space" and presenting "dangerous" ideas.
In troubled times, it is the responsibility of the arts to provide a sandbox for testing the uncomfortable.
TE18's ground-floor is wide open, and comfortably contains an audience of over 100 people. Its 12-foot ceilings make the room feel spacious even when packed.
It has multiple exits, a concrete floor, and is already almost handicapped-accessible. rendering handicapped and able-bodied visitors safer from fire than many "underground" arts-spaces.
There are other spaces around Boston that fit audiences of less than 50 people. And there are larger venues that are great for shows with 300+.
But I love 100 people as an audience size, and that is a capacity that's hard to find around Boston at the moment.
Katherine and I hope to consolidate costs by living on the upper floor of TE18, and also provide complimentary onsite guest-quarters to traveling performers.
If you know Katherine and me, you know we have a lifetime dedication to the arts.
And if you know us only via our FaceBook profiles, you probably have some feel for the blend of culture, science, social issues we find relevant.
We want to bring that mix of interests to life, with the real people, sharing and culture in the same room together. Our main focus will be on Boston based creators, and we also hope to foster cross-pollination between social circles that don't usually interact. (AKA "de-siloing")
It's also our goal to dedicate part of TE18 as a posthumous archive to the work of my deceased friend, and sometimes collaborator, Lisa Bufano, and to have an artist residency program in her name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Bufano
MORE ABOUT EMPIRE SNAFU
In addition to being a performance space, The main room TE18's ground floor would be the long-term home of the Empire SNAFU Restoration Project art installation, and the side area would be workshop for continued construction of that work
Empire SNAFU is a massive, multi-layered installation based on a series of visions I had during a prolonged fever when I was 12.
Empire SNAFU is a modular, multimedia sculptural temple made of discarded machinery, ephemera, and animal bones, with audio and video components.
It depicts the fall of the American empire (and the potential salvation of humanity) thru the eyes of a deceased, gender-neutral, semi-autobiographical persona named SNAFU.
I worked full time on building Empire SNAFU from 1986 to 2012, and I've previously produced well received Empire SNAFU events all over Boston and NYC.
Empire SNAFU has never been about marketing salable objects. It's about providing a full-sensory physical experience for the people who experience it.
https://www.instagram.com/empires.n.a.f.u/
WHAT THE FUCK DO WE DO NEED SO MUCH MONEY FOR?
When we bought TE18, we knew it needed repairs. But despite extensive research and inspection prior to purchase, we were not prepared for all the hidden expenses. We made enormous progress in the first few years, but the past few years have been slow going.
(Perhaps someday we'll write a book about all the catastrophes we've been thru with TE18.)
TE18 has beautiful bones and enormous potential, but as is, it's basically a moist, unheated, brick barn.
Our next fundraising goal is to raise $150,000 for a new roof and related issues.
We hope to rehab TE18 to be green/energy efficient, with solar panels, and maybe small wind turbines to take advantage of the constant sea-breeze, and a greenhouse for vegetables.
Building green is the right thing to do for many reasons.
But the upfront expense is high even with the green building grants.
The total addition budget we require to get TE18 operation is close to a million dollars
One million is a lot of money, but its a comparatively small budget for a project of this scope. And if we succeed, we'll be providing a lot of bang for the buck.
FUNDRAISING GOALS
Our immediate circles of friends and community in the creative sphere have already been extremely supportive. But unfortunately, most artists and musicians are not wealthy. And we need to reach new sponsors.
We're NOT seeking bank financing or loans.
What we need most is help raising money.
But we also welcome anyone who can help us with publicity, or who has skills in seeking fundraising and grant-writing or bookkeeping.
Connections to influential or famous people are also welcome.
If you have a cousin with a backhoe, or dump truck, or access to surplus building material that is also useful!
(We'll be compiling a wish lists of specific stuff we potentially need as the project progresses.)
If we can clear the hurdle of getting the building usable, we have the opportunity and connections to create a sustainable cultural center in an urban area, without being vulnerable to the whims of landlords.
We believe that the creation of art and culture are a necessary to improving human lives, and we believe it's worth it to keep fighting for the future of Boston's artists, performers, dreamers, thinkers, and weirdos.
Tax deductible donations may be made here:
http://www.torrentengine18.org/donatevolunteer.html
