FtA creates COMMUNITY by ensuring that Burning Man artists get heartfelt nourishment and appreciation from theme camps & other groups!
Through your contribution to this Kickstarter campaign, you will help provide for the artist dinners, online reservations system, transportation of goods, refrigeration of goods, kitchen infrastructure, and all the other stuff required to make the Feed the Artists program work. All FtA members are volunteers and we expect to spend every penny raised on our 2011 program. Your support gets you some swag or services, deeply heartfelt thanks, and – most importantly – a critical role in our community.
Since its beginning in 2007, Feed the Artists has fed thousands of people via "radical collaboration" with the Burning Man community. In the early years, FtA operated only during pre-burn week, feeding artists as they worked to prepare their installations for all of BM to enjoy. Last year, the 2010 FtA program helped more than 50 theme camps feed over 1500 artists on the playa during pre-burn week.
This year, FtA is concentrating more energy on getting more artists and theme camps involved, providing critical infrastructure, expanding the program to regional burns, and taking the culinary quality to new heights, all while we scale back the size of our own dinner offerings.
The result will be a sustainable model for Feed the Artists programs at regional burns or practically any other event, a stronger community of camps and artists, and a true "next level" experience for everyone involved.
Here are some details of what we have cooking:
- Pre-burn week artist dinners: The FtA camp is facilitating all the camp-artist meals, preparing "plans a, b, c, and d" for every artist group that signs up. In addition, FtA will prepare three incredible dinners for different artist camps during pre-burn week – complete with full meal service, ambiance, entertainment, and some of the most creative foodies on the playa. Minds will be blown.
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Burn week dinners: We're finally going in the actual week of Burning Man! We will maintaining the On Playa Reservation System, providing the system and infrastructure for any camp to invite artists over for dinner every day!
- Refrigerated Truck: To preserve all the fresh and deliciousness, allow for increased use local ingredients, and to reduce risk of food borne illnesses, Feed the Artists is arranging a shared refrigerator truck for any participating camp to use. By subsidizing the cost through fundraising, each participating camp will share the savings. (Are you interested in some reefer space? Email refrigeration@feedtheartists.net )
- On-playa Seminars & Resource Center: When the FtA foodies aren't cooking or eating, they're usually talking about cooking or eating. We'll be around every day, but you should certainly plan to attend one of our two (maybe three!) on-playa seminars.“So You Want to Feed the Artists: Loaves and Fishes and Playa Wishes” will be on Tuesday of Burnweek at our camp at 11am, and “Burner Food Magic and Playa Chefs’ Roundtable: Let the Playa Release Your Inner (Julia) Child” will be on Wednesday at 2pm. We might even organize a playa kitchen tour!
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Mobile Food Gifting: Sometimes, despite the promise of great food and community after a dusty walk or ride, artists don't have the time or energy to get to a theme camp for their meal. In response to this – Mobile Food Gifting has evolved. Instead of artists only going to theme camps, we are partnering with some theme camps to bring food to the artists – creating a unique opportunity for participants to experience the creative process up-close, and for artists to stay at their worksite even as they take a much-deserved food break. Reciprocity! Radical! Your donation helps fund FtA's mobile food gifting efforts in 2011!
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On-line and On-Playa Reservation Systems: The ORS links theme camps with artists during pre-burn and burn week in order to support artists with good food and community as they develop and maintain their installations. FtA volunteers spend countless hours managing the system, connecting camps and artists, insuring capacity, and providing additional support to make connections happen. The reservation system, available on-line and, for the first time, on-playa, is the backbone of Feed the Artists. Your contribution will help us provide this critical collaborative service!
Starting this year, FtA will further its on-playa operations, move beyond BRC to serve the BM community at its regional events, and keep dreaming and working towards fostering more radical and more collaborative cultures. Transformus 2011 was the first regional event to host their own FtA program, and it was a huge success! Your contribution will help us spread FtA to many, many more regional events around the world!
In the foreseeable future, FtA will continue to evolve.
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Feed the Artists will be a model of radical collaboration and a simple "norm" within our community. Any Burning Man-related event in the world will be able to have a Feed the Artists program, even if there's not a Feed the Artists camp present!
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FtA will not be unique to the playa or the BM community. Radical collaboration will become better realized in other communities as FtA technology can be used to facilitate “Feed the Teachers,” “Feed the Firefighters,” "Feed the Activists," “Feed the...” All across the globe, a largely forgotten expression of appreciation and gratitude will have been reintroduced to the world.
Eet smakelijk (Dutch), bon appetit (French), on egin (Basque), thokoleza ukudla (Zulu)!
