Hey Art Lovers, it's Looking Up Arts!

We make giant rainbows, towering flamingos, and other colossal art installations on a shoestring budget. We need your help to keep creating community-centric art that brings people together.

Looking Up Arts Foundation 501(c)(3) is hosting our first fundraiser to support our organization’s year-round activities! Every year, we do fundraisers for our Burning Man project(s), but that money only goes to expenses related to that project. This year, we are starting a fundraiser to help cover our non-profit's operating costs (like our workshop space), overages experienced by the 2023 Burning Man projects, and the creation of some of our more miniature artworks (like Ladybug). We rely mostly on generous donations from our community. 

All donations are fully tax-deductible. When we have our operating expenses covered, we can invest more resources into making art! 

We're happy to offer schwag from past projects as thanks for your generous donation–just let us know what you might like. See the bottom of this posting for some photo examples! 

Just last year we:

• Created two large installations for Burning Man, Spider Trap and Over Ruled, both of which received Black Rock City Honoraria
• Refurbished Over Ruled in Golden Gate Park for the Golden Mile project by Illuminate and SF Rec and Park for 12-month installation
• Fabricated two Rainbow Torches for Illuminate organization and presented them at San Francisco's annual Pride event
• Brought Ladybug to multiple events, including Burning Man's San Francisco Decompression
• Completed a heart, Windows Into the Art, which raised $75k at auction for San Francisco General Hospital Foundation

* We know some of you are still waiting to receive your Kickstarter rewards in the mail for our Burning Man projects. We promise we are still working on creating and delivering those items, especially with the help of this campaign. So please forgive the delay and look for project-specific campaign updates for the status.*

We love to get new people excited about art and one of the ways we do that is by teaching volunteers new skills

• Last year we brought together over 100 volunteers 
• Hosted three welding classes
• Taught volunteers how to use steel benders, soldering irons, mag drills, vinyl cutters, and LED programming

"Nothing better than to build arts with a group of talented people and artists, I had so much fun learning and I am looking forward to going back to volunteer this year.” - Josephine 

"Creating with Looking Up Arts for Burning Man has been an exciting and upskilling journey. I’ve found community and creative inspiration while learning skills like CNCing, welding, and programming for large-scale installations. It's a rare treasure in San Francisco, shining a bright light on the intersection of art and technology.” - Isaac

"It was through volunteering on big art that I met Looking Up in the first place. Through their community, I’ve been introduced to countless interesting and creative people who have grown from project-based acquaintances to lifelong friends." - Soma

OUR COSTS:

Our ~$15,000 in annual operating costs include:

• Storage for our artworks
• Rent for our lease at the Upside Artspace
• Annual insurance to protect ourselves and our volunteers
• Purchasing and maintaining hardware, tools, and machinery for our workshop
• Software and subscriptions such as our website and design tools
• Government fees and taxes

Any extra funds from this campaign will roll into our next big project for Burning Man 2024, called Interlace.

Other Ways to Help:

Volunteer:

• If you can't donate money in 2024, donating time would still be very helpful. We have physical projects in San Francisco, and virtual projects all over the world. To stay in the loop, fill out our 2024 Volunteer Interest Form. 

Storage:

• Parking big art is a large component of our year-round costs, so we would love to find an inexpensive place within 250 miles of San Francisco where we can stash multiple 40' shipping trailers. If you know someone with unused acreage, please put us in touch!

FAQ:

• Can you receive non-monetary donations?
• Absolutely! Tools, materials, equipment, or other assets are all potentially useful for us. Please contact donate@lookingup.art with info and we can discuss.
• What if I have more questions?
• If you have any other questions not covered above, please contact us at info@lookingup.art.

THANK YOU!

We truly could not do this without you. Your donation is more than just dollars for us – it shows us that you care about art and the work we do, which encourages us to keep connecting and creating.

About Looking Up Arts Foundation

We are a San Francisco-based arts and technology organization dedicated to creating community-centric art that brings people together.​ Our art focuses on the bright and the bold, the creative and the extraordinary. We constantly seek innovation through technology in interactive and immersive art. ​We are a collaborative arena for artists, designers, engineers, and tradespersons to come together and make magic. One of the important focuses of our non-profit is teaching individuals to learn skills related to designing and fabricating art.

Photo Examples of Available Thank-You Swag