The Hospital

A unique building opened its doors Friday evening, to give Bloomington a taste of The Hospital. A renovated space with art and music studios in addition to a performance space set to hold dance parties, rock bands, and more, with modern art covering the walls. \nMark Rice and Aaron Deer also call the Hospital their home. Living and working in the space for the last month, they are excited about the self-proclaimed "labor of love." \n"Aaron and I are both musicians so it's great to have a studio here," Rice said. "Sometimes I'll find at 8 p.m. I haven't left the house yet, but I've gotten a lot done." \nRice, Deer and friends say they have spent a couple hundred hours getting the place ready for performances and have lots of ideas for the shows. They would ideally like to have close to ten events a month, with Deer stressing diversity when detailing his vision of the space. \n"We want as much variety as possible- not to forge a niche," Deer said. We don't want people to say, 'oh there's something at the Hospital tonight. It's going to be one of those shows.' We want to surprise people."\nDeer said the space will be an all-ages venue which, at least for now, does not sell alcohol and he hopes Bloomington will embrace it and help them guide the future of the space. \n"It's something everyone in the community can be involved in," Deer said. We've been in town long enough where we know enough people to have endless shows, but we want to open it up to everyone and stretch the boundaries of what art can be."\nPatrons of all ages came through The Hospital's open house were excited about the new space. More than a couple hundred people came to check out the space, a DJ, and lots of artwork. The artwork included photographs, sculptures, and a piece in which viewers opened a door to a projected screen image, which added a new object on every opening.\n"I think it's creative, edgy, and modern, but hard to find," said junior Amy Rickards, as she checked out some of the art work.\nLocated at 1021 S. Walnut, The Hospital is rather hard to find, tucked next to a scuba shop on the south side of town. The Hospital is not allowed to put up a sign due to restrictions on the property, but two lit up crosses highlight the area at night. \nThe Bloomington community that found the space seemed really excited about what can be accomplished there. \n"It's great," said Michael Anderson, Bloomington artist. "It's a perfect space for multi-media art. There's a lot of potential here." \nThe Hospital has come to be through the dedication of 13 artists, who share the space for a multitude of creativity.\n"It's taken about a month so far to get the place ready," said Shelley Harrison. "It looks pretty good so far, but it needs some work. "Six of us have art or music studios, some people of us book bands, fashion and art shows, and dance parties."\nFrequently alternating modern art, hanging from its high, white walls and showcased in a number of creative ways will be a trademark of the artsy venue. There is also a sewing room and video editing equipment.\nThe space is similar to The Church, which was around for a few months in the fall of last year as a performance space, but one of its founders, IU Graduate Elaina Morgan sees more promise for The Hospital. \n"The Church was my baby, but it had a lot of problems," Morgan said. "It was kind of filthy and left something to be desired. This space is better equipped for everything we want to do."\nMorgan seems determined to keep the idea of a work and living space alive.\n"I think there's a lot of potential here," Morgan said. "I've seen three year olds to 50 year olds come through today and I'm getting requests for shows from people in the community everyday."\nRice said that he's excited about the band "Home" and has a friend in New York coming in to do installation art for the show. He has ideas for an "install off" where four artists use their corner of the space for whatever they want. \nMembers of the art community found a lot of good in the space at its open house. \n"I'm excited to have another all-ages venue," said Zak McCarty, member of the band Puppy vs. Dyslexia.\nAnother fan of the space saw it as a way to showcase work of people underrepresented in the Bloomington community.\n"It's nice to see a place for contemporary art that's not the University or Waldron Art Center," said local photographer Jeremy Hogan. "Others besides students and retired people do art.\nDeer said the venue could only have been set-up in Bloomington. What he calls a good town with a lot of great people in it. The name of the venue is certainly unique, but Deer has his explanation. \n"The Hospital name is kind of a metaphor for the art community," he said. "You need to come in, and help keep yourself in tune. And I recommend frequent checkups"