Emergence Community Arts Collective

Obviously ECAC has a ton of different uses, the only one that I’ve used it for was a meeting space, but it was perfect for what we needed. What I was looking for was a space for a small group of my staff to get out of the office so that we could talk and do some planning. We aren’t a stuffy office and so we wanted something more informal. I ended up choosing ECAC because I liked the mission and I wanted to support them and it worked out great. Overall it is a really big house. You walk up some huge stairs (there is a way around them in the back somehow) and get to a big house with two doors. It took us a while to figure out how to get in but once we did the room was perfect for us and we basically had the place to ourselves all day. It was just a room with a decent sized dry board an old sofa and some chairs. Nothing fancy but comfortable and homey too. It ended up being like $ 15 an hour too, so you can’t beat the price. Anyway, another use of ECAC but it was perfect for us and we would come back.

Learned about the Spit Dat Open Mics (Thursdays at 9PM) while venturing out around town this summer — INSTANTLY fell in love with ECAC. Then I volunteered there and fell in LOVE again. Now I host events there… amazing venue for artists!!! ECAC is family now. Incredible value, social justice and artists driven. Worth «supporting» in every sense of the word.

When I first went, it threw me off, because I definitely wasn’t expecting a house. But there’s a sign in the front, so you can’t miss it. Unless you forget to look for a house, not a fancy building.
I remember just walking in, and thinking, «am I lost (again)?»
They only ask for $ 1 donation– super cheap if you think about buying a drink at Busboys and Poets and then listening to the poetry readings that don’t stir your social justice/​racial justice blood, where you walk out feeling like you missed something. So I sat there, thinking, this is kind of a random place for a spoken word show– I mean, we’re talking minimal (no) technology, some hot lights, rows of fold-​up chairs, and natural voice projection (aka no mic).
But the spoken word? Well… DAMN. Quality.
The people were great, the host/​organizer was funny and great, and even the people reading their material were awesome. There’s some mad talent there. This is the spoken word that’s maybe like Def Jam without Mos Def and without the fancy stage setup. It’s a little bit late– 9pm on a Thursday night (I have to be in bed by 10 if I want a full 8 hrs of sleep before work the next day), and it goes until 11 or so. They have guest features too. This is the kind of atmosphere I was looking for in a spoken word venue, though I’m no expert– talent, laughter, soul, music, and some deep shiznit. The performers sound like people who live and breathe spoken word– and if it’s not their work, it’s their soul food.
Busboys and Poets can’t live up to the quality here, I think– at least not based on my last poetry night experience. Maybe I need to get myself to one of their open mics, but their poetry night on Sunday kinda depressed me.

Really love these community centers. I went here for the Spit Dat Open Mic (Every Thursday at 9pm) and was really impressed by the talent of the performers who went up there. People really react and get into performances and that’s what I love to see when I perform.
I haven’t checked out any of the other events, but I like the vibe of the space.