The owners of another Calgary live-music venue at risk of shutting down are appealing to patrons for help to weather the COVID-19 pandemic and will launch an online art auction to raise funds.
The HiFi Club on 10th Avenue Southwest has operated as a music venue and art gallery for the past 15 years. It has earned a reputation for hosting early performances from future superstars, including American DJ Skrillex, rapper Kid Cudi and New Orleans bounce-music pioneer Big Freedia.
As with most nightclubs, it was forced to shut its doors when the pandemic hit and it’s unclear when it can reopen. Sarmad Rizvi, managing partner of the HiFi Club, said the venue has continued to cover bills despite having no income and will need some sort of intervention in the next couple of months to survive.
“We have no idea when Phase 3 is going to happen and we can open up again,” Rizvi says. “So we’re trying to do everything we can to keep the lights on for when we are eventually given the go-ahead.”
Rizvi says the club would like to raise $20,000 through the auction, which will kick off Sept. 8. He said the operators of the club were intending to spend this year celebrating HiFi’s 15th anniversary. Because the club has operated as a “rotating pseudo-art gallery space” in the past, it has acquired art pieces from local and global artists. Works from Vancouver artist Ben Tour, the late Dust La Rock from California, San Diego-based illustrator Matt Luckhurst, Los Angeles art collective HVW8, Dutch illustrator Parra and Calgary puppetry artist Jane Trash, among others, will be up for grabs.
Patrons and art fans will get a chance to bid on these “iconic pieces of art from Hifi’s past” over a month-long online auction beginning Sept. 8. The auction will be held at 32auctions.com/hificlub.
While music has returned to some clubs, restrictions involving social distancing and capacity and the sort of entertainment allowed has made it tough for club owners to make ends meet. A fundraiser featuring live music and silent auction was held for the Ironwood Stage and Grill in late August and another is scheduled from Sept. 18 to 20.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
