Cocktails with BRAF @ Burning Man

We Are Everywhere - Everywhere Lane

Everywhere Lane - Regional Network Center

Everywhere Lane

On the Playa

Everywhere lane

Come Visit Us on Everywhere Lane!

So we are camping at Burning Man with our buddies this year on Everywhere Lane. Come on over to visit us in our American Dream backyard. We'll lounge in the shade, sip lemonade and conspire to bring interactive art to communities beyond the playa! Any day from 10 to 6, you can create new or play with the flags that we have created that have a single word on them. Rearrange the words to create sentences, create and leave a new word or take a word that speaks to you as a gift.

We hope the visual effect will be a poetic combination of clotheslines, prayer flags and quilts, with a dash of magnetic poetry.

And on your way out stop by and visit our Everywhere Lane neighbors, Burners without Borders, Black Rock Solar and the Regional Network Center.

In addition, we are having an "On-Playa BRAF Reception" and we would love to have you stop by. If you’ll attending Burning Man 2008: The American Dream, be sure to join us for annual Black Rock Arts Foundation Meet and Greet Cocktail party on the playa!

Enjoy libations and mingle with BRAF Board Members, Grant Recipients, Artists and our fabulous community of lively supporters. Come celebrate all that we do together!

Thursday, August 28, 2008,

4:00pm-6:00pm

BRAF Camp - 11:00 and Wheel on the Esplanade

Black Rock City, NV

Meet our Grantees: Primal Source Video

So now we have a video of Primal Source, enjoy



Prior Posts:

Primal Source Realized
Primal Source

Homouroboros Video

I just came across a new video of Homouroboros, you remember, THOSE monkeys in San Jose, and I thought you might enjoy it. I love the beginning where the kids (big and little) are obviously loving drumming...



video Brett Stalbaum

Detroit Temple - World Hoop Day

In our continuing saga of of documenting what community events are happening at the Detroit Dream Project. Check out the video to see how the Temple is being a base for the neighborhood!

I give you Faith's report on World Hoop Day:

Blight Buster showed up to help set up and and then our first round of kids were just walking by and we hooked them in and they stayed for about 2 hours (and finally won a hoop!!).

Peachy and Doxie who took flyers into the neighborhood to attract kids. I think kids going home with hoops brought more back to us. The fire department showed up (just in time for fire hooping) And started hooping with us! They read about it in the Livonia paper!! And they want to be involved next year. They are clowns on their off time!! How awesome is that!We gave away 15 custom made hoops!!!! The kids were so excited!! I haven't counted out how many small hoops we gave away, but there were quite a few.

And there are already plans in the works for next year.

And Doxie's Report:

So another year of World Hoop Day has past..it was 8.8.8 if you did not know...next year it will be 9.9.9 and yes last year it was 7.7.7!!it was a great day for hooping..even if the wind tried to blow Evol away!!

We gave away a ton of kid hoops and 15 custom built ones were raffled off to kids and adults! and the kids picked it up SO quick!! we pulled in kids from all over the hood....and yes now peach knows just how crazy I am ..though i like to think of it as determined ..cuz we cruised the hoods in my little red convertible and i went up to peoples houses where i saw kids outside and was giving away fliers!! and it WORKED!! ...

Revolva was in from Portland to perform..Micha came in with her huge crew ( i love that woman) Faith did her awesome fire hooping !! with the Detroit Fire Department watching and their jaws agape! They showed up with a rig and got out and played!! One of them is a Detroit Fire Department Clown crew and wants to be involved next year...we even got the three other fire fighters to hoop..it was a blast!!

video Revolva

The Mangrove Opening Reception

The Mangrove Opening Reception is going to be shortly after the Burning Man Festival closes, so mark your calendars now so you do not miss it.

Saturday, September 6, 2008,
5:00pm-8:00pm
Sierra Arts Foundation Gallery17 S. Virginia Street
Reno, NV

Join us for a celebration of our first interactive art installation in Nevada.

The Mangrove is part of our Civic Arts Program, and is a collection of tree sculptures, each by a different artist.

The works will grace the bank of the Truckee River in downtown Reno, Nevada, on the corner of Sierra Street and Island Avenue. This currently empty lot transforms into an interactive art grove September 6, 2008, and remains on display, free to the public, until December 13, 2008.

BRAF extends our sincerest thanks to the The Freight House District, LLC,
the City of Reno, United Rentals, Fernley Electric and Peppermill Hotel Casino Reno and the Sierra Arts Foundation for their support of this project.

First exhibited at Burning Man 2007, The Mangrove is an eclectic collection of artworks sculpted by five different artist collectives. Each work offers a different lesson, rendered with exquisite craft and detail, in how discarded materials can be reused to create beauty out of 'trash'.

postcard design Maria Partridge

Meet-Our-Grantees Global Lives Project

I'll let one of our 2007 Grants-to-Artists matching grant recipients, tell you about their project in their own words.

