“Dear PoPville,
I’m writing to you as a friend of John Chambers and BLOOMBARS, his wonderful, family-friendly art space in Columbia Heights. Things have been rough on small arts organizations since Covid, and John is in immediate danger of losing not only Bloombars but his home, because he sunk everything into keeping his small non-profit art center alive.”
From Spotfund:
“Fifteen years ago, my friend John Chambers quit a great job to follow a dream. He turned an old building into a community art space in the up-and-coming Washington D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights. He called it BloomBars. The intention was never to serve alcohol but to serve art and build community. Over the years, singers, musicians and writers of all types came together to be nurtured as artists and human beings. Toddlers learned how to play drums there. Teenagers became poets there. Musicians stood on a stage for the first time there, and went on to celebrated careers. It’s the kind of family-friendly place that every parent wants in their neighborhood. With a social justice mission, no one was ever turned away for lack of funds. (more…)