FAQ
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When we started, we had no way to independently verify who is really an “art crew” and who is just a group of people looking for a meal, so we have to rely on BM’s art grant vetting process to make that determination for us. Then, in 2009, we expanded the program to include unfunded artists that we knew or could verify. Now, we have expanded the program to include ALL artists who are building officially recognized installations.
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We hope so! Were close to reaching the critical mass where the program will become self-sustaining except for a little bit of website maintenance. The BM community has embraced the program, and hopefully will provide whatever minimal continuing support is necessary, and our role will diminish to zero. At that point, we will become participants like everyone else. A few years after that, we hope that this program will have become such an ingrained part of the BM culture that no one will even remember that it all started with a deliberate, organized effort.
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The time the artists need it the most is during setup week when they are rushing to complete their projects. But starting in 2011, we plan to facilitate FtA dinners throughout burn week as well, by creating an on-playa version of our Online Reservations System, where theme camps and artists can register and be matched up.
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There are three main areas where we actively recruit volunteers. The Communications Team is the FtA’s version of the greeters, placement, and the artery, all rolled into one. This group does a lot of administrative work in the months prior to arriving on the playa, including contacting all the programs participants and monitoring/updating our website and SN sites. Then they arrive on the playa early and staff the FtA reception booth where artists and theme camps are supposed to check in. For artists and theme camps who have already signed up for dinners, we check in with them to make sure nothing that will effect the success of their dinner has changed, and providing support in case there are extenuating circumstances. We also give out our special FtA medallion invitations there, as well. If you have time to offer in the months prior to playa arrival, you have graphics/marketing skills, and you’re outgoing and resourceful, this might be the team for you. The “Erection Crew” is FtA's version of the DPW. They arrive on playa early, set up our camp, break down the camp, and take care of all of FtA’s infrastructure needs. Included in this is the organization and running of our camp kitchen, which serves meals to our own crew, as well as other artist groups. If you have electrical, plumbing, kitchen, or decorating (chill spaces and art cars) experience, we’d love to have you on this team. The Fundraising Team develops and implements a broad fundraising strategy to make sure we have the funds available to achieve our goals and vision. All FtA volunteers are expected to participate in some way on the fundraising team. If you’re interested in working with us, contact Colonel Angus at colonelangus@feedtheartists.net and he’ll connect you with the right people.
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Our Vision has always been to engage the Burning Man community in helping us to create something that would have many applications in the broader default world. Now that the program has been fully embraced by the our community, we plan to use the regional network to spread the program around the world and to many communities in the default world.
The point of FtA is to facilitate the using of food as a form of appreciation and collaboration between groups, so whether this occurs in a disaster relief scenario (Feed the Workers) or a school (Feed the Children, Feed the Teachers) or a local community (Feed the Firemen), the concept remains the same. In a sense, we hope that one day, FtA will become a huge gift from the BM community to the World.
49
Backers
$2,735
pledged of $2,500 goal
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Funding period
Jul 11, 2011 -
Aug 10, 2011
(30 days)
- 3 created · 0 backed
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- Website: feedtheartists.net
Pledge $5 or more
6 backers Limited (594 of 600 left)
Pledge $5 or more and you will receive a personal thank you note from an FtA Volunteer and a place in our hearts forever. You'll also be eligible to join our mailing and contact list so you can get involved too!
Pledge $10 or more
5 backers Limited (295 of 300 left)
PLAYA BEER! Each donor who contributes $10 AND demonstrates that they've shared this Kickstarter campaign with their Facebook friends or other relevant social network, is entitled to a delicious mid-day playa beer at the Feed the Artists camp (note: 1 per donor, not per $10)
Pledge $25 or more
0 backers Limited (10 of 10 left)
We have been gifted the gift of healing! We can now offer the next 10 $25 donors a 10-minute massage at Burning Man on Saturday 9/3. This reward has been gifted to us by a wonderful friend and Bay-area masseuse!
Pledge $25 or more
8 backers Limited (12 of 20 left)
Pledge $25 or more and receive one of the much talked about FtA bumper stickers, with phrases like “Shut Up & Eat,” “Culinary-lingus,” “Honk if You Love Crostini,” and “Driver Carries NO Beanie Weenies.” see images of the stickers here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193153&id=353762805543
Pledge $50 or more
2 backers
$50 donors will receive limited edition Rites of Cabbage t-shirt, printed in 2-colors on high-quality textiles by a professional / fine art printer. We will only get these made if we hit this Kickstarter goal, so we are unable to display a sample, but you can see the design on this page.
