OUTER SPACE ARCATA
Breakfast All Day Collective is asking for donations to continue our work at Outer Space Arcata, our all ages arts and music community center in Arcata.
Who we are:
Breakfast All Day Collective, created in 2013 and a DreamMaker Project of the Ink People Center for the Arts since 2015, operates a volunteer-run arts center for the community called Outer Space.
The focuses of Outer Space are community building, empowering youth, & promoting the understanding of societies’ oppressions through education and creative expression.
We aim to serve as an incubator for artists, writers, thinkers, and the youth of our community. We seek to empower ourselves alongside our communities by providing an all-ages, safer, and sober space to explore affirmative solutions to problems rooted in systems of oppression.
We host diverse and wide-ranging programming, including educational workshops, classes, live performances, an in-house library, cooperatively run artisan gift shop, and gallery space.
The philosophies and values of Breakfast All Day Collective have extended into Outer Space and its volunteer base. We seek to empower ourselves and our communities by providing an all ages, safer, and sober space to explore creative solutions to problems rooted in systems of oppression.
Outer Space is intended to be a place of respite from the myriad of denigrating & harmful micro/macro aggressions in this world. We believe in striving for an intersectional analysis in our approach to community engagement and programming, attempting to create a respectful, accessible space.
Why there is a need for all ages places/arts spaces:
Historically, DIY spaces have served as a meeting place for folks to come together, discuss new ideas, make friends, and find out about all the cool things going on in their communities.
Here in Arcata, CA we have both the local youth population as well as the students at the university. As former students, locals that stuck around, and artists/community members that fell in love with the area, we have come to see the unfulfilled need for a local arts center that is truly all ages. There are similar youth-targeted programs that exist elsewhere in our surrounding area, like the MARZ Project and Raven Project in Eureka, CA, but none are tackling community arts enrichment in our own town. We aim to work with our volunteers and community members to establish what we hope will be a cultural keystone for local youth and arts.
Many of our volunteers in the collective grew up going to All Ages venues, house shows, even shows in public parks! We know the importance of these experiences in relation to figuring out who we were or what we thought during that time in our lives. It is so important to have spaces for youth, especially low-income, at-risk youth, where they feel welcomed and can enjoy being in the company of their peers and trusted adults, while doing something fun!
We want to support independent art and the people who make it by being a reliable venue for local and touring acts, especially for underground or independent artists that don’t have a large touring budget. We believe that all kinds of art are important and that sharing different perspectives and listening to other folks’ experiences are valuable at any age, on any budget!
We are promoting a safer space for all age participants by placing the focus back on the music/art/workshop aspect of venues, actively working to prevent the space from being merely a backdrop for alcohol consumption while simultaneously creating an all ages environment.
What we want to do with OUTER SPACE ARCATA:
- Create a space that is as much about the music & arts as it is about the community
- Showcase a wide-range of styles and genres of events
- Foster spaces for the artistic development of our youth and greater community
- Promote independent thought, constructive discussion, and personal growth through creative expression
- Connect members of the community with one another, and with independent artists around the country
OUTER SPACE ARCATA run by the Breakfast All Day Collective - a 501(c)3 non-profit - our model for running this space is not based in making financial gains for ourselves or our organization. It is to bring to the community a place to meaningfully engage with each other and with independent art forms.
Our hope is to keep this space safe(r), pay rent and utilities, pay the artists, and keep ticket prices low (under $15) and ideally, on a sliding scale.
Here is the rough breakdown of what that money will go toward to get All Ages Arcata going...
- Building rent & deposit-
This will be the majority of where the funds will go. Rent is not cheap in Arcata and we need to make sure the space is located in an appropriate place where zoning won't be an issue and where it is physically accessible to all. - Renovations-
Things like paint, shelves, chairs, tables, and lighting fixtures. - Staying “up to code”-
Hiring specialists or inspectors to avoid violating any laws or regulations. - Website design and launch-
For people to find us and to keep everyone up to date on all the cool stuff we plan to do and are doing. - Equipment-
Cables, microphones and stands, lights, and more. - Art supplies for workshops & events-
Glue, glitter, craft paper, markers, paint, all the stuff to put on amazing workshops and craft events for the community.
Anything left over will be saved for future unseen costs, potential rent shortages, or to be invested in all the future projects we’ve been waiting to have a space for.