One hallway in the house, extending from the back door past the basement entrance and into the living room, has walls covered in murals of red, yellow and green, interspersed with artist signatures and various messages.
“‘Black power,’ because they’re killing us in the streets,” resident Jeron Braxton said as he read one of the mementos. “And ‘fuck money,’ because capitalism is kind of getting out of hand.”
The hall combines two key elements of the Velvet Onion: free artistic expression and a certain socio-political ideology. The two also meet at the shows, which often accept donations at the door to go to charitable causes.
At 10 p.m. Friday, the house will have a show with proceeds “split between a friend caught in the immigration system and Cynthia Lane, whose son, Roshad Martin, was killed by Chicago police last year,” according to the event’s Facebook page.
Braxton said the show’s philanthropic element often comes from resident Nick Greven, and it’s been fulfilling to see proceeds go to these causes.
“The world is riddled with problems, so it’s not hard to find good causes,” he said.
Riley Shanahan, a musician who has lived at the house since 2014, said the house has a history of working with charitable causes.
“We did a lot with Middle Way House,” he said.
Everyone at the Velvet Onion brings something different to the table, Braxton said.
He’s a hip-hop artist and does animation and video game design. In addition to Greven’s socio-political sensibilities, Shanahan — who changed the house’s name from the Backwash to the Velvet Onion when his old roommate moved out — plays in bands such as Ladycop, and a fourth “industrious” roommate offers practical skills.
Braxton said he wants to use the house and its shows to help hip-hop and electronic music, two genres he finds lacking in Bloomington, find local footholds. He said despite talented artists in those genres working locally and in Indianapolis, nobody seems to be facilitating them.
And while he is a musician, much of his role with the Velvet Onion involves bringing together other artists and audiences.
“I’m trying to be the cultural plug ... because nobody else is really doing it,” he said. “I feel like there’s a lot of cool stuff people should hear.”
That mindset, Braxton said, extends to artistic pursuits beyond music.
This winter, he said he hopes to have poetry readings and possibly a small film festival. He’s also considering using some of the space as a gallery for local visual artists.
Above all, he said, he wants to use artistic showcases to bring people together and to give them a place where they can feel free of stress from the outside world.
“I want to give people an excuse to come out and commune with other human beings, because life just gets so rigid and structured,” he said. “I want people to come here and just chill. Just be. Talk to other people. There are 40,000 people going to IU ... We’re really the future leaders of tomorrow, and I’d hate for two people to being going here who would really connect but never meet.”
And while Braxton said balancing his artistic facilitation with his schoolwork can feel like working double-time, he said he’ll continue to make the Velvet Onion a place for creative exploration.
That might mean redecorating the basement to outlandish means or installing an arcade-style console with one of his own video games.
“Opening people’s minds to something new — that feeling never gets old,” he said.
For more about Jeron Braxton and his involvement in the arts, click here.