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0 backers Limited (1 of 1 left)
We have been gifted the gift of healing! We can now offer the next $50 donor a 30-minute chair massage after Burning Man in the Bay Area. This reward has been gifted to us by a wonderful friend and Bay-area masseuse!
Pledge $50 or more
2 backers Limited (18 of 20 left)
Donors at $50 can choose to attend a private demonstration, Q&A session, and PARTY with the one and only Dr. Megavolt on the evening of Wednesday 8/31, hosted by FtA. Very limited space - you don't want to miss this electric opportunity! http://drmegavolt.com/
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0 backers Limited (20 of 20 left)
9/1/2011 - For your $50 pledge, you can choose to be invited to Dessert and Discussion with Dan Das Mann! Dan Das Mann, has been bringing large scale metal sculpture to the desert for many years. Every year his projects have become larger in scale. more refined and, are guaranteed to leave an indelible mark on your soul. He truly is a master at his craft, to see some of Dan's previous projects please go to http://www.dandasmann.com. Come take the time to meet Dan to discuss anything from how the BM art grant process works to his projects past, present & future.
Pledge $75 or more
5 backers
In appreciation for your generous contribution, every donor at $75 or more will receive the 2011 Feed the Artists medallion. In years past, this has been one of the more sought after pieces of playa shwag. This year's medallions will be hand made on ceramic by a top Santa Barbara artisan, and is sure to top previous editions. Medallions will be available for donors on the playa or can be mailed after the event.
Pledge $100 or more
1 backer All gone!
We have been gifted the gift of healing! We can now offer the next $100 donor a 1-hour table massage after Burning Man in the Bay area. This reward has been gifted to us by a wonderful friend!
Pledge $100 or more
1 backer Limited (9 of 10 left)
MEGAVOLT MEGANIGHT!! Donors at $100 can choose to attend a private dinner party, demonstration, Q&A, and PARTY with the one and only Dr. Megavolt on the evening of Wednesday 8/31. Extremely limited space - you don't want to miss this electrifying night! http://drmegavolt.com/
Pledge $100 or more
1 backer Limited (9 of 10 left)
9/1/2011 - For your $100 pledge, you can choose to be invited to DInner, Dessert and Discussion with Dan Das Mann! Dan Das Mann, has been bringing large scale metal sculpture to the desert for many years. Every year his projects have become larger in scale. more refined and, are guaranteed to leave an indelible mark on your soul. He truly is a master at his craft, to see some of Dan's previous projects please go to http://www.dandasmann.com. Come take the time to meet Dan to discuss anything from how the BM art grant process works to his projects past, present & future.
Pledge $100 or more
5 backers Limited (25 of 30 left)
For a $100 donation you'll be invited to share a meal with the Feed the Artists crew. We can work out the specifics with you personally, but either breakfast or dinner, pre-week or burn week, you'll be breaking bread with us as an honored guest along with artists and other dignitaries.
Pledge $125 or more
2 backers
For your $100 pledge, you may also choose the cornucopia of FtA shwag: this gift will include a sassy FtA sticker, a witty Rite of Cabbage T-shirt, and an inspiring FtA medallion! And you'll know that you made a huge difference in making out program possible this year!
Pledge $200 or more
1 backer Limited (14 of 15 left)
For a $200 donation you'll get a cornucopia of FtA swag AND you will be invited to share a meal with the Feed the Artists crew. We can work out the specifics with you personally, but either breakfast or dinner, pre-week or burn week, you'll be breaking bread with us as an honored guest along with artists and other dignitaries.
Pledge $500 or more
0 backers Limited (6 of 6 left)
Pledge $500 or more and you and a guest will receive a private, on-playa cooking class with one of our resident chefs.
Pledge $1,000 or more
0 backers Limited (5 of 5 left)
For $1000 to our Kickstarter campaign, you can choose to have a 4 x 4 x 8 pallet of space reserved in our secure reefer truck. The cost to camps will only be about $350, but your donation will help subsidize the actual cost so it can be accessible for all who need it.
Pledge $1,000 or more
0 backers Limited (3 of 3 left)
Pledge $1000 and Feed the Artists will work with you to arrange a fabulous gourmet meal for two anywhere, anytime on the playa.
Pledge $5,000 or more
0 backers Limited (2 of 2 left)
For your generous contribution, Feed the Artists will arrange an extravagant dinner party for 10 (you + nine) anywhere. On playa or anywhere we can reasonably get to, you will still be responsible for ingredients and helping us find cheap airfare and housing, but we'll deliver an expert chef with access to the entire FtA volunteer community to make your event extraordinary.
