Follow-up

A break for Bad Girrls -- sort of

by Ben Geman

She's no longer facing a criminal complaint, but Jessica Brand, who runs the Jamaica Plain alternative arts space Bad Girrls Studios, won't be off the hook for running afoul of city licensing codes until the end of the year (see "Alt Control," News and Features, June 11).

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Editorial: art lessons

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The 26-year-old performance artist was charged with violating alcohol, fire-safety, and entertainment codes after a May 1 concert, but those charges were dropped on Friday when Sergeant John Devaney failed to show up for Brand's West Roxbury District Court hearing. Similar complaints, lodged by police after a May 8 concert, were continued without a finding until mid-December.

Bad Girrls, a Green Street space that hosts a mix of visual and performance art, poetry readings, and concerts, has been all but shut down since the May busts -- Brand isn't scheduling anything while she awaits word from city licensing officials and gets the proper permits.

The case has been closely watched by many in the area's alternative arts community. For most advocates, the real issue is not whether Bad Girrls violated city codes (it did, but Brand says she thought her space was kosher). Rather, they say, the case shows how needlessly difficult it can be for cultural nonprofits to navigate the City Hall licensing maze.

City cultural-affairs commissioner Esther Kaplan has pledged to work with the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts to help groups like Bad Girrls do just that. Meanwhile, Brand knows that "continued without a finding" means she's on thin ice until the six-month probationary period is up. Even if Bad Girrls can get the
go-ahead to begin scheduling events again, she says, "I'll be the most anal-retentive person my friends have ever worked with if I do put anything on.

"I'll be terrified," she adds. "They [the city] have the power to ruin my life and the organization."