BRATTLEBORO — After nearly two years of searching and energetic fundraising, The Future Collective has finally found a permanent community arts space.
The Future Collective, an arts organization comprised of four enthusiastic individuals, Willie Gussin, Tess Lindsay, Jonas Fricke, and Hannah Cummins, with Wyatt Andrews preparing to join the fray.
The members of this steering committee are dedicated to improving the artistic and community life of Brattleboro, will use the two-room studio at 17 Elliot St., which they are calling “The Future,” as a not-for-profit art gallery and performance space, as well as offering it for community workshops, events, and meetings.
Gussin, one of its founding members, describes The Future Collective as “a group from and for a diverse Brattleboro community working to provide fun, accessible, inclusive, anti-oppressive, community-minded spaces and events that foster creative, political, and personal expression.”
The collective has maintained a presence in the area for the past couple of years, holding art events such its annual Halloween Cover Band Show and a three-day celebration of music and performance, Future Fest.
Since all its events and fundraising had been done without a home of its own since January 2012, the collective members are excited by the additional opportunities that having a consistent space will provide.
Instead of putting on one or two big events, the collective intends to offer many smaller events throughout the year, starting with Future Winter, a celebration that will feature more than 25 events in February.
A busy February
Gussin believes that Future Winter will provide a great respite from the typical dreary midwinter in Brattleboro.
The month will start off with a bang: a grand community celebration at The Future on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m., with a Future Cabaret and Community Art Show.
Gussin says the show is still in the planning stage, “but it probably will include a lot of music, some performance, and perhaps even a little puppetry.”
“We hope to make this an annual event,” says Gussin. “It is an evening of both performance and art. Members of the community will be displaying their talents.”
The show, Gussin says, “is not an open mic show; the event will be curated by members of the collective.”
“Nonetheless, if people want to perform or display their art, we encourage them to call us at The Future so we can see what you do,” he says.
On Monday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m., The Future will also host a mixtape swap.
“All you have to do is bring in a cassette tape of a music mix you made, and share and swap it with someone else,” says Gussin.
“We're not doing this as some retro thing, or are being anti-technology,” Gussin says. “We believe that there has been some loss of artistry in this age of the CD when making a collection of songs is so easy and its order can be shuffled so readily.”
“In a cassette mix, the time and care putting the product together shows in its result,” he adds. “Even in our digital world, I still make cassette tapes, and so do a lot of my friends.”
On Feb. 24, The Future Collective will host the Mystery Band pre-event at The Future.
“The Mystery Band was a big hit last year,” says Gussin. “But unlike last year, when we chose the names and then had a logistic nightmare getting everyone together through email, this year we are gathering all the musicians into The Future, where we will pull names out of the hat to form some unusual new bands.”
If getting people to play music with other musicians they might not normally choose to work with might seem a little odd, Gussin says “that's our intent.”
“Last year, some of the groups we formed made some really amazing music,” he says.
The collective will also hold other events elsewhere in the community.
The Backside Café will be hosting a benefit for The Future Collective on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 7 to 10 p.m. A portion of drink sales from the night will support the group and help fund its new location.
“There will be live music and DJ-ing at the event,” says Gussin. “The Future is a substance-free space, because we hope to be accessible and inclusive of everyone in town. Nonetheless, we have decided that at special fundraising events, at other venues like Backside, we will allow the sale of alcohol.”
The Future Collective will also hosting its Righteous Youth Rebellion Movie Series at Next Stage in Putney throughout the month of February.
The films include Rock 'n' Roll High School on Friday, Feb. 7, Over the Edge on Thursday, Feb. 13; Pump Up the Volume on Thursday, Feb. 20, and The Legend of Billie Jean on Thursday, Feb. 27.
“For the kickoff of the movie series, there will be a special karaoke church performance after the screening of Rock 'n' Roll High School,” says Gussin. “Local musicians will perform Ramones' songs, and we are going to hand out lyric sheets so the crowd can sing them with us, as if they were church hymns.”
Getting people outside
In addition to the arts, The Future Collective is planning Outing Club events throughout February.
“We want to get people outside and active during the most stay-inside time of the year,” Gussin says.
Events will include two night hikes - the first on Sunday, Feb. 16 in honor of the full moon at Mount Wantastiquet, and the second on Friday, Feb. 28 at Fort Dummer State Park.
A sledding outing (with soup) takes place at Living Memorial Park on Sunday, Feb. 2. Two Monday afternoon community bike rides will both begin at 3 p.m. at the top of the Elliot Street parking garage on Feb. 3 and 17. More outdoor activities are also in the planning stage.
Peer-based mental health
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Root Social Justice Center at 28 Williams St., The Future Collective will host a peer-based mental health forum.
“It will be facilitated by me and Cal [Rey Moen], who has worked with the Icarus Project in New York, which provides the model for this kind of peer-based mental health gathering,” Gussin says.
Who should come?
“Anyone, from those suffering from a slight case of winter bummers to those who want to supplement their more serious mental-health issues,” he says. “This kind of forum is what our collective is all about: the community taking care of itself.”
Finally, Future Winter will come to an end with an Outerspace Glitter-Glam Dance Party at the Future on Saturday, March 1, from 8 to 11 p.m.
“There will be free ice cream, and we are inviting everyone to dress up in crazy outfits to have a lot of late-winter fun,” concludes Gussin.