This came to a head while we were on vacation, but the future of the Fort Worth DIY venue 1919 Hemphill has been in doubt after the fire marshal, apparently instigated by complaints from far-right-wing internet users, demanded the space get up to code or risk being shut down.
It’s a situation that should be familiar — minus the online neo-Nazis — to Dallas artists who spent much of 2016 responding to a code compliance crackdown on gatherings in unconventional art spaces. (The Dec. 2 fire that killed more than 30 people at an Oakland warehouse served as a tragic reminder of both the importance of fire code enforcement, and of creating affordable and safe cultural spaces for artists and others. There are, meanwhile, some signs that Dallas artists and the fire marshal have since established a better working relationship.)
The situation for 1919 Hemphill seemed dire at first, as the venue’s organizers faced the prospect of making costly repairs and paperwork or of being shutdown before they could even begin. It would be a particularly ignominious end for the beloved all-ages art and performance space, known in part for its no-booze-no-drugs-no-jerks policy, and its 14-year history: Shut down by sneering internet trolls intent on, according to a since-deleted 4chan thread, closing DIY venues “popular with leftists and degenerates, as well as normie party goers.”
Updates posted to the venue’s Facebook page since Christmas have sounded considerably more optimistic:
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Repairs and building upgrades are underway as 1919 Hemphill continues to raise money online, and to find other spaces for shows until the work is finished. The venue raised $5,000 in one fundraiser, and has since launched another.
The holidays and the so-called “giving season” are technically over, but this remains a worthy cause for anyone supportive of DIY spaces. Don’t let the Nazis win.