The Global Lives Project is a collaborative effort of volunteers from around the world to build a video library of human life experience. Our content consists of uninterrupted 24-hour recordings of daily life of individuals selected to represent the diversity of human life on the planet. In collaboration with museums, universities and independent filmmakers in numerous countries, we are working to present this library as both a series of physical video installations and a free and interactive online video collection. We have already conducted recordings in Brazil, Malawi, Japan and the US, and plan an additional 6 shoots in 2008 and 2009.

The installation at the iCommons Summit in Sapporo, Japan featured 24 hours in the life of James Bullock, a cable car driver in San Francisco; Edith Kapuka, a junior high school student in rural Malawi, Rael Feliciano, a hip hop singer in Brazil; and Rumi Nagashima, a university student in Tokyo.

Welcome Kolios

Koilos by Michael Christian is being displayed by the Hayes Valley Art Coaltion on the Hayes Street Green, now known as "Patricia's Green".

In 2005, when the Green was dedicated, the San Francisco Art Commission asked the Black Rock Arts Foundation for its support in helping David Best and his crew build a temporary installation in the spirit of the Temples they had been building at Burning Man for several years, the Hayes Street Green Temple. Since then several temporary pieces of art have graced Patricia's Green. I think Kolios looks fabulous here!

In addition there have been several other temporary art installations on Patricia's Green: www.patriciawalkup.org/green.html http://www.thewowhaus.com/CURRENT/minigolf/mingolf.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilychang/299844285/

In addition, as part of the Black Rock Arts Foundation Civic Arts Program, Michael Christian displayed his sculpture Flock in front of City Hall in San Francisco.

So welcome Kolios to San Francisco, we love to see gorgeous pubic, temporary art gracing our city.

photo: Michael Strickland

The Detroit Dream Project Welcomes Arise Detroit!

I have another opportunity to give you an update on how the Detroit Dream Project, Temple of the American Dream is benefiting the community. As you know, we have already had a dedication party, a wedding, a fashion shoot, and live music, and World Hoop Day coming on August 8th, and now the Temple was part of Arise Detroit!

But it is more fun if I let Simmer, one of the volunteers and supporters of the Temple tell you about it herself:

So we're coming back from dinner and Kathleen says "let's swing by the temple and see how the space is doing?" We drive up to see the parking lot full of cars and people around - Derrick is at the entrance with a serious face kind of waving us toward some other event in the neighborhood, christian revival or somethin' and I roll down the window and tell him "Just wanted to see how the temple is doing". His face lights up like the greeter at the emerald city when Dorthy says the right words. Waves us into the near full lot to park. We then see a drum choir with dancers performing under the temple with a bunch of folks in chairs sitting/whooping/ and in general enjoying the performance. It was the dream come full circle and it made me proud of the tenacity some people had in making this happen. We did something truly good.

So what, you may ask is Arise Detroit, from the Arise Detroit! website:

ARISE is the acronym for Activating Resources and Inspiring Service and Empowerment. It is a way to link together the hundreds of programs and agencies working on child and family issues anti-violence, parenting, illiteracy, education, drug, neighborhood development, youth mentoring, etc. — to produce more resources, more volunteers and more help for the people who need it. ARISE will create a massive community wide movement, supported by people, non-profit groups, the media and individuals, to offer hope and let people know that they can play a personal role in improving their communities. Detroit has had years and years of individual programs and campaigns. And they have produced individual results. What is desperately needed now is an ongoing Hurricane Katrina-like rescue relief effort to address the chronic social ills that plague our community violence, illiteracy, poor parenting, misdirected youth, inferior education and many others. The resources are here to do a much more productive job of solving these problems but we must be united to do it!

To read more about the Detroit Dream Project!

One more evening of making art together before the Playa

Cozy in the Burning Man office, come put a few flags together and hangout with other Burners, with a few snacks and tea.

We will be making more 'flags' for our installation this Tueday. We will provide the supplies, snacks and fun.

Come Join us!

For more information about our ScrapEden on the Playa Project.
Tuesday August 5th, 2008 6:00-10:00pm
1900 3rd Street
San Francisco, Ca 94158

Please email volunteer@blackrockarts.org to let us know if your coming (so we can have enough snacks and materials). Thanks for participating.
See you on there!

Homouroboros makes "Best of Bay" 2008

Homouroboros in San Jose, originally uploaded by marytsao.

The monkeys we love are named:

BEST STROBOSCOPIC ZOETROPER
Burning Man has inspired and elevated some amazing Bay Area artists over the years, but Peter Hudson, a.k.a. Hudzo, has become a star both on and off the playa using a unique medium: stroboscopic zoetropes. Hudzo is a San Francisco carpenter and stagehand who has designed sets for the San Francisco Opera, Kink.com porn flicks, and the upcoming Milk movie. His first piece for Burning Man, Playa Swimmers, used strobe lights and precise molds of the human form to give the appearance of figures swimming in the desert sands. He's returned every year with steadily more ambitious projects, which culminated last year in Homouroboros: a bicycle- and drum-powered carousel that conjured up the vision of a monkey swinging from limb to limb, then taking a bite from an apple delivered by a snake slithering down a vine. Installations in San Jose, Minneapolis, and other cities followed. Now Hudzo is busy putting together his next piece, Tantalus, working with a huge group of committed volunteers out of his SoMa home.

www.hudzo.com

http://www.sfbg.com/bob/2008/city.php (You have to scroll down some)

Get Your "Glow" on!

I suspect that many of you are getting ready for Burning Man even as I write this. Have you been wanting to bring a little more luminescence to the Playa? Here it is! Whether you want to make a big impact or just show off a little, stop by GlowFur.

Glowfur has been a generous contributer to our Black Rock Arts Foundation auctions and has generously created a GlowFur™ BRAF Bracelet. GlowFur is DONATING 100% of the net proceeds to BRAF, so check them out and do it soon because the Man burns in 37 days.

Meet our Grantees - Primal Source Realized

We told you last week about about the BRAF Grants-to-Artists recipient, Primal Source by Usman Haque at the Santa Monica Glow Festival.

http://blackrockarts.blogspot.com/2008/07/meet-our-grantees-primal-source.html

So now we want someone who was there to tell you about it:

Last night in Santa Monica, CA, from 7pm to about 7am, Glow 08 took over the piers. It was an art and music festival with a bunch of cool events and attractions, but the coolest looks to have been the "Primal Source," a gigantic fountain with projections on it built by Usman Haque. As the video shows, it looks like a gigantic drug-induced hallucination. Which is awesome. written by Adam Frucci

Congratulations to Usman Haque for realizing his vision!!

Just in case you have forgotten, the light effects are produced from discreetly hidden microphones that picked up sounds from the crowd so that participants generated realtime colorful animated light patterns and shapes on the water screen before them that reacted to the sound of the words, music and noises produced collectively by both individuals and groups.

photo: Andrew Rollinger Creatve Commons - no commercial use

Voyage in Utopia - A Cocktail Fundraiser with the Black Rock Arts Foundation

A beautiful film, in a beautiful theatre, packed to the rafters, produced and directed by a sweetheart, Laurent Le Gall. Beautiful photography, beautiful production values.
http://www.freerunpictures.com/en/burningman/accueil.htm

John Mueller, the Treasurer of the Black Rock Arts Foundation and his wife, enjoying the after party at Cafe Flore

The "Man" signalling the after party

A buddy and Erik Davis having a drink at the Black Rock Arts Foundation cocktail fundraiser, thank for coming. Erik is on the Advisory Board of the Black Rock Arts Foundation.
Josie, Maggie Best and Tomas, BRAF's new Managing Director
The BRAF Pack
Thanks David for your very generous contribution to the Black Rock Arts Foundation auction at the cocktails fundraiser. http://www.glowfur.com/

Scott London's beautiful Burning Man photos were also a generous contribution to the BRAF auction. Thanks Scott. http://www.scottlondon.com/

Scott London

David Best and some of the other stars from the Movie
David arriving at the Premiere in style

Larry Harvey, JD Petras, owner of Cafe Flore who hosted the after party and one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence perhaps Monkey, Stardust and FireBoy at the afterparty at Cafe Flore

Alix Rosenthal and friend
affinity representin' photo: Scott London

Jewel, MonkeyBoy and Actiongrl

photos: A special thanks to Rich Stadtmiller for the great photos, to see more: http://www.phototrove.com/Archives/2008%2007%2018%20Burning%20Man%20Premiere/Welcome.htm

Meet our Grantees - EMERGENCE

This is the last weekend to go to Governor's Island and check out Emergence. When we last got a report from them there had been over 1,000 visitors. So if you are in the New York area, check out how to get there on their wonderful website and go interact with their paticipatory art!!

Here is some information about their exhibition:
Emergence is a summer exhibition of experimental and participatory art involving more than 30 artists/collectives, with a strong emphasis on audience and artist interaction.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS/COLLECTIVES:Anne Arden McDonald, artcodex, Asha Ganpat, Avant Car Guard, Barend de Wet - Douglas Gimberg - Christian Nerf , Chris Jordan, Casper Electronics, Damon Hamm, Erik Fabian, Eugenia Yu, Friendly Falcons & Their Friend the Snake, G-77, Jason Van Anden & Nat Hawks, John Krill, John Walter, Michael Alan, Monica Müller, Peripheral Media Projects, Pornj Diamond Cell, Sarah Phillips, Saviour Scraps, Tara Parsons, Tim & Martin Dockery, Triangle Project, and Urban Homesteading Project.

Emergence is curated by Johan Kritzinger, Joyce Manalo, Elke Dehner & Audrey Boguchwal.

EMERGENCE IS A PROJECT OF FIGMENT 2008. FIGMENT IS A PROJECT OF ACTION ARTS LEAGUE, AND IS PRODUCED BY A COALITION OF VOLUNTEERS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PURE PROJECT. FIGMENT IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART WITH PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE MANHATTAN COMMUNITY ARTS FUND, SUPPORTED BY THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND ADMINISTERED BY THE LOWER MANHATTAN CULTURAL COUNCIL. IN ADDITION, EMERGENCE IS SUPPORTED BY A GRANT FROM THE BLACK ROCK ARTS FOUNDATION.

Meet Our Grantees - Fire Blooms Fundraiser

As hopeful recipients of the Black Rock Arts Foundation Grants-to-Artists Program, Rebecca Anders, Yasmin Mawaz-Khan and Charles Gadeken are creating San Francisco Ocean Beach Fire Pits and here they are to tell you more about it:

The experience of building a fire at the ocean’s edge is as old as human time, and a much-beloved ritual on the San Francisco coastline. Ocean Beach Fire Pits are locally made sculptural fire pits made from cast concrete and designed to succeed in the harsh and extreme beach environment. Taking the form of Sea Stars and Fire Blooms these beautifully crafted, unique objects provide a valuable and accessible site of public interaction and connection. Already a success among the San Francisco community, the intentional welcoming aspect of the fire pits draw people together and encourage engagement between a diverse cross-section of beach visitors and the surrounding landscape.

So come and support them by attending this fundraiser so they can meet their goal and receive a matching grant from the Black Rock Arts Foundation.

Come out to the Dept. of Spontaneous Combustion on Saturday, July 26th, for a rockin evening of music, fire, and celebration to support the FireBlooms crew in our ongoing quest to make stunning giant floral firerings for Ocean Beach, SF!

The event features live music, blazing drinks, fire performances, special custom Fire Blooms wearables, and a chance for you to help these unstoppable women of the Fire Blooms crew meet a generous matching grant offer from the Black Rock Arts Foundation!

Please come out and share this good time for this good cause; we look forward to seeing you there, and to continuing this exciting work of functional public art.

When: Saturday, July 26

Doors 9pm

$10 - $20+ sliding scale

Where: 1281 30th st, emeryville, 94608

Who: Fire Blooms! http://www.fireblooms.com/

The fundraiser is hosted by Dept. of Spontaneous Combustion - http://www.spontaneousfire.com/

Music: Pedestal - http://www.pedestalmusic.com/index.cfm

Fans of Jimmy Century - http://fansofjimmycentury.com/FOJC/

More info & recent press: http://www.nbc11.com/news/16758915/detail.html?dl=mainclick

The Fire Rings on Ocean Beach project was started in 2007 by BurnersWithout Borders (http://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/), and is supportedby the National Park Service, the Surfrider Foundation, and the BlackRock Arts Foundation (http://www.blackrockarts.org/).

The Fire Blooms, initiated by Rebecca Anders and Yasmin Mawaz-Khan, and the Sea Stars, led by Charles Gadeken, have used grant and private funding to produce large sculptural fire rings for public use, with great success. These works have a significant positive impact on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, allowing the long-standing tradition of beach bonfires to continue in a safer, cleaner, legal way. This project is for and about our community, and our people's support is vital to its completion!

Meet our Grantees - John Bela - Victory Garden

In addition to telling you about our current Grant-to-Artist's recipients, sometimes I will be introducing you to our prior recipients, and what they are doing now, and how they are growing as artists.

Last year I had a chance to interview John Bela, who is one of the founding artists of REBAR, the artist's collective that first conceived of PARK(ing) Day. Their Parkcycle was part of our Grants-to-Artist Program in 2007, and REBAR was one of our honorees at our 2008 Black Rock Arts Foundation's Fundraiser - Flip Your Lid. John is a delight, smart and commited to making the world more walkable, greener, and this is his new project!

San Francisco Victory Garden

Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor, takes his turn with the trowel

After 10 days of incredible action—sod removal, bed and ground preparation, installation of irrigation lines and fencing, the building of a fantastic soap box—the lawn in front of San Francisco’s City Hall was transformed into the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden. It was a perfect planting day as 150 volunteers helped moved nearly 4,000 plants into their new homes. Teams divided into zones with their leaders and peacefully planted lettuce, tomatoes, beans, herbs, flowers and so much more. Good thoughts and prayers (including those from the next-door religious meeting) were had by all. Together, we built a “garden of communities,” as Victory Garden Manager John Bela calls it.
Written By Naomi Starkman

photos: Scott Chernis