August 4th is the unofficial holiday in Richmond, Virginia, known as 804 Day. To commemorate this unique day, I decided to take the initiative to spotlight some hybrid venues that aren't solely for musical purposes. This article is to spotlight venues that utilize their spaces for more than the reason of holding musical events such as stores, galleries, and museums.
The Collective- Located at 318 West Broad Street in Richmond, The Collective is a multipurpose store that sells all types of clothing and weed-based products. The front part of the shop is a store but the back of the store is used as a venue space which involves a thirty-foot Infinity wall. The thirty-foot infinity wall can be used for commercial purposes, video shoots, and the rest of the space can be used for podcast recordings as well. In that same vicinity is TheMSQShop and TheOGDesign office space which helps with all types of creative direction. You can find the space at @collectiverva on Instagram and @TheMSQShop on all social media platforms.
Chilalay- Located at 212 West Broad Street the next block down from The Collective, Chilalay is a newer staple towards the Richmond hip-hop scene. It's another clothing shop that makes everything from sweatsuits to basketball shorts to snapbacks while holding events for exclusive craft beer releases and VCU homecoming in the past. They also collaborated with different brands like WeAreCapSoul for craft beers and Miracle Seltzer where they had the seltzer water available in the shop. You can follow them @chilalay on Instagram and @CHILALAY_ on Twitter.
TheSpotVA- Located at 7 West Broad Street, down the street from the previous locations I mentioned, The Spot is used as a multi-purpose creative studio. The Spot is owned by seven different individuals deriving from the Richmond and Northern Virginia areas. That venue has been also used for art events during Richmond's First Fridays, a monthly event every first Friday of the month where there are various art shows and musical events happening on the street and in multiple buildings. You can follow them on Instagram @thespotva
ICA Art Museum- The ICA Art Museum located at the intersection of West Grace Street and Belvidere is VCU sponsored and draws in a variety of VCU students along with Richmond locals. They have used their art museum to host DJ events, private film screenings, and the RVA Rap Elite cyphers in special events to further establish a bond with the local Richmond and VCU demographics. You can follow them on Instagram and Twitter @icavcu
Gallery5- Located in the heart of the Jackson Ward neighborhood at 200 West Marshall Street, Gallery 5 is primarily an art gallery space. In its past, it was once a firehouse and police station. Nowadays, the venue is used for open mics, rap and metal concerts, spoken word events, and private gatherings. You can follow them on Instagram at @gallery5arts .
Written by: Jay Guevara. @justinhisprime on all social media.