Homegrown comeback
Claire Lekwa - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Arts/mp3s
"Elizabeth"
"Dog Mason"
As day turns to night, a warm atmosphere envelops the simple setup of the newly revived Public Space One downtown. In the basement of the Jefferson Building, floor lamps give the rudimentary floor stage a soft glow. Bodies fill the empty folding chairs, and jovial conversation reverberates throughout the cozy nook, awakening the scene with a liveliness it has not experienced in four years.
A project of local nonprofit group the James Gang, the place reincarnates the Public Space One of the past, which opened above the Deadwood in December 2002 but closed in 2004. Now, the concept comes back to life in a different location but carries the same name and spirit of the original.
Public Space One operates as an open venue for all types of artists in the community, a room with a versatility only limited to the ideas people bring to it. The reborn Public Space One has slowly opened throughout April, hosting the Iowa City Documentary Film Festival, a performance by Paperback Rhino, and readings from writers in the Nonfiction Writing Program.
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