Short Summary
Make America’s Fate {MAF} is the combined effort of Hamtramck-based artists, Valon Gatz and Nicki Szydlo. Nicki is an artist whose colorful abstract paintings are informed by her intuition. She has a BFA from Wayne State University with experience in printmaking and bookmaking, and regularly works in her home studio.
Valon is a senior in Wayne State’s Journalism program. He has experience working with publications in the Metro Detroit area; often preferring to gather people’s stories over more clinical analyses of local issues.
Make America’s Fate is Valon and Nicki’s combined response to an election season that has implanted both fear and hope within the American people in unprecedented fashion.
Inspired by the testimonies that they heard from concerned citizens; they started MAF in an attempt to chronicle these very real fears and hopes in a way that didn’t feel impersonal. The serial will be a collection of 10 unique American narratives about their own experience with the 2016 presidential election and 10 paintings inspired by the emotional content of each narrative. Each edition will be a DIY-printed copy of one citizen’s story, with a high-quality print of the painting as the cover. Each copy will be free. By distributing MAF in our community’s shared spaces, we distribute this project in a way that is truly accessible and personal.
This is where you come in. To help fund the cost of printing for this project for and about our communities - we need assistance from our communities.
The entirety of MAF will always be available online for free, but the printed aspect of the project is SO important. Being able to hold a copy of a book in your hand makes it so much more personal than reading it on a blog.
By donating to the project, you help us print in a way that looks good and more importantly--can be distributed on a meaningful scale.
What We Need & What You Get
Art printing is expensive. Even in our least expensive quote, to get high-quality prints made of the paintings with archival ink on acid-free paper, they would cost upwards of $7 each - meaning each book would cost us at least that much to print. Unfortunately, the lucrative career of an artist doesn’t normally allow us to spend $7 each on something we want to make 200 of. We did a bit of research and discovered that printing at home was much more economical, and wouldn’t sacrifice the quality of the print. All funds raised will go directly towards our DIY printing operation. We’ve set a modest goal with the idea in mind that every donation counts. Should we fail to reach our goal, we’ll still use what was given to us and put it toward the costs of the operation.
The main cost we need to worry about is the combined cost of a high quality photo printer and a continuous ink system. The former allows us to print covers that capture the lush detail of the original painting. The latter, the Continuous Ink System, allows us to print several covers in a more cost-effective way than having to buy several overpriced single print cartridges.
Our initial goal of $600 includes the following:
- The Photo Printer - $350
- A Continuous Ink System - $150
- Paper - $100
With this, we could print 200 issues. Since we will release ten stories, this means we could print 20 copies of each story. At this scale of distribution, it costs us about $3 an issue.
If we could get another $200($850 total), we could print 40 copies of each issue, a combined 400 copies total. This would make the cost per issue about $2.13.
If we made another $200($1050), we could make 60 copies of each issue, resulting in 600 issues at a cost of $1.83 per issue.
The Impact
The 2016 election has caused a unprecedented reaction in the American public. During election season, a poll on political animosity found that Americans were more divided by their ideologies in this election than they had been in the prior two decades.
Naturally, this has created a disproportionate amount of fear in some and elation in others. Conversing with fellow Detroiters, we found some of our neighbors now feared for their lives in what was supposed to be one of the safest nations on earth.
It remains to be seen how Trump’s presidency will affect all of us. What’s more clear are the emotional testimonies of Americans in this historic moment. We thought these testimonies were largely important, that they shouldn’t be forgotten. It was with that in mind that we started MAF, as a way to document these voices and to gain perspective through a unique medium with an intensely personal lens.
We believe it’s important to share these stories as widely as possible, and we hope you do too. Contributing to MAF is a great way to give our local community a direct way to connect with the experiences of others. If successful, it will be a way to connect several communities through the same project. After an election that has left our nation so divided, empathy and understanding for our fellow Americans is more important than ever. It’s our hope that MAF will do a small part in helping achieve that for people across the country.
Risks & Challenges
We have been very excited to get the ball rolling on this project for quite some time. In turn, we have had plenty of time to discuss the possible outcomes of this crowdfunding campaign.
In the event that we do not reach our fundraising goal, we will still create and print MAF until its completion of 10 issues. We may have to purchase our printer used, and we may only distribute in a limited, local run.
Regardless, whatever the outcome of the crowd-funding, we WILL see MAF to its completion, even if we have to pay out of pocket to do so. This is a project that is worth sharing, if only on a small scale. Your help wouldn’t make less work for us, it’ll allow us the opportunity to do more work and get these issues out to a larger number of communities.
On the other hand, if we get overfunded, all money raised past the goal will go directly towards printing costs. At $600, we are able to print 20 copies of each edition. At $850, we can print 40, and at $1100 we can print 60. Once we have the printer and continuous ink system, the cost of paper and ink are our main concerns.
And if we get lucky enough to get funded way beyond what we have requested here, we may have to replace equipment and/or hire someone to help us print.
Other Ways You Can Help
Share this project on social media. Spread the word about our crowd-funding and also our need for more interviewees.
Donate art materials, since we aren’t asking for a dime to cover the cost of what Nicki is using to create her paintings. Things like canvi and paint would be highly appreciated.
Be an Interviewee. Fill out this form if interested.
Reach out to us at makeamericasfate@gmail.com if you’re interested in helping distributing this in your local city.
