In this Issue:

• Urbanauts Event- Save the Date!
• Bike Bridge Opening Reception – Save the Date!
• Raygun Gothic Rocketship – Delayed Departure
• The Artumnal Gathering – Photos and more!
• Grantee Update

Don’t forget to make your tax-deductible end-of-year gift to BRAF! With your help, we’ll enjoy another year of inspiring art projects!

Urbanauts and BRAF together at the de Young January 19th!

Unseen and underground, there are mysterious layers of city infrastructure under our feet. What is it about these hidden structures that so capture the imagination? Find out January 19, 2013 as BRAF, the de Young Museum, and de Young Artist Fellows Sean Orlando and REBAR offer an afternoon of conversation and multimedia presentations to investigate this question and the contemporary practice of urban exploration.  The event will take place at the Koret Theater at the de Young Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Event times and more details TBA, stay tuned!

Oakland’s Bike Bridge Presented to the World March 1st!

The Bike Bridge is ready for its big debut!  The piece will be installed in the new art park on Telegraph Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets.  Join us for an opening reception at the park during Art Murmur, March 1, 2013, in downtown Oakland. Come celebrate this great accomplishment of the talented young Bike Bridge artists!

One of the Bike Bridge youth artists.

Get Ready for Liftoff! The Raygun Gothic Rocketship’s Delayed Departure

The Commissioners of the Port of San Francisco met in session on Tuesday October 23rd, and approved another extension for the Rocketship at Pier 14. Receiving this good news, the Raygun Rocketship crew has re-scheduled their departure to the Centauri system until March 7, 2013.

There is still space available for the trip, which will take approximately 6.5 months (relative) ship time. Potential passengers should note that we will be carrying a small quantity of cantobtanium, which by its odd quantum nature (you think it exists but can never find it), can make some people nauseous, and others simply disappear (No refunds in the event you disappear).

We will be sure to keep you informed of the Rocketship’s departure details, as, no doubt, there will be a pre-departure send-off party.

The Artumnal Gathering: Thank YOU!

We are deeply grateful for all who contributed in making this our best Artumnal Gathering ever. Thank you to all who attended, participated and donated their time and effort.

First of all, we’d like to thank our 150 volunteers, some of whom worked all through the day, night and morning. This year we started a new tradition: The Affinity award, named after our beloved volunteer of many years, Affinity Mingle. In years to come, this award will be granted to our stellar, above-and-beyond volunteers. Check out Affinity’s post about receiving the award in her blog Affatshionista.

In addition, the Artumnal Gathering offered a terrific sampling of the tremendous talent of our community. We’d like to thank the 100+ entertainers who donated their time, talent, and effort to Saturday’s gala. We are so grateful to have you in our midst!

We also owe many, many heartfelt thanks to all the artists who contributed their talent and work to the event and the auction.  We especially want to thank the artists we work with throughout the year. This event is for you, a celebration in honor of your creativity and your contributions. Thank you!

And last but not least, we want to express our deepest appreciation and thanks to all of the BRAF supporters who joined us for this special evening in support of our mission.

We hope you were able to join us. If not, we hope to see you next year!

• Photos by Eric Schwabel
• Photos by George Post
• Photos by Meddling Melanie Photography
• Photos by Tyler Nguyen

Photo of Affinity, 2012 Recipient of the Affinity Award. Photo by Eric Schwabel
Painting, “The Parallax of Drive and Desire” by Nicholas Von Grainger

“Ascension” by Gregg Flieshmann, artist of the Otic Oasis at Burning Man 2011 and 2012. Photo by George Post.

The Loyd Family Players at the Artumnal Gathering, 2012. Photo by Tyler Nguyen.

The Main Hall of the Bently Reserve at the Artumnal Gathering 2012. Photo by Tyler Nguyen.

Grantee Update

2012 Grantee – The Pool by Jen Lewin

All 120 new rotationally molded Pool platforms arrived at the Jen Lewin Studio from their production factory in LA. Lewin’s team also just ran their final tests on the new controller LED boards. Unlike their originall version, these new boards will use a point controlled LED strip that is almost six times brighter, as well as three custom accelerometer circuits for a much cleaner and intuitive interface. By late December, Lewin will have all of the complete parts for The Pool, and will start bringing everything together. The Pool is currently on track for completion in early February.