DBA Opens Tonight for Private Event, Followed by Thursday Public Debut

The old Voyeur space on Santa Monica Boulevard is getting set for its second act thanks in part to Matt Bendik, one of Voyeur's original proprietors and a co-owner of AV in Hollywood. Here, Bendik has partnered with Cardiff Giant's Beau Laughlin and Michael Jay (The Hudson, The Churchill, Clover Juice) to create DBA, which stands for "doing business as." The idea is to create a 6,000 square foot canvas for various curators to configure and program the venue for limited three to four month runs. The first such curator is Simon Hammerstein (who almost took over the space as a whole but that deal fell through) of The Box — a racy Manhattan nightclub known for its avant garde, boundary-pushing performances and celebrity following.

Curators are given full creative control of their "exhibition's" name, decor, fixtures, staging, set/costume design etc. For Hammerstein's exhibition, reps say to expect "an NC-17 mash up of Cirque du Soleil meets orgy scene from Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut," so it appears DBA will make full use of its topless license.

DBA opens tonight for a private, invitation only fashion party for Revolve Clothing and officially to the Hollywood set come Thursday.
· DBA Will Soon Be Doing Business at the Former Voyeur [~ELA~]
— David Morris