Kickstart OurHeart: ArtBloc

posted in: Features

You might be under the impression that all music-related Kickstarter projects are just charity cases for bands”artists that want to tour, record an album, go on vacation, buy a yacht”whatever the case may be.  If so, you’re sorely mistaken. Every once in a while a project will pop up that is truly unlike anything else you’ve seen, kind of like the first time you saw Jurassic Park. Married couple Julie Daugherty and Angus Vail have presented one such project: ArtBloc. ArtBloc will be an entirely mobile and adaptable venue, art gallery or whatever else it needs to be, made up of two 20 foot shipping containers. We realize this is a bit tough to picture, so take a look at the sketches below to get a better idea of what they have in mind.

This sculpture, if you will, needs a lot of work (and $20,000) to complete. For the two containers to be versatile, they’ll have to be cut open from floor to ceiling on each side so that they can be rearranged in different ways. There’s also going to be space for a stage to slide in and frames will be installed for full sized pop-in/pop-out windows on the sides. The goal is for it to be available for absolutely anything: “It can be a venue for punk rock, string quartets, painting, photography or sculpture exhibitions. Let’s host some hip hop, modern dance, poetry slams…cooking exhibitions, parties or video installations. Let’s wrap them, paint ’em, turn them into giant art objects!  Let’s show movies on them”and in them!”

Julie and Angus are admittedly (and jokingly) into “architecture porn.” Basically, they both like checking out crazy and creative houses and structures. They really are the perfect couple for the job. Julie works at the American Ballet Theater in NYC, and Angus manages loud rock ‘n’ roll bands”together they have a varied artistic background to draw inspiration from. We love their concept: a piece of art that is designed to display art, without discerning between different types of art. It’s easily transported, encourages the imagination and is actually small enough to be used inside large buildings in the colder months. Kudos to them. Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal about ArtBloc and maybe contribute a donation too!