Kickstarter

**check out the UPDATES tab to see the current list of participating artists!**

WHO:

Simply put, HOTBOX is a bread truck turned into an art gallery. It has a small gallery space inside and the outside is a free for all. Based and traveling throughout Chicago, ILL, we strive to achieve these things:

To CELEBRATE contemporary and urban art/artists. To INSPIRE acts of creation and creativity. To CREATE a sense of wonder and adventure in the public space. To CONTRIBUTE to the visual conversation that happens on every street, in every city. To CONNECT people, art, artists and communities, regardless of location.

                              lilbrownbird.com   •   niceonestreetart.com

It was dreamed up by me, Tara D., a designer/illustrator from Chicago ILL. I wanted to create something that combined all of the things I loved to do, like meeting new artists and creating new things, with my inkling for running a space that could showcase all the amazing artists I admired. After a lot of hard work, and with the support and brilliance from a small group of friends and my family, the dream became real and HOTBOX hit the streets in the summer of 2010. It has given me so many amazing experiences, connected me with stellar people, and has really taught me the power of art. Like recently, when I met the talented Jack C., a Columbia College graduate with a wide range of skills and a focus on painting and public art. He has eagerly joined the team just in time for this great adventure and with tens of thousands of road trip miles under each of our belts; we make the perfect team to pull it off.

WHAT:

After two years of doing shows and events around Chicago, we want to take this lil' thang outside our city limits and share all the fun with the world… I mean country. We want to do a US Tour! We will travel around the country, stopping at 25 major cities(listed below) and meet up with various artists to have them add to a massive collaboration on the outside of the truck. 

The project will last five months, three months of straight driving and two months of time off the road, all of which will be documented thru twitter daily, allowing everyone to be a part of the trip. The final stop is in Miami FL for the country's largest contemporary art exhibition, Miami Art Basel (www.artbaselmiamibeach.com) where we will have the rare but excellent opportunity to share all of this contemporary, urban american artwork with artists from around the world!

During the tour, the inside of the truck will be up and running as well. With a small gallery space inside, we will display a selection of 6"x6" panels, created by artists from the cities on the tour and collected prior to the tour, providing the epic scale of collaboration right from the start. One wall will be dedicated to offering a variety of paint for purchase as well as our handmade goods (bandanas, tees, buttons, stickers, zines & posters) at affordable prices. All products will be used as a means for promotion, and all profits will go to art supplies and back into making more HB goodies for the store, keeping the dream moving and running, even after Art Basel. 

Your generous donations will make this dream a reality! 25K will buy a new truck equipped for the miles, gas, the building of a small living space and functional gallery, art supplies, and most of all… support for artists during the Tour! 

Be a part of this epic journey we call HOTBOX... Join us, wont you?

WHEN/WHERE:

West Coast : July 20- August 24 
East Coast : October 1- October 21 
To Miami : November 22- December 10

CHICAGO- LEAVE FRI 7/20
Kansas City- SAT 7/21-SUN 7/22
Denver-  TUE 7/24-WED 25
Salt Lake City- THR 7/26
Seattle-  SAT 7/28-SUN 29
Portland- MON 7/30
SF- WED 8/1-SAT 8/5
LA-  MON 8/6-FRI 8/10
Las Vegas- SAT 8/11
Albuquerque-  MON 8/13
Austin-  WED 8/15-THR 8/16
Houston- FRI 8/17
New Orleans-SAT 8/18-TUES 8/21
St louis-  THR 8/23-FRI 8/24
Chicago- BACK SAT 8/25
36 DAYS IN CHICAGO- LEAVE 10/1
Detroit- MON 10/1- TUE 10/2
Cleveland-  WED 10/3 -THR 10/4 
Pittsburg- FRI 10/5- SAT 10/6
DC- MON 10/8- TUE 10/9
Baltimore- WED 10/10-THR 10/11
Philadelphia- FRI 10/12- SUN 10/14
NYC- MON 10/15- SAT 10/20
Chicago- BACK SUN 10/21
32 DAYS IN CHICAGO- LEAVE THR 11/22
Indianapolis- FRI 11/23
Cinncinatti- SAT 11/24-SUN 11/25
Atlanta- TUE 11/27-WED 11/28
Savannah- THR 11/29-FRI 11/30
Miami- SAT 12/1- 12/10
CHICAGO- BACK TUE 12/11

OH AND:

To Gus from Middle Mind Project for the amazing animation!!! (www.mmproject.tv), The Custodian of Records for the track "Five Rows Back"(www.thecustodianofrecords.blogspot.com), and for EVERYONE who supported us here and around Chicago… we are forever grateful for your contribution and for believing in the magic of art. 

-Tara D. & Jack C.