For some of us here in Santa Fe, almost all we’re ever doing is chasing those Warehouse 21 feels that spanned from the ’90s into the mid-aughts at the one-time glorious teen arts center. That space, at the height of its powers, pretty much single-handedly planted the seeds for the local DIY ethos that spurs a whole heck of a lot of people to do artsy things here, and that includes spots like Ghost and Meow Wolf; even if one of those adheres to the punk rock tenets of community and collaboration better than the other (you decide which is which).
Of course, the concept of a bunch of weirdos inhabiting a space to do art projects is hardly new, really, but in the post-pandemic world in which we find ourselves kind of burnt out on screens and a little more interested in good-old-fashioned human-ing, one can’t help but notice a return to DIY roots and community activism in Santa Fe—and make no mistake, creating room for creative types to ply their craft(s) is absolutely a form of activism.
Enter The DL, a new warehouse-based collective of like-minded artists, promoters, activists and citizen-journalists located smack-dab in the middle of the seemingly ever-expanding Siler/Rufina DIY art-o-sphere. The DL resides in the same neighborhood that has housed the likes of the aforementioned Ghost, the tragically gone venue/gallery Etiquette, the also-tragically-gone metal paradise Dave Cave and the mysterious Baby Grand, among others. Co-founded by local multi-hyphenates Jerome Morrison and Julian Addams-Wolf—but populated by a ragtag assortment of musicians, visual artists, DJs, tech-heads and weirdos—The DL is like a combination mecca for play and a semi-professional outlet for people a little more interested in figuring out how to do art than they are in market share, Zoom meetings and $10 buzzwords.
“It’s important because of the hard times we’re in right now,” Morrison tells me as we make our way through the massive space toward the back of the warehouse. “Art is a means of building community and finding common interests with people…giving space to other artists so they can have that is healthy, and we’re talking about a good place for that to go as opposed to the options we’ve had for the past 15, 20 years—like social media; we’re moving away from churches. I’m not looking for ritual, I’m looking for you-won’t-always-know-who’s-here-but-you-know-you’ll-find-community.”
Morrison is kind of the de-facto leader of The DL or, at least, its most forward-facing member. He and Addams-Wolf have a vision, though they’re open to input from members and always looking for the coolest ways to gather folks and make stuff. Addams-Wolf has a background in arts themselves, plus concert promotion. And to just get it out of the way, Morrison is a former Meow Wolf worker and member of the Meow Wolf Workers Collective union, though he was part of the mass layoffs at the arts corporation last December after roughly six years of service. He doesn’t dwell on that bit, though, other than taking inspiration from the more idealistic elements of Meow Wolf’s initial intent of becoming a place for misfits to get artsy. With roots in the intersection of art, tech and video games, Morrison has shown at CURRENTS, developed numerous installations and projects over his post-college career and is also a founding member of the new Santa Fe citizen journalism collective 505-o-Matic. He’s also a former military brat who came up in America and Japan, though that part didn’t impact him quite how you’d think so much as his nomadic upbringing taught him to rely upon collective artistry and gatherings as types of support groups for people who feel they don’t quite have a place to go. Oh, and his dad was a Navy chaplain, so read into that however you will, but know that Morrison is firmly committed to laying down and maintaining roots in Santa Fe.
At The DL, he’s trying to embody the credo “be who you needed when you were younger.” Full disclosure? It’s in flux right now as Morrison and company recently moved from a smaller space. Strewn about are exciting incoming features, however, including lumber for a darkroom build-out, plus all the accoutrements for printing photos; silkscreening paraphernalia; recording and podcasting gear; various amps and computers; plus untold riches still packed up in boxes or hidden behind so many opportunities to create, it’s a wonder it all fits in one place to begin with.
How does the DL pay for this? A combination of things, including split rent between member-artists, equipment donations and a crowdfunding campaign launched in March through the ever-popular Gofundme platform (to which you can still donate, btw, at gofundme.com/support-the-dl-enhancing-santa-fes-creative-community.
“Something I’m doing a lot of research on is cooperative governance and management, kind of like what Alma Castro is doing with Café Castro,” Morrison continues. “I think there’s something to this era we’re in where a lot of the mega corporations are very disconnected from the product and really only connected with their quarterly reports. But there are alternative ways of keeping your spaces democratically run or for worker ownership—and people who work in the thing should have ownership.”
Of course, these are early days and there is still much to learn. But that doesn’t mean Morrison and Addams-Wolf aren’t already onto something huge. In the works are any number of events, with many including an all-ages mandate. Meanwhile, at RELAY next door, local artist and former Meow Wolfer Aaron Geiser is only adding to the DIY and arts value of the neighborhood, and The DL’s undercurrent of being an inclusive, safe and queer-friendly place to catch a show or start a project remains steadfast.
“As someone who came up queer and weird, it was life-changing to find people who…I mean, I’m from Albuquerque and had places I could go, like 18-plus goth clubs, but beyond this being a venue, it’s a multi-generational collective,” Addams-Wolf says. “Every single member has been clear that they wanted it to be radically anti-racist, queer-friendly—a safe place or we didn’t want to participate.”
“There’s so much cool shit that can happen,” Morrison adds. “We can be supporting the folks who are building that up for other people. How can we be in community together for family, for queerness and whatever else?”
For now, DL member-affiliates meet on Wednesdays to plan and plot and work on projects and ideas. Those interested can reach out to the collective on Instagram through @thdlsf or even Morrison directly at @j.alexthetechnologist.
Sparks SF Gemini Pride Party: 3-7 pm Saturday, May 31. Free. The DL, 2873 All Trades Road, Unit A, @thedlsf on Insta
