West Side Value Laundromat,
located on 417 Massachusetts Ave., is more than just a place to do laundry.
The owners are beginning a project that will include a learning center in the back for two
way learning, an on-going art program, a teaching program, music performances
and computers.
The project, which is known as
“The West Side Laundromat Project,” is open to people of all ages. One of the
program goals is to build a Burmese library in the Laundromat to help celebrate
Burmese culture, since the business is already a home base for the Burmese
refugee community.
In terms of
financial backing, the AmeriCorps Foundation just gave owner Zaw Win
a grant to fund the project for a year.
Partner
Barrett Gordon got the idea for the project from the Brooklyn Laundromat
Project, which brought art and culture together in the city. Win and Gordon met
last summer to figure out how to bring art and culture to Win’s Laundromat. The project is in the planning stages.
“We are using art as the common
denominator, and using the learning center as a binding connection,” said
Gordon. By Kristin Ritch and Jasmine Willis
