Los Angeles NonProfit Turns To Crowd Funding To Jumpstart A Beloved Art Event After Global Pandemic Shut Down

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Brewery Artwalk Association is turning to crowd funding to save their twice annual event. The Brewery Artwalk is a free educational arts experience and has been a staple of the Los Angeles art scene for decades. As with so many live events, the global pandemic forced the non-profit to shut their doors in 2020. Now after nearly two years, they're setting their sights on Spring of 2022 for a much-anticipated return and they're asking for the public's help to do it.

Mitzella, President of the BAA had this to say: "Charities and live events around the world took a huge financial hit during the shutdown and the Brewery Artwalk Association was no exception. We're a 501c3 non-profit organization and our staff is 100% volunteer based. The BAA is funded entirely by public donations and proceeds generated from the event itself. Every dollar goes back into producing the event - that's a big problem when your doors are shut for nearly two years."

ABOUT THE BREWERY ARTS COMPLEX
In the early 80's, the city of Los Angeles passed the Artist In Residence (AIR) Ordinance which allowed disused industrial buildings around the downtown area to be zoned as live work space for artists, thus allowing for the creation of the Brewery Arts Complex in 1982. The 16-acre complex sits on the site of the former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery and is the home to over 500 artists working in a wide range of creative disciplines.

Since its creation, Brewery Arts Complex has developed into one of the most well established and vibrant artist communities in the world. In July of 1997 the LA Weekly called the Brewery "the world's largest artist-in-residence community" and in March 1999 a Los Angeles Times article referred to the Brewery as the "world's largest art complex."

ABOUT THE BREWERY ARTWALK
Shortly after its creation, the artists that lived and worked at the Brewery wanted a way to share their art and the magical place they called home with people outside their community, so they did something practically unheard of. They opened the doors of their personal studios and private homes to the public and invited them in!

Over the years, the OP tradition became the twice-yearly event now called The Brewery Artwalk. The Brewery Artwalk Association (a 501c3 non-profit organization) was eventually formed to maintain and run the event.

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
For nearly 40 years now, The Brewery Artwalk has played host to thousands of visitors each year, allowing students, families and art lovers of all ages and walks of life the chance to see how artists live and work. Under normal circumstances, the event takes place in Spring and Fall of each year and draws approximately 10,000 visitors over the course of a weekend. Free and open to the public, it's a unique opportunity for visitors to speak directly with artists so they can develop a greater understanding of and appreciation for their work, the creative process and the arts in general.

SHUT DOWN BY A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
Since Spring of 2020, the Covid 19 Global Pandemic has kept the event shuttered for nearly two years with little to no source of income.

Kate Hoffman BAA Treasurer and Fundraising Director had this to say: "We want to ensure the Brewery Artwalk Association can continue its long-standing tradition of providing free, educational art experiences so we decided to take our message directly to our supporters with a Go Fund Me campaign. Our goal is to raise $15,000 by March 1st. We're calling on all art lovers, educators and anyone else who values free access to the arts to support the Brewery Artwalk by making a donation to our campaign."

SPRING 2022
2022 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Brewery Arts Complex. To mark the occasion, the BAA has set its sights on April 2022 for its next Artwalk.

Donations to the organization's Go Fund Me campaign can be made HERE.

To learn more about the Brewery Artwalk and the Brewery Artwalk Association visit their website at http://www.breweryartwalk.com

Media Contact

Mitzella, Brewery Artwalk Association, 1 (323) 638-9382, [email protected]

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SOURCE Brewery Artwalk Association