[URBAN NOTE] "Videofag closes shop"

[rfmcdonald]

Daily Xtra's Chris Dupuis notes the impending end of queer theatre forum Videofag. It was huge; it mattered.

Three-and-a-half years ago, two boys fell in love and decided to move into a dilapidated Kensington Market barbershop. The goal was to create both their first home together and a community art space where like-minded folk could convene to share ideas and show work.

The unlikely success of William Ellis and Jordan Tannahill’s romantically-inspired business venture has been astounding to everyone, including them. Nearly four years, several hundred events and one breakup later, the duo are giving up their lease and moving on with their lives.

“From the beginning we never wanted to grow into a permanent institution,” Tannahill says. “Getting bigger and more established wasn’t the goal. It was always supposed to be something transient, here one moment and gone the next. The space was really borne out of our romantic relationship and about sharing a home and a life together. We’re still good friends, but now that we’re no longer partners it feels like the right time to move onto a new adventure.”

The unapologetically queer space has been critical hub for homo artists from Toronto and across Canada. It’s served as a development point for works that have gone on to play Vancouver’s PuSh Festival, The Kitchen and Dixon Place in New York, Buddies in Bad Times, Harbourfront Centre, and Montreal’s Festival TransAmérique. But when you ask the pair what they’re most proud of, the answer has nothing to do with their programming.

“I feel very good about the fact we’ve maintained really great relations with our neighbours and landlord,” Ellis says. “We spend a lot of time worrying about the impact of the space on their lives, and I think we’ve done a good job negotiating that and they’ve been incredibly generous and patient with us.”

“Managing to pay our rent every month has been a pretty big accomplishment,” Tannahill adds. “That and not getting busted by the cops for selling beer out of our kitchen.”