By Morgan Skovich
A place to go within 20 miles of campus for under $20.
When we aren’t working, doing homework or in class, it’s nice to have a thing called a social life. If you’re like most college students, you’re on a strict college budget so going out and partaking in fun activities could be a little difficult. Somewhere though, where money is not an issue is Bare Bones.
Bare Bones is a more than welcoming art gallery, café, and overall (community) art organization. It’s a non-profit business and they welcome everyone; they appreciate support. Bare Bones is located on 156 School St. in Bristol, only about 15 minutes from CCSU.
Their motto is “come in, connect, create.” So stop by to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, leisurely read a book, surf the web, share some chat time with friends, enjoy the artists at work, daydream and relax in a big cozy chair for free!
Abbey Casorio, 21, a frequent Bare Bones visitor said, ”It brings me joy to see people and now a place that gives my hometown potential to have a community that thrives off of an artistic culture, I’m excited and hope more people from other towns close by get involved too.”
How was the concept of Bare Bones born? Three artistically inclined women Lindsay Vigue, Michelle St. Pierre and Robin Messerli thought “heck, why don’t we try and open a place in Bristol that we’d want to hang out in,” since Bristol apparently doesn’t really have a comfortable spot for the town’s younger crowd.
The space has vintage pressed-tin ceilings, exposed brick walls and hardwood polished floors. It’s an exhibit of watercolors, collages, drawings and creations of photos that are transferred onto logs.
Bare Bones, having just moved to a new location hosted an open house event this past Wednesday and will be hosting many other random events, such as an open mic night on Sept. 28.
Come on down with your music, your poetry, your free styling, or your comedy; they want to hear it all! Coffee and snacks will be provided.
There is a $1 to $3 donation suggested by those not performing, your donations goes towards furthering programming at Bare Bones, since the whole entire place is run upon donations. One of their hopes is to get their own PA system so their oh so devoted performers don’t always have to cart theirs around.
Sarah Johnson, 28, the volunteer manager of Bare Bones said that their target market consists of “coffee drinkers, creative thinkers and artists. Some other frequenters include volunteers, business owners, authors, students, musicians, and just anyone that’s walking by.”
Bare Bones has created a significant network that makes walking in an opportunity for any creative type. They have created an artistic opportunity for all creative individuals throughout the area, so don’t be shy, make an appearance at Bare Bones, you won’t be sorry!
