When Kimberley Arteche and I started working on Means of Exchange (South of Market), we knew we had to develop a project with Kearny Street Workshop’s neighbor, the iconic Brainwash Cafe. Unfortunately, the cafe suddenly closed during the course of the project. This was a loss on multiple levels: the cafe was a gathering space for a wide swath of the community, it also featured one of the only coin operated laundromats in the area, and it hosted the long running, nightly comedy open mic created by Tony Sparks. This Thursday (5/24), from 7-9pm at SOMArts Cultural Center, we’ll be having a lineup of comedians curated by KSW Artistic Director Jason Bayani performing on the recreated Brainwash stage that we installed in honor of the cafe and for the overall Means of Exchange project. The event is also the closing reception for Betweenscapes, the exhibition curated by Kathy Zarur & Roula Seikaly for the United States of Asian America Festival. We’ve got an incredible line-up hosted by the Godfather of SF Comedy, Tony Sparks, and featuring local favorites, Arjun Banerjee, Marc Abrigo, Kristee Ono, and our headliner: award-winning comedian, playwright, and performer, Kat Evasco.