Orange Cat Studios hosted a variety of art, music, comedy and fashion events during its four-year run.
Fire has robbed Denver of one of its most versatile underground art spaces. , at 2625 Larimer St. in the burgeoning warehouse district, has closed indefinitely after a fire started in the front closet of the high-ceilinged brick building.
“It didn’t appear to be electrical or chemical in nature,” said artist Sean Rice, who ran the space. “The fire department ruled out arson but left the cause as unknown. We have postulated that it may have been an errant cigarette tossed in a closet crevice that smoldered for half a day, but who really knows?”
Rice said he had recently dropped his insurance coverage due to the sluggish economy and would need $20,000 just to clean up the mostly cosmetic and smoke damage and reopen the space. A painter and sculptor, he also lost an estimated $6,000-$10,000 of his own tools in the blaze.
For the past four years, the Orange Cat has fostered visual artists, comedians, musicians and fashion designers who have gone on to display and perform at much larger venues. Los Comicos Super Hilariosos, a popular monthly comedy show at the Orange Cat, is searching for another home.
“We’re looking at new venues and have a few leads and we intend to come back strong Oct. 30, but alas, no Los Comicos this month,” said co-founder and Onion columnist . “It was good while it lasted.”
The full text of Sean’s e-mail is just after the jump.
“I can’t say for sure what our future holds. We would like to re-open but it will be difficult. The source of the fire is unknown. It started in the front closet and didn’t appear to be electrical or chemical in nature. The fire department ruled out arson but left the cause as unknown. We have postulated that it may have been an errant cigarette tossed in a closet crevice that smoldered for half a day, but who really knows?
The damage isn’t catastrophical but is enough that we would have to be closed a while under the best of circumstances. We had carried insurance but the slow economy cause us to drop coverage in favor of paying rent. So rebuilding would be up to us as a tenant. There has been talk about a couple fundraisers but nothing is concrete because we don’t know our future in the building.
The damage isn’t structural but there is lots of cosmetic and smoke damage, as well as an equal amount of damage done by the DFD (Denver Fire Department) to vent the smoke. The loss of revenue is a bigger problem. We can’t afford to make payments for three to four months while the work is done and to also pay for the work co-currently. We can’t open without the work being done. We probably need $20,000 to expedite the project and get our doors open for the new year.
We would be happy to find an investor but the profit margin isn’t such that we are likely to attract one. The building owner has suggested that he will work with us but I’m not sure what that means yet. In the meantime, I keep hoping and assuming the best will happen and am keep myself open to the possibilities.
We feel very fortunate that the building was empty and there wasn’t a hanging art exhibit when the fire occurred. Things could have been worse.
As far as our place in the community, we are very sad to be in this position. We have tried to support alternative art, culture, music and fashion in Denver. There are a lot of talented people in this City who need a place to start, a place to grow. Not everyone is ready for Plus Gallery or Comedy Works. Some of the people destined for those venues have started at Orange Cat. I hope that our doors aren’t truly closed for good, but if they are, there will be a need for a
space like ours that will foster emerging talent in all of the arts.
Our goal was always to provide an arts community that refused to
censor creative thought or be swayed by what was commercially viable.
That may have been part of our downfall as we never made much more then it took to feed the Cat. We have had the pleasure of seeing diverse and exciting art and many great shows. We’ve also meet a lot of interesting people and made many friends.
It is a bit of a blow to my artistic pursuits. I paint, sculpt and design and build furniture. Many of the tools I needed were in the closet that caught fire. That will add an additional $6,000-10,000 to my total loss. All and all I’ve had better weekends. I have tired to keep my spirits up, it is no help to send out bad vibes to the universe.” — Sean Rice
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John Wenzel is the co-editor of Reverb, editor of the blog and an arts and entertainment reporter for The Denver Post. His book was recently published by Speck Press.
