Help Level Ground fundraise for a place to create, build, and grow together! 

Level Ground is an LA-based artist collective that practices shared leadership and non-hierarchical decision-making. Our programs are designed to address the common barriers artists face by fostering non-extractive practices around artist support and helping remove economic barriers so that artists can sustain their work over time. 

For years, our community has been gathering and hosting events at various venues, and while we are grateful to all who have hosted us, the time has come for us to find a tangible place we can call home.  

“Level Ground is growing and giving us tangible opportunities to change the legacy of ourselves and our communities through work we are passionate about but often overlooked in.” –Donald, Level Ground Artist

From our Collective Retreat, hosted at Effie House

Having a homeplace means strengthening our community and connection. 

Having a home, a location, a space to take up allows a person and a community to rest, recharge, create, