Black Rock Arts Foundation

Look for BRAF’s presence at the 2013 Bay Area Maker Faire.  Details to be announced.

Join us in celebrating the Bike Bridge project and public art in Oakland at a public opening reception on Friday evening, April 5th, 2013.  The City of Oakland will be marking the opening of the Uptown Art Park at 19th and Telegraph, the installation site of the Bike Bridge and several other public sculptures.  BRAF and the Crucible will be on hand to celebrate and acknowledge the young artists and other key people who made the project a success.  RSVP and invite your friends via our Facebook Event.

This is your last chance to visit the Raygun Gothic Rocketship before it takes off from San Francisco!

The piece has been a fixture of the San Francisco waterfront since BRAF and the artists installed it in 2010.  The installation was initially planned for one year and has been extended several times.  It will finally “take off” starting this Friday, March 15th.  The Rocketship Crew may have some surprises in store for the “launch” of this piece.

For decades, a particular brand of urban explorer has felt compelled to delve into the unseen and underground layers of city infrastructure. Guided by a sense of adventure and a desire for a broader understanding of the systems that support contemporary urban life, these explorations often reveal as much about the explorer as the territory explored. What is it about these unseen structures that so captures the imagination? Does this obscured geography map an unknown within us as well? What can the exploration teach us, a self-identified evolving species of surface dweller, about the various systems that make up our built and “natural” world? Can we hope to improve or recontextualize the interwoven social and ecological fabrics that make up our environment?

Tickets are on sale now for our 6th annual Artumnal Gathering. Join the Black Rock Arts Foundation for this very special engagement in honor of our artists and in support of BRAF’s future endeavors! Continue reading →

An interactive sound and video installation on an EPIC scale, Symphony in D Minor is premiering at the Skybox, a seven thousand square foot public arts space in Philadelphia. Acting as both conductors and musicians, viewers will unleash thunderstorms in an evolving composition enveloping the audience!

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About the Project

The Firefly Grove is an interactive light and sound art installation that mimics the fireflies’ illumination patterns. This project addresses the commonly heard statement in Rhode Island of “where have all the fireflies gone.” The public art work which reminds people of the magical presence of the firefly and its loss due to light pollution can be seen for three months in the John Brown House Museum’s courtyard.

Send in your firefly stories!

Firefly Grove is gathering stories of fireflies and favorite summer memories for a digital project to accompany the Firefly Grove. If you would like to share your story and possibly have it included in our project, please email Nathan Burbank at nburbank @rihs.org Note: by sharing your story with us, you give your consent to RIHS and The Engine Institute, Inc., use and reproduction rights of your story in whole or in part in print or online.

Performances at 5:30, 7:15 and 7:30 by the Providence Ballet Theatre’s Youth Ballet Company.

Every year, friends and family of the Black Rock Arts Foundation gather on Thursday evening at Burning Man to mingle and celebrate what BRAF has accomplished in the previous year.  Come join us if you will be on the Playa!

We will once again be sharing the “Everywhere” pavilion space with other Burning Man affiliate organizations.  For more information on the full week’s events, see: http://blackrockarts.org/events/braf-playa-2012

Each year, BRAF returns to our source of our inspiration, to that city where interactive art is everywhere you look: Black Rock City. We eagerly look forward to our stay on the playa as an opportunity to connect with our supporters, to inspire others to instigate interactive artworks in their hometown and to educate about our mission and our projects. Continue reading →

If you were able to attend our special event at ArtPadSF last year, you know how unique and fun it was. It was unlike any other event we’ve ever participated in, and we were thrilled to be involved. The event was a festive gathering of BRAF’s community of supporters, Burning Man’s art lovers, and the bay area’s leading art galleries and art scene. The results were magic! (more…)

Gather with your fellow BRAF and Burning Man art supporters and enjoy live entertainment and treats!  Artist Kate Raudenbush will be present and comment on the work.

Performance by Cello Street Quartet – playing pop and rock songs, with a classical twist (facebook.com/CelloStreetQuartet)  Off The Grid food vendors with special discounts for BRAF supporters!  Special discounts for BRAF supporters at local businesses, including Ritual Coffee, Smitten Ice Cream and Suppenkuche’s Biergarten!

Held at the magnificent Bently Reserve, our guests enjoyed fine fare, tempting libations, special treats, surprises, the best of company in their finest attire, original artwork by our favorite artists, auctions featuring one of a kind experiences and items, and abundant creativity! Continue reading →