Meow Wolf's DIY Fund

Meow Wolf Creates Supporting Fund for DIY Spaces $100,000 annual fund to support DIY music and art spaces, with additional consulting resources available for legal, building code, and organizational structure improvements.  ‍

(Santa Fe, NM) In the wake of the Oakland, CA tragedy that occurred at Ghost Ship, a DIY arts and music space, Meow Wolf announces a $100,000 annual fund to support DIY arts and music spaces around the world. Funds will go directly to these spaces for infrastructural improvements, rent assistance, materials and equipment, and other needs as identified by the applicant. Additionally, Meow Wolf will be offering free consultation and support around legal issues, building codes, and organizational structure improvements.  

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Our community of artists in Santa Fe have been deeply saddened by what happened in Oakland. We had collaborated with some of the individuals that were lost in the fire, and our hearts go out to all of those that have been affected by this tragic moment.  

Meow Wolf has been a DIY arts and music community since 2008, and we know how difficult it is to operate an alternative venue that builds authentic creative community.

There are so many pressures to homogenize, so many pressures to be absorbed into disconnected, cookie-cutter ways of living and existing. Artists are being driven out of cities by rapidly growing costs of rent and lack of creative economic opportunities.  These communities are forced into difficult scenarios and faced with hurdles that compromise their existence. Not the least of these hurdles are both funding and general knowledge of rights and processes.We stand in solidarity with creative, DIY communities and recognize these communities as critical components of a healthy society.

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Meow Wolf is lucky enough to have been given support from investors and mentors that has resulted in a profitable scenario thanks to our project in Santa Fe, and has also pushed us into a situation where we have knowledge of critical, infrastructure necessities and many of the red-tape processes that DIY communities face.

With heavy hearts in this moment, Meow Wolf wants to do our part to help other DIY art and music spaces around the world. We can do this with direct funding requests and with sharing our knowledge of how to navigate many of the hurdles that can compromise a community. Meow Wolf believes that these communities are some of the brightest hopes for all of humanity, where creativity, tolerance, acceptance, diversity, and positivity is encouraged and shared. It is critical that these spaces have direct lines of support.

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One of the musicians lost in the Oakland fire was Chelsea Faith Dolan, also known as her artist name Cherushii. Cherushii headlined Meow Wolf’s 2015 New Year’s Eve party, and made music for Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return project. Her music, in collaboration with David Last, is featured inside the video game arcade installation within Meow Wolf’s exhibition. In loving memory of Chelsea Faith. Meow Wolf Background Information Meow Wolf is an art collective founded in 2008 in Santa Fe, NM.  

The group became known for its immersive art exhibits made from recycled and found materials that audiences could explore. In 2014, Meow Wolf partnered with George RR Martin to create its first permanent art experience, House of Eternal Return, a collaborative project that brought together 100+ artists to produce over 20,000 sq. ft of explorable immersive art.

The project’s $2.7M was funded by private debt from investors, and the building was purchased and renovated by George RR Martin. In March of 2016, Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return opened to the general public. In its first 8 months, Meow Wolf has welcomed 350,000 visitors and generated $5M of revenue. The collective is employed full-time by the project, and is working towards projects in larger markets across the United States that will activate, galvanize, and fund artist communities in local communities.  To apply for the DIY fund click application

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