In this issue:

Bike Bridge Opening Reception
Raygun Gothic Rocketship “Launch” Party
Partner Organization News:
- The Bay Lights light up!
- Maker Faire 2013 – Call for entries
- The Exploratorium – Call for volunteers
Grantee Updates:
- The Pool – Update
- Wind Playground – Update and call for participation
- Rebar – Call for participation
- Global Lives Project – Update and call for entries
- Mediate – Call for participation

Bike Bridge Opening Event Delayed until April 5th or 6th.

The Black Rock Arts Foundation is very excited to share the remarkable result of the Bike Bridge project with the community in Oakland. As planned, we will install the piece at the Uptown Art Park at 19th and Telegraph. Installation of the piece will proceed on schedule however the park itself and some of the other sculptures will not be completed until March 21st. As a result the City of Oakland has delayed the opening reception for the new art park until Friday, April 5th or Saturday April 6^th, there will be no event on Friday, March 1^st. Nonetheless, this fantastic piece will be on display for everyone to enjoy! Stay tuned for more information about the April opening event.

Blast Off! The Raygun Gothic Rocketship Prepares for Countdown…

INCOMING TRANSMISSION! This just in from the Rocketship crew:

Greetings Earthlings, Artlings and Fellow Travelers,

After two extensions of our planetary permit, granted by the Port of San Francisco in response to the popular demand expressed by you, the Citizens of San Francisco, we have reached the end of our stay on Earth. After 2 1/2 years of exploration of this great city, the crew of The Raygun Gothic Rocketship, in consultation with our local host the Black Rock Arts Foundation, has decided to depart for the Centauri system.

For the more intrepid among you, there is still space available for the trip, which will take approximately 3.1415 months (relative) ship time.

Passenger pre-screening will begin Friday March 15th. Please report to the Pier 14 launch site Friday afternoon, at 4:00 p.m., to wish the ship and crew a bon voyage.

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*.

How could we refuse such an invitation? We hope you’ll join us for:

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship Launch Party
Friday, March 15, 2013

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Pier 14, San Francisco, CA

*Stick around after the party for the first Friday Night Lights event! See below for details.

The Phenomenauts at the Opening Reception for the Raygun Gothic Rocketship. Photo by Extramatic.

*No refunds in the event you disappear. Proceeds from the sale of personal effects will be donated to Earth local hosts, the Black Rock Arts Foundation, to pay off the RGR crew’s exorbitant bar tab.

Get involved with some of our partner organizations!

The Bay Lights Grand Lighting Event

Are you as excited about this project as we are? This massive achievement by BRAF Advisory Board Member Leo Villareal debuts Tuesday, March 5th. We recommend finding a good viewing spot along San Francisco’s waterfront in time for the 9:00 pm lighting ceremony. Come celebrate our community’s artists and this milestone in public art!

More about the project at thebaylights.org

The Exploratorium Needs Help on March 10^th

Our friends at The Exploratorium, San Francisco’s museum of science, art, and human perception, need a hand. They are calling for volunteers to help with On The Move, an outdoor festival featuring not only their exhibits and activities but also some of our favorite art cars!

Festivities will be held just across from Pier 15 on the waterfront and at satellite locations in Bayview and the Mission District in San Francisco on March 10^th from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

To volunteer, call (415) 528-4360 or visit http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/calendar/on-the-move

Get Ready for Maker Faire!

Calling all creators, tinkerers, performers, presenters, and dreamers! Maker Faire Bay Area 2013 has put out a call to showcase makers of all types this coming May.

For details on how to participate visit makerfaire.com/bayarea-2013-callformakers

Deadline is March 15!

Third Friday Night Lights

Catch the spirit of the Bay Lights project and participate in the new Third Friday Night Lights event. Starting March 15, and every third Friday after that during the Bay Lights’ two year exhibition, don your blinkiest and brightest get up, bring your bikes and your friends and come out to the new Third Friday Night Lights event!

For more details visit: 3fnl.org

Grantee Updates

2012 Grantee – The Pool

Let there be light! The Pool is in its last few days of development and will be complete in a few days. John Taylor and Joe Martin from Lumigeek are currently in Boulder, Colorado, at the Jen Lewin Studio putting the final touches on the interface and video control for our miles of L.E.D. strip and 120 interactive platforms.

The Pool – work in progress. Photos courtesy of the artist.

The Pool will start its spring tour at South By Southwest in Austin’s Republic Square Park from March 9th – 16th. It will return to Colorado and be installed at the new CU Art Museum from May 31st – September 5th. Due to high demand, they are also building a second version of The Pool that will travel to the Electric Daisy Festival in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, as well as to a large pubic exhibit at the University of Arkansas in September.

For more information visit www.jenlewinstudio.com.

2011 Grantee – Wind Playground

Wind Playground is preparing for a trip to Australia! This kinetic sculpture that allows people to play with and understand wind is almost ready for its big debut.

Artist Maia Marinelli works on Wind Playground at her ‘studio’ in Maui, HI. Photo courtesy of the artist.

See photos and watch video of this project taking shape at www.windplayground.com.

This project also needs volunteers! Lend a hand.

2007 Grantee – Rebar

Help design the future of downtown Oakland! Rebar and the City of Oakland are hosting a community workshop towards the design of a new temporary public plaza downtown at Latham Square. All members of the community are welcome and no design experience is required.

Saturday, February 23, 2013
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Presentations from 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Drop-in workshops from 1:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Ground Floor, Cathedral Building at Broadway and Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA

For more details visit www.facebook.com/events/271855542944544/.

Can’t make the workshop? Share your thoughts on what Latham Square needs by visiting www.oaklandnet.com/LathamSquare and contacting lathamsquare @gmail.com (lathamsquare @gmail.com) .

2007 Grantee – Global Lives Project

The Global Lives Project is seeking filmmakers in all parts of the world to contribute to its second curated series of ten 24-hour films, Lives in Transit.

Lives in Transit will document 24 continuous hours in the lives of individuals around who work in the transportation sector. From bus drivers and ticket collectors to water taxi drivers, from cycle rickshaw peddlers and pilots to shepherds and train conductors, Lives in Transit series will build on their growing video library of life experience on earth.

The Global Lives production crew in action. Photo courtesy of the artist.

For more information and to submit an inquiry please visit globallives.org/participate/livesintransit/call-for-filmmakers/

2010 Grantee – Mediate (Illuminated Forest)

Listen and Mediate…

Mediate Art Group, the presenters of San Francisco’s acclaimed biennial festival Soundwave, is growing and looking for some talented folks to fill some cool new shoes. Get involved with this growing organization!

For more information on positions available at Mediate visit www.me-di-ate.net/volunteer-opportunities/

Black Rock Arts Foundation

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