The Bushwick Starr Mores To A Permanent New Home

The Bushwick Starr is thrilled to announce its move to a permanent new home in Bushwick, creating accessible cultural space for our community and an improved venue for artists and audiences. The Starr purchased a single-story 5000 sq ft warehouse at 419 Eldert Street in May 2021 and is working with award-winning architectural firm Bureaux V (designer of Williamsburg Brooklyn's non-profit music venue National Sawdust) to transform it into a cutting edge performing arts facility, projected to open in Fall 2022.

Located just one block from the L train, the new Starr will become a permanent cultural asset for the neighborhood to which we're dedicated. This necessary move was initiated after closing our doors due to the shutdown of public performances in March 2020, when we learned that we could no longer lease the space we had called our home for over a decade, and quietly moved out in August 2020. This unexpected circumstance presented us with an urgent challenge to think broadly and act quickly, and thanks to the leadership of our Board and generosity of our supporters, we've been able to take this leap of faith and land on our feet.

At the new Starr, audiences will enjoy an expanded venue with improved access and comfort, while artists will benefit from larger, functional spaces on-site that support all the ways they work.

The new venue will feature:

• Street-level, open lobby with box office, hospitality station, seating area, and gallery (seasonal outdoor area for gatherings and events)
• 90 seat Blackbox with flexible configurations and cutting-edge equipment
• Private rehearsal studio / multi-purpose facility
• Dedicated scenic workshop, green room, office, meeting room, and storage spaces

Our new lobby will bring the Starr's mission to the streets of Brooklyn. For the first time, passersby can freely enter throughout the day to an accessible space of community gathering - to interact with neighbors, find out what's happening onstage and in classrooms, and enjoy the cultural life of Bushwick. Our garage door facade design will allow for events and festivals to spill out onto our sidewalk and charming cul-de-sac street.

With this announcement, we are launching The Starr Campaign for a Permanent Home & Flourishing Future. With a working goal of $10m, the Campaign will encompass a three-year scope from 2021-2024 to raise the funds necessary for security, sustainability, and growth. It is designed to support not only our space acquisition and construction project, but also strategic growth to take full advantage of this expansion. With major gifts from the City of New York, private funders including the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Booth Ferris Foundation, and individual donors, we have so far raised $6M (60% to our goal). The Campaign website is: thebushwickstarr.org/campaign

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