No sleep till Milano!
In November of 2011 I was granted a six week artist in
residency in Milan, Italy at the Wannabee gallery, from September 12th
to October 22nd, 2012. I have not slept since then but more on that later, first we need to raise funds.
Wannabee gallery in association with Kin agency for the arts
will be funding airfare and lodging. Unfortunately the funding of artwork
produced by the artist has to come from the artist…that’s me.
“Rooster, how much does it cost to produce one of your
sculptures?” you may ask.
It costs $500-$1000 on the low end, $2500-$3000 on
the high end.
“How will you raise funds to produce work?” You may wonder.
Oh that’s easy; I will have a fundraiser art show…
The self-funded Show
Objective: find a venue to host an art show.
I started looking for gallery space back in March. I knew I
wanted the show to be in or near downtown Los Angeles. Ideally in a gallery on
Gallery row. (Not ambitious at all) I
looked high and low but most gallery spaces did not return calls or emails and
those that did already had stuff booked or where not interested in renting out
a gallery space for a one night event. I was going nowhere fast. I called a few
well connected friends and got a few leads but most of the gallery spaces where
either too small or too far from downtown Los Angeles. I happened to be on
craigslist one day looking for Motorcycle parts and thought to myself, “hey
maybe I can find something on here”. Sure enough after a few unanswered emails
and phone calls I was starting to strongly consider taking this show to Long Beach.
Then I received a call from one of the ads I called. I made an appointment to
check out the place the following day.
The venue is a 14th story penthouse situated on the rooftop
of an art deco building in downtown Los Angeles, Gallery row. From the second I
laid eyes on the venue, I knew it was perfect for hosting this event. The
interior of the penthouse is perfect for displaying my work and the rooftop
terrace with grand views of the downtown Los Angeles skyline is ideal for
hosting my guests.
I asked the venue owner, what do I need to do to get this
place in early August? He told me, "a description of the event, exact date, and after
approval, a DEPOSIT for half of the cost of the venue". I submitted a date and
description of the event. Within a couple of days I was approved and told
that in order to secure the date I needed to place a DEPOSIT by the following
day. Damn. With the help of my brother, some funds juggling, and a strict
cup-o-noodle diet, I was able to come up with the deposit the following day.
The agreement was signed and the date has been sealed.
On Saturday, August 4th I will be hosting a Self-funded, Fundraiser art show on the rooftop of 639 s.Spring st, Los Angeles, CA 90014, Details to
follow.
