What’s Happening at NIMBY
Lost Vegas was a great party. NIMBY still can use your support, don't be shy, anything from a few dollars to great grandmas tea cup collection. Every contribution helps! Please visit the donate button on the top of this page... Speaking of cool projects... Maria Del Camino, being built at NIMBY, is having a Kickstarter campaign to help her along.. Maria needs new shoes, can you help a girl out??? http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1215796205/maria-del-caminoLOST VEGAS at NIMBY! MARCH 19th, 2011 BE THERE
It’s time for another NIMBY fundraiser so….. Please accept our humble invitation to Lost Vegas!!!!!!!! Back by unpopular indifference, Lost Vegas is the original show of schmoes. It’s a casino environment where you get to really gamble! To win fabu-less prizes! Here’s how it works: you get some chips at the door, you visit the games… place your bets and win BIG!!!! Take your chips to the Redemption Center, where you talk to Tra...cey and Don who lets ya take home a few choice pieces of prize… It’s fun! But that’s not all! Check out the games of Lost Vegas; like the real Vegas but a little funnerer: We are featuring this year: Cockroach Racing Rat Roulette The wheel of SMUT Quantum Physics Dating Game Crackjack Poke-her Human Wheel of Death Crap These are all games you can win big on. Big. Big!!! BIG!!!!!!!!!! The show goes late, so come early all over the place. LET IT RIDE!: Just like the big boys, you can win big! Big! BIG!!!! ROCK!: To the sounds of KALRI$$IAN ! WEEP!: Like a baby as our sharks take all your chips! MARVEL!: Time Traveler Anton Berteaux will jump the ramp of death! VOW!: Dr. Hal & Rev. Burke will offer short duration marriages! CROON/CRINGE!: At the Kareokie station with Beyond Paul! POPERATTZI!: The PHOTOBOOF will be in effect!!! SWOON!: The Ukaladies Strumming Club are the only all gal uke band! CASH OUT!: At the redemption booth with Tracey and Don! OOGLE!: The loose ladies and the Miami sounds of Freaktronic! CRY!: Out in disgust at our cockroach racing! YO!: David Capurro rocks the Yo Yo to Black Sabbath! SLURRR!: Your words, by patronizing out bar! RACK!: Your brains to the Can Cannibals! DRESS!: To the nines; Lost Vegas has an un-enforced dress code FOUL!: Chicken John is your host with the least… Short duration marriages performed by Dr. Hal and Rev. Ben Burke! Discount at the door for those wearing Bridal attire!!! More entertainment as follows: Mirium on the Trapeze Azana’s Arial acrobatics Bruce Tomb’s Maria Del Camino Michael Christian SOL by Alex Nolan The Tub-o- Hurrle The Yo Yo King Photoboof Ukaladies Mongo Lounge Cheese Puff Sparkle Motion Belly Dancing with Rose Harden and friends The Can-Cannibals Dance Troupe KALRI$$IAN Freaktronic Naked Fire Babes Shipwreck Tiki Lounge and much, much, more. It's an evening to dismember, so put on your finest and come on out to NIMBY to do the Lost Vegas grind! All gambling is real. You play with chips that you cash out for valuable prizes. Ahem. This is less spectacular and more action-oriented. You place the bets! You race the roaches! You spill your drink! It's all about you!!!! Lost Vegas, where everybody's nobody and that at least all of you..... This marvelous event (now in it's 18th year) is everything you've never wanted in a casino experience and much, much less. Come on down and hang out all over. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/157303 We have enough off street parking for everyone http://www.facebook.com/nimbyspace http://www.nimbyspace.org/ Help keep NIMBY open and alive. All proceeds will help us with past and future endeavors. If you can’t make it to this show, please buy a ticket and give it to a friend. Please forward this invite to your favorite lists We have bicycle parking, located about a half mile from BART on level ground its easy to get her from anywhere!No, really, we have bike racks in our parking lot just for you! . . .
A few pics of whats been going on as well as a few older pics…
A quick look back….
September 10, 2008
NIMBY has a fire in a container; candles left unattended for a time lapse photo shoot burn out of control and set one of the few fiberglass containers ablaze.
The September 10th event was the catalyst for NIMBY to look for a larger space that ultimately led to its new location at 8410 Amelia Street in Oakland. NIMBY’s lease was up for renewal, the space was becoming cramped and the master tenant was relocating leaving the future of the building undetermined. The search for a new building was underway. Many spots were looked at including the old Ice House facility, Pacific Pipe, and ice cream plant and on and on. When the Oakland Community Development Agency pointed us to the Amelia Street property we had found the new location. The meetings with the City of Oakland became a daily happening and it was determined that the Amelia Street building would be a very good choice. Fully sprinklered, well lit, lots of access and a nice office looking out on the main production building.
About double in size and without the multi levels of the old space, the new NIMBY is a well laid out building with fire sprinklers, high ceilings, concrete floors and a large fenced yard. There are still projects on hold due to unforeseen requirements and expenses but the future of NIMBY is solid. Through generous donations NIMBY has continued to improve its facility and support the local as well as international art community. Projects worked on at the new facility have been installed on each coast and more are scheduled for completion soon. NIMBY continues to provide a clean, comfortable, collaborative environment where creativity and engineering come together. Limited shop space is available as well as office and studio space in an adjoining building.
NIMBY, coming up on its seven year anniversary, is not the oldest or the largest facility of its kind but we do believe it is the best.
NIMBY would like to thank the community for its continued support and to extend an invitation to come see what’s going on inside the doors of this wonderful facility.
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NIMBY has some space available for shops as well as yard storage/work. If you are looking for office or studio space please come down and let us show you our office building, removed from the noise and bustle of the main shop areas.
The Mousetrap, a common sight at Makers Faires and more, follow along on www.lifesizemousetrap.org
The Konan Express hitched up and ready to hit the road
MISSING! Partially filmed at NIMBY has hit the silver screen, or LCD, Plasma… anyway…
We are happy to tell you that the film “Missing” was chosen as a finalist for the “Beyond the Still” contest headed by Vimeo/Canon. It is now open for public voting so please be kind enough to check out their film and if you feel as strong about it as we do please vote for it. They will be happy to answer any questions on it after your done viewing it ;). Here is the link: http://www.vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill/ Click on the movie missing or go right to the movie here Here is the link: http://www.vimeo.com/12477897
Check out all the movies and if you think theirs is the best then vote. If you don’t and feel like voting for theirs anyways, well they will be much obliged.
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SYZYGRYD
Syzygryd is off to another festival, check out the syzygryd website!
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MILKTROPOLIS
Check out the Milktropolis
Built at NIMBY you probably saw this two story carton of milk and Olympic sized bowl of cereal cruising the dust and lights of BRC…
The Steampunk Tree house is done gone East! Dogfish Brewery is the new home to the treehouse, Discovery Chanel has done a bit on the build but if you missed it here are a few pictures…
You can find more info about this project at the Steampunk Tree house website.
Open Arts Network Partner Profile: NIMBY
Long before ROTFL and TTYL, there was NIMBY: “Not In My Back Yard!” The acronym doesn’t always stand for a vow to fight local zoning ordinances; it’s also the name of a do-it-yourself, industrial art space in Oakland, California, that provides artists with a place to make what would be impossible to create elsewhere. One of our Open Arts Network partners, NIMBY enables projects with a high wow-factor, such as Steam Punk Tree House and Lifesize Mouse Trap (as in the board game), to be realized. Business manager Rachael Norman told me more about this hub of innovation…
Would you briefly describe NIMBY and its mission?
NIMBY is a large (64,000-square-foot) DIY space in East Oakland that serves the Bay Area’s industrial art community. Metal workers, jewelers, dreamers, musicians, engineers, plumbers, electricians, computer programmers, and tinkerers creating projects large and small can all be found working at NIMBY. Steel shipping containers are the building blocks of the NIMBY shop space, and are centered around shared common work areas. At NIMBY you can create anything from the smallest electronic device to some of the largest sculptures seen in the world.
When and how did NIMBY get started?
NIMBY began in a 28,000-square-foot warehouse in West Oakland. Michael Snook founded NIMBY, with no initial investment, in April of 2004. Steel shipping containers were purchased and brought to the space one at a time as funds allowed. Snook intended to set up a functional facility in which to work on projects, and has formed an organization that supports thousands of artists each year.
How far do artists working at NIMBY come from?
Each year, we support thousands of artists and craftspeople from far and wide who want to build a great variety of projects. Most NIMBY artists reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, but artists from as far away as New York, Europe and Australia use NIMBY to create large-scale works that will be shown in the western United States. Large-scale works built here can been found at Burning Man, Maker Faire, Coachella, and exhibitions and museums around the world.
What programs and services do you provide for artists?
NIMBY not only offers workspace to create, but supports its artists with resources, assistance in sourcing re-purposed material, storage of art pieces, logistical and technical guidance, and networking. This supportive culture, shared by all members of the NIMBY community, is at the root of the amazing art that emerges from its doors. As we have grown, programs have been developed to provide discounted trucking rates for artists and assistance in seeking grant funding for projects, as well as to coordinate paid opportunities for artists to show their artwork.
So, hosting and supporting large-scale projects, performances and artworks -– things that other spaces might not have room for — is really NIMBY’s specialty…
NIMBY is best known for supporting large-scale projects such as Colossus, the Steampunk Tree House, and Lifesize Mouse Trap. When Snook founded NIMBY he found that there was a lack of facilities that had both the space and heavy equipment needed to support such projects. While many artists work at home or in smaller shops, the space and resources needed to create large-scale works of art can quickly become overwhelming to an individual. When many artists share a much larger space, the costs can be kept much lower.
It takes an incredible amount of effort and dedication to manage a space like NIMBY. Volunteers add much to the effort of growing and sustaining us. It is no small task to make a facility like this safe, affordable, function and legal.
Do you sponsor/host events both on-site and off-site?
From time to time NIMBY does host events. Historically, these events have ranged in size from large gatherings to small performances and exhibitions. Over the years there have been robot operas, project fundraisers, and most recently, DO IT FOR HAITI, a monumental benefit and clothing drive.
As NIMBY has grown, great efforts have been made to work with the City of Oakland to be able to host a variety of events at our space. Unfortunately, the expense and time involved in this have made small events, exhibitions, and performances impossible to host in our new location at this time.
What is one fact about your organization that you wish was more widely known?
NIMBY has always been supported entirely by our community. Thousands of supporters and volunteers are the only reason NIMBY continues to thrive. We are an entirely self-supporting organization, and this is no small feat.
Have you seen an increase in demand for any of your services in particular during this recession?
During these tough economic times we have been seeing local city governments looking to increase revenue by ensuring that all businesses in their jurisdiction are fully code compliant. This trend has raised operating costs to such a level that individual artists cannot come in to compliance, a situation that is often compounded by the fact that artists frequently work in older buildings that have fallen into disrepair. Because NIMBY has gone through the process of being compliant with fire and building department regulations, we have seen an increase in artists interested in working in our space.
When and how do you know that you are succeeding in your mission?
When NIMBY is bustling with activity and brimming over with projects, new ideas and creativity. It is inspiring to be a part of workdays during which hundreds of people are working together and making the impossible possible before our eyes.
How people can get involved with NIMBY?
To get involved, email [email protected].
Wherever you find Joe Rut you’ll find a fifth!
Joe Rut is celebrated the release of his 5th CD, “Injured While Faking own Death” with a very special show at the Great American Music Hall, last year. If you haven’t seen Joe you have missed something really great!
8 Minutes
Thats how far we are from the old NIMBY, only 8 minutes, 93.2% of the time and the rest of the time it rarely goes more than 16 minutes.
A little of what NIMBY has been doing in the community…
As many of you have probably already heard The Oakland City Council is having a meeting this Thursday, April 1st. Item #8 is to cut the Cultural Arts Trust budget 50%, yes, fifty percent!
Oakland has one of the highest, if not the highest, number of people per capita who list their occupation Artist. What good are the arts? The arts span all ages, cross all boundaries and open our imagination to possibilities. Art challenges our intellect, temps our emotions and creates a vehicle for social interactions that may otherwise never materialize. Art can range from wildly abstract to extremely concrete, pleasant to disturbing, peaceful to riotous, art affects us individually and as a group but the bottom line is without art there will be a very, very large void.
The Oakland City Council needs to hear from you today! This is not something you can let slide or try to get to later, you need to act and act now. Oakland is a leader in the arts and to let the budget be cut will just be the first ripple through the entire arts community. Cities throughout the United States pay attention to what other cities are doing. When we take a stand and let the government know what we want they will listen. In 2008 we stood up and were heard, the budget was saved, we can do it again! Take the time to write the Oakland City Council. We have made it very easy, our website at NIMBY is all set up for you to just copy our sample letter, click the email address, paste the letter and put your name on it. Yes, it would be better if you would take a few minutes to write a letter but at the very least copy and paste one today.
Check history, it is full of nations and empires that disappeared when its citizens no longer held their core beliefs and values, one person can make a difference.
As of Tuesday we understand Councilman Reid had only received twenty letters defending the Arts budget, lets bump that number up! Be heard now, there is no second chance.
*****SAMPLE LETTER**** Copy the following letter:
Dear Councilperson Reid,
As a patron of the arts I am opposed to any reduction of the Oakland Cultural Arts Budget. When you cut the arts you kill imagination, imagination that could lead to the next great scientific breakthrough, discovery of a more efficient source of energy or the conversation that makes friends out of enemies.
The arts play a very important role in society, one that must not be sacrificed. The arts are the fertile grounds that breed musicians, sculptors, doctors, scientists, engineers and on and on. The arts keep history alive. Think of one aspect of your life not affected by art; your family, your home, the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, the books you read. Art affects virtually every aspect of your life, and my life. Mr. Reid, I implore you to keep the budget intact and to preserve the arts.
Respectfully,
Once you have copied this letter click this link and it will open your email and address it to Councilman Larry Reid, District 7, Oakland.
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