Venue Highlight: Public Records
Jim Duivenvoorden
Some venues become institutions because of who plays there.
Others because of what they make possible.
Located inside a former ASPCA building in Gowanus, Brooklyn, Public Records has spent the last few years becoming one of New York's most important independent cultural spaces.
Part listening bar, part restaurant, part performance venue and part nightclub, the project was founded around a simple idea: creating spaces where music can be experienced with intention.
Since opening, PR has established itself as one of the rare venues equally respected for its sound system, architecture, programming and sense of community. Depending on the night, you might find a live ambient performance, a packed dancefloor, a listening session or a dinner conversation happening under the same roof.
For IRL and Refraction, Public Records has become something more than a venue. It was the home of the first Refraction Festival and has hosted many of our favourite New York moments, with standout performances over the years from the likes of Ron Trent, Ash Lauryn, Toribio, INVT, Ladiez Drink Free and many more. It's become one of the places where we return again and again to test new ideas, bring communities together, and explore what the future of participation in music and culture might look like. Every time we return, we're reminded that great venues don't just host communities but they help create them.
Public Records is exactly the kind of independent cultural space the IRL Venue Network exists to support. Venues in the network receive editorial features, map listings, introductions to brand partnership opportunities, and access to future grant programs and activations.
If you run a venue, or know someone who does, we'd love to hear from you.
Jim Duivenvoorde, alias Jiminal, is a DJ and founder of FERMI, a party collective from Amsterdam throwing intimate gatherings in dreamlike places. His sets have touched rooms and radio waves from Potato Head Bali and ZODIAC Jakarta to 303 Radio in Tokyo and Radio Radio in Amsterdam. Currently he is the Community Lead at Refraction IRL.