the columbus space

Posted August 31, 2020

The Columbus Space has Closed

It is with great sorrow that we are forced to announce that the Columbus Space for Alternative Self Expression will permanently close on October 1st.

As many of you know, due to the COVID pandemic, The Space has been closed since March of this year. Thanks to the generous members who kept their memberships active, donations from our caring community, along with accrued savings, we were able to pay routine facility expenses of over $7K each month since then.

Over the past months, the Directors have been reviewing The Space’s financial viability. We have also been discussing various options and revenue/fundraising ideas that would supplement membership income while awaiting the ability to have larger “in person” events, which amount to half of the monthly required income.

We have returned again and again to the same conclusion. Despite our desire and dedication to stay open and continue to serve the kink community, there isn’t a way to overcome the financial realities we are already facing. Moreover, we cannot ethically attempt to crowd fund the $70K plus needed to last until next summer, with a hope and promise that we cannot guarantee.

Furthermore, the building’s landlords recognize the dilemma and have decided to sell the building. Even if the building does not sell quickly, in good conscience we can’t continue to receive membership dollars with an inevitable closure.

Some details of what to expect in the next few weeks:

1. Today, all memberships payments will be automatically cancelled. If you are a member when you are reading this, you will be considered a member throughout September.
2. On Saturday, September 19th, Members will be invited into the Space for a ‘Buy-Donate-Take’ - an opportunity to (depending on the item) purchase or simply take home various items from the Space. Time and specific process TBD.
3. On Sunday, September 20th, the kink public will be able to come into the Space for ‘Buy-Donate-Take’ on everything that remains.
4. On that Sunday, Adventures in Sexuality will be selling and auctioning the AIS Kink Labs furniture and some of the audio/visual equipment that has been used and stored at the Space.

The above is just the broad strokes of what will be happening. There are a lot of other details of course; and none of this considers the huge emotional impact that this has on many of us that have invested the past 5 years in having a successful and welcoming Space in Columbus. You will see our personal perspective - and hopefully yours as well - on this in the coming days and weeks.

While the Columbus Space will live on in our memories – it will also live on in film. Thanks to Blended Family Productions, who filmed a significant portion of their movie “They Them Us” at the Space this past weekend, TCS will forever be immortalized on the screen.

With our input and guidance, “They Them Us” will feature a more realistic depiction of mid-western kink life. While there were many amazing events, meetings and gatherings, it seemed an apt legacy as one of the final events at the Space. It was an incredible experience for us and for the Columbus community members who got to participate in the film – and hopefully will offer fond memories of kinksters who attended actual Space parties.

It has been an amazing journey opening and maintaining one of the best and most community supported Alternative Facilities in the country. It says huge amounts about the Columbus, Ohio and Regional Kinksters that WE all did this together!

Don’t cry that it’s over, be happy that we were all a part of it. Thank you for all the amazing memories, and thank you for your support, your energy, and your love,

Dan & dawn

Barak & Sheba