The building on the corner of Market and Taylor Streets in Downtown Champaign housed two artistic endeavors that have had important impact on our community, and now another will be calling the place home.
Pogo Studio, once owned by C-U music legend Mark Rubel, closed in 2014 when Rubel moved to Nashville. Rubel passed away earlier this month. The Recreation Club announced their closing last week, months after the tragic loss of co-owner Carly Benjamin.
From the Girls Rock! CU press release:
Laying the foundation for this space was a person of Champaign legend: Mark Rubel. Mark had an intuitive way of bringing out the best in musicians through his thoughtful and humble approach. As a teacher, musician, and sound engineer, Mark was someone others could count on to act as a guiding light and paved the way for so many musicians within this community and abroad to express themselves comfortably and fully.
Carly and Carlie shared a fierce love for others that showed through in their artwork, tattooing and the space they created for the arts within The Rec Club. Everyone who walked into the Rec Club felt the warmth and welcome curated by the two and left with an art piece that spoke to them. Their dedication to curating this space thoughtfully and uniquely greatly emulated their love and connection with this community.
The building that has housed both Pogo Studios and The Rec Club is a place of self expression, connection, and community. It has a long standing history of bringing people together through art and music and it is important that the space continues to uphold its history. With this, it is with great excitement and honor that we announce the new occupants of the space will be Girls Rock! CU. Both Girls Rock! CU and the owners of this space are tied deeply to the history of this building and plan to use the fierce love of Carly Benjamin and guiding light of Mark Rubel to create a new opportunity for
connection in Champaign-Urbana through art, music, and self expression.
The organization has a GoFundMe to help with their expansion efforts. If you feel inclined to donate, you can do that here.