My self-funded Art Show

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 12^th to October 22^nd, 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 4^th 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.