Art Haus 2018 Season
Last year we brought you Stravinsky's Rite of Spring beneath the Tree of Ténéré, the first ballet performance of its kind at Burning Man with a full orchestra amplified by Robot Heart. An audience of an estimated 10,000 Burners came out to witness the magic, proving a thirst for classical and ballet performances at Burning Man, and the experience was absolutely unforgettable.
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Photo by Pascal Pincosy
video by Vincent Rommelaere
This year, we knew we had to come back with more mind-blowing performances, and in order to be able to perform when and where we pleased without relying too much on other groups, we knew we needed an art car! Our wish came true in February when we were presented with the opportunity to adopt a 1981 Hahn Pumper Fire Truck! We intend to build the fire truck into a mobile stage, complete with recognizable sails in the image of the Sydney Opera House!
We're turning this......
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Into this!
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Our 2018 Season
Inspired by all the incredible art pieces brought to Burning Man we will be presenting a symphonic performance of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in collaboration with The Baba Yaga House, the giant Step Forward puppets and Robot Heart as well as various other artists, to showcase and celebrate art in a much bigger way than Mussorgsky could have ever imagined.
Reflecting this year's I, Robot theme, we will present We, Human, a new ballet work by Robert Dekkers set to Steve Reich's 8 Lines.
Finally, at sunrise on Friday morning we will practice radical inclusion by inviting anyone with an instrument to join us in a performance of Terry Riley's masterpiece In C, which is written for any instrumentation and uses repeating figures and indeterminacy to create a massive, irreplicable musical experience.
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What We Need and What You Get
All of our performers are gifting their time and talents to these projects, and we have a dedicated team of art car builders who are donating their time and hard work, but we still have a lot of expenses involved in bringing both the performances and the art car to the playa.
For our performances, we need to pay for rehearsal space, costumes, make up, marley, and various other equipment needs. We are fortunate to already have a lot of great equipment from our performance last year, so the vast majority of our funds will be going toward the art car, which will need a number of repairs in order to make it drivable, and will need funding in order to purchase the materials to build the stage and sails, as well as lighting and sound monitors.
If we do not make it to our fundraising goal, we will still repair the fire truck to use for equipment transportation, but we won’t be able to fully transform it yet. This may become a 2 year build process. If we exceed our goal, we will be able to make the fire truck even more spectacular, and hopefully have money for extra costs that come up along the way.
We are happy to offer a number of perks at varying donation levels! Please be sure to click the "Get this perk" button on the right hand side of this page under the perk you wish to claim. In addition to some awesome Art Haus Swag, we are offering several exciting Art Haus experiences.
- For donations of $300 you are invited to join us on the evening of May 17 at the whimsical fantastical Gregangelo Museum (as seen in an upcoming Netflix special!) in the St Francis Wood neighborhood of SF for a special Pictures at an Exhibition- themed tour and cocktail party complete with Art Haus musician performances and a tasting menu! Each room is a whimsical storyboard for Gregangelo's Velocity Circus complete with installations, mosaics and a spiritual story. Click “get this perk” on the right to claim this perk!
- For donations of $500 you are invited to come see our final dress rehearsal of Robert Dekkers new work We, Human on August 21 in San Francisco. This will be the only opportunity to see the work live if you are not going to Burning Man. Click “get this perk” on the right to claim this perk!
- Have a friendly (or not-so-friendly) rivalry with another Burning Man Camp? For donations of $1,000 our professional brass section will go to the camp of your choosing on playa at an ungodly early hour, and play Reveille at the top of their lungs. Click “get this perk” on the right to claim this perk!
- For donations of $2,000 we will send you a very special Mystery Prize. Click “get this perk” on the right to claim this perk!
- For donations of $5,000 a small ensemble will come to your Burning Man camp, event, or special location and perform for half an hour, repertoire of your choosing (Perfect for special dinners, engagements or weddings!) Click “get this perk” on the right to claim this perk!
The Impact
We are proud to be pioneers in the realm of putting the spectacle back into classical & contemporary music and dance. With an incredibly successful Rite of Spring performance under our belt, we feel we've tapped into an exciting new style combining various artistic mediums. We believe that the work we create at Burning Man can also be brought home, which is why we're extremely excited to be building our mobile-stage art car. Once we create our mobile stage we plan to use it in the default world and well as on playa, so we can bring Art Haus pop-up performances to San Francisco and beyond! We feel there is no better way to promote classical music & dance than to be able to physically bring our performances anywhere we want! We're thinking ballets at Golden Gate Park, symphonies at Dolores park, string quartets at Ocean Beach, and beyond! We are ready to obliterate the idea that classical performances are only for a certain age or class of audience, or that performances need to take place in a stuff concert hall. Are you with us?
Risks & Challenges
Our goals are ambitious and we know we face many challenges but our determination is making it happen, and every bit of help we are given goes a long way.
With limited rehearsal time together before we hit the playa, every note counts, so our dancers and musicians are dedicating their time at the end of August to putting together the entire production in a matter of days. We need to be able to rent rehearsal space for them to do their work!
As we did last year, we are facing an arid desert environment where dust storms and intense winds are common. Are we crazy? Hell yes. Our fearless musicians are dedicated to playing regardless of the weather, our dancers will dance through dust-storms. With the open playa as our theater our sound could easily get lost, so as we did last year we will be miking our orchestra and plugging into the Robot Heart sound bus for amplification. In order to do so, we need to add more sound equipment to accommodate a larger orchestra.
One reason classical music has been so underrepresented at Burning Man is that musicians are reluctant to bring their instruments to the dusty, windy desert environment. We are working to find appropriate used instruments for all our performers. If you are able to donate a used instrument, it will be much appreciated!
Last year we depended heavily on passing art cars to help us transport our large instruments (basses, timpani, percussion equipment) chairs and sound equipment, and were even left in the dust after the performance with our three large timpani and no way to get them home! Our musicians had to transport their own instruments and stands, but their determination made it happen. This year we will be able to transport our own equipment, on our own art car, and set up our own stage so our orchestra can focus on their job- playing amazing music really well! We are racing the clock to get our art car prepared in time for Burning Man but our dedicated team has already planned out work weekends to get it done! Every dollar helps us get there!
Other Ways You Can Help
- Are you a performer, who is interested in joining us? We are looking for dancers of all experience levels, backgrounds, and ages to join us for We, Human. Dancers must be able to attend rehearsals in San Francisco at the end of August. To sign up, please fill out this form.
- We are also looking for professional and semi-professional musicians who can join us for rehearsals in San Francisco to play in Pictures at an Exhibition and 8 Lines, and any musicians who wish to join us on playa for In C. To sign up, please fill out this form.
- Do you want to help build an art car? No experience required! We are building the car in Santa Rosa and need many hands (and brains) to make it happen! Please email info@arthausonplaya.com to get involved!
- Do you have an old instrument you don't play anymore and wish to donate? Many of our musicians cannot bring their own expensive instruments, so donations of used instruments are greatly appreciated! Please email us at info@arthausonplaya.com
- Art Haus is also creating a camp this year to help house our performers, and are looking for experienced campers or camp leads who are willing to help with planning and logistics, set-up and tear-down and generally keeping camp running smoothly! If this is your forte and you want to join us, please email us at info@arthausonplaya.com
