Crobar November 18, 2005 Art For Progress Urb Magazine Written by Shareshten Senior Photographed by Linus Gelber Modeled by Angela Sauers

If you entered Crobar on the night of Friday, November 18 th, you may have
thought someone broke in and tagged the place up the previous night. No one
broke in, however the walls were covered with the artistic graffiti of De La Vegaz
and vibrantly colored photographs of beautiful women hung from every corner ..

As I walked down the stairs into the main room with the DJ booth and
complimentary drinks until midnight, which really turned out to be “one per
person of only well vodka,” I saw photographs of club scenes hanging from the
ceiling. Further past the bar there was more artwork posted on the front of the
DJ booth and around the seating areas against the far wall. In the middle (as
those of you who have been there know) there is a maze-like assortment of
plastic pipes, which look like crowbars sticking up all around high drink tables.
The 131 st edition of Urb Magazine embellished every table in the room. The
white and silver magazine cover was accentuated by the room’s black lighting.

Dennis Sebayan Spins

This 131 st issue of Urb is noteworthy because it addresses the changing demands
that the DJ industry is experiencing. In today’s evolving technological climate,
it’s not just about the records you spin, but also the equipment you use. If you
open this issue of Urb you will see numerous full-page ads for I-Pod turn tables. Compact Discs will soon be obsolete for disc jockeys. The new turntables are large
and not dissimilar to the “old-school” record spinning tables, but now you see multiple I-Pods mounted on a large board. Instead of the traditional records to
scratch, there are two built in scratchers no bigger than CDs mounted directly below the I-Pods.

Dennis Sebayan has been working with Urb Magazine since 2004. “I wanted
the media attention Urb Magazine gets for Art for Progress,” says Sebayan,
who is both contributing writer for Urb Magazine and guest DJ at Crobar that
night. “I think Art for Progress is a great not-for-profit-organization that
benefits art programs,” Sebayan adds.

In fact, if you log onto Art for Progress’s website you will find a review of DJ
Gatto written by Sebayan. He not only believes in this organization, but actively contributes his time and service to promoting them.

Angela Sauers Greets an Admirer

Art for Progress raises money for art programs within schools as well as emerging artists. They support all kinds of different artists employing all kinds of different
media. On their site you can read about all kinds of artists from clothing designers
to painters to musicians and much more. They allow you to view or hear their work, read their biographies, and provide ways to contact the artist.

Martin Deegan is the Art Director for Art for Progress and though he was too
humble to volunteer the information that night, I found his own artwork on their site. Deegan spoke with me about the organization and its goals as he sipped his cocktail. He was attentive, easy to talk to not at all hesitant about leaving his colleagues
for a moment to promote his organization. Deegan and Sebayan met at an Art for Progress Event called Music for Progress a number of months back.

Urb Magazine organized an artistically diverse evening. Sander Kleinberg DJ’d
on the eve, making that his last appearance for a number of months. Kleinberg is ranked as one of the top twenty DJs in the world.

The night was well organized and brilliantly artistically savvy. Crobar itself is a very obscurely artistic looking place, so it was a perfect venue for the event.

The evening was energetic and visually stimulating. The ever changing DJs kept the cocktail room fresh with new conversation and musical appreciation. The
character of the organizations and what they stand for as well as the people themselves complimented each other; I would not be surprised to see Art for
Progress and Urb Magazine working together in the future.

Art for Progress will hold a silent auction at Sol on December 3 rd. It will be their
first solitary art benefit and many artists that displayed their work at Crobar
will donate pieces to the auction. De La Vegaz, Ron English, and Spencer Tunier,
who is a future prospect of Art for Progress, will be amongst the artists donating
their work. Anyone can attend this event, so mark your calendar.

Angela Sauers and Shareshten Senior

You can become an online subscriber to Urb Magazine at www.urb.com. If you
would like to contact Art for Progress log onto www.artforprogress.com. To
check out Crobar, which is located in Chelsea on West 28 th Street between
10th and 11th avenues, log onto www.crobar.com.