The Baltimore music community is rallying around the Bell Foundry and its recently evicted tenants with "A Benefit for the Bell," a show at Metro Gallery on Dec. 13. All proceeds will be donated to the online fundraising campaign intended to support the tenants.
Presented by rapper DDm and Abdu Ali's Kahlon collective, the event will feature DJ sets from Dan Deacon and Abdu Ali, along with performances by :3Lon, Basement Rap and Bobbi Rush. Jana Hunter of Lower Dens, who helped tenants move their possessions Tuesday, will give a reading.
After finding numerous safety code violations, city officials on Monday condemned and shuttered the Bell Foundry, a Station North warehouse space that housed artists' studios and the nonprofit Baltimore Rock Opera Society. Small concerts of wide-ranging genres were held in the building's basement. Tenants and supporters described the Bell Foundry as an inclusive space that welcomed people of color and the LGBTQ community.
In response to the eviction, local filmmaker Emily Eaglin created a GoFundMe fundraising campaign on Monday to "help the relocation of studios and artists of the Bell Foundry & any legal fees they must attend to in their fight for justice," according to the page's description. Since then, more than 500 people have donated a total of more than of $16,000. The campaign's original goal was $5,000.
Admission to the benefit show is $7; tickets can be purchased here. The description of the show reads: "This is a call to action, a cause to party, and a statement that our creative voices will not be silenced by gentrification, politics or opportunists."
Doors open at 8 p.m. The Metro Gallery is located at 1700 N. Charles St in Station North.