Culturefix, ‘#1 Art Bar in America,’ Will Close Tonight

After losing Barramundi, a Satanic art gallery, a Lower East Side-themed clothing store and, soon, wd~50, Clinton Street has taken another hit. CultureFix — the gallery, wine bar and events space that opened four years ago along with the Lower East Side outpost of Williamsburg’s now-shuttered Dijital Fix — has revealed that it will close tonight.

The gallery, named #1 best art bar in America by Complex, played host to an eclectic array of programing, including — recently — a screening of a collaborative RoboCop remake, a Vice photo show, Creole dinner theater, and the debut of Shane Shane’s “Hose” parties.

“It’s the kind of place where drinking is encouraged and the creative ideas fly,” wrote Complex in its recent round-up of best art bars. “In addition to a changing lineup of multimedia exhibitions, the space hosts a variety of events, everything from live tattoo parties to presentations by some of the city’s most forward-thinking startups.”

Still, during its time, owners Cole Schaffer and Ari Stern — who were alums of Jeffrey Chodorow’s restaurants — faced (and fought) their share of headaches from local authorities, stemming from noise and underage drinking complaints. In 2012, a fundraiser tried to recover some of the reported $20,000 they lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The fundraiser page described Culturefix as “a beacon in the Lower East Side for creativity, hosting acts ranging from classical music to comedy to experimental audiovisual pieces.”

Ironically, the private event space — a popular birthday party destination — had recently offered a discount to wedding parties displaced by ReBar’s recent closing amid financial turmoil.

Here’s yesterday’s announcement via the space’s Facebook page.

We regret to announce that after four years of doing business at 9 Clinton Street, Culturefix will be closing its doors. Tomorrow, July 27th, will be our last day of operations and we would love to have all of you here for one last drink then. At this time, we cannot go into detail as to the cause of our closure, but would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters.

To the thousands of artists, musicians, performance artists, film makers, designers, writers, curators and organizers – you made Culturefix what we always hoped it would be; a community of limitless artistic expression in a nontraditional art space.

To all the lovers of food and drink we have served in the past – we would like to thank you for choosing to spend your time and money with us when you had endless options in this city. Your support directly facilitated the gallery and everything we have displayed and hosted.

We would lastly like to express our appreciation and gratitude for the community on and around Clinton Street. You are what makes this neighborhood the best in all of NYC.

We can’t wait to update you on our future endeavors!

Love,

The Culturefix Family