Express News article / Documentary / Kickstarter

A SWEET article about the Mulberry bridge was published in the San Antonio Express News yesterday! A lot of pictures and most of them "above the fold" (wink). My appreciation to Steve Bennett for writing such a thorough article and for making a good case for public art to be included in our city's infrastructure. San Antonio's city council will be voting on a "percent for art" proposal in the coming months. If you live in San Antonio, I encourage you to contact your council person and let them know that our city deserves more art in public places!

One amazing thing that has been/still is happening during this entire public art making process is that my friend James Sanders, of Standard Definition  has been filming just about the entire process start to finish with plans of creating a full length documentary about the process.

James is a very experienced filmmaker and has the heart of an artist. Sara and I have enjoyed working with him, his work ethic and dedication to this project have been truly inspiring. James has formed a wonderful team of people to help make this film happen. Catherine Lee is serving as the producer. Her writing and grant writing abilities leave me awestruck and envious! She is maintaining our recently launched Kickstarter campaign, writing grants to help fund the project, and maintaining the project's tumbler blog.

Finally, I want to tell you about Kickstarter. We need your help! We chose to use Kickstarter as a funding platform for a number of reasons. The following is from their FAQ's:

Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.

A new form of commerce and patronage. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project.

All or nothing funding. On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.

Each and every project is the independent creation of someone like you. Projects are big and small, serious and whimsical, traditional and experimental. They’re inspiring, entertaining and unbelievably diverse. We hope you agree... Welcome to Kickstarter!

 I really love this concept, and I particularly like that a pledge not only gets you a warm and fuzzy feeling for helping to fund an art project you believe in, you also get some really great promotional items like postcards, posters, DVD of the film, Art Tiles (made by yours truly), or handcrafted mugs. Besides funding for the film, Kickstarter provides us a platform to build partnerships with other enthusiastic folks. So when you have a moment, please check out our links, make a pledge, or just pass on the word! Facebook "likes", forwarded emails, etc will exponentially help us reach the goal of getting this film produced.

Keep that wheel a turning!
Diana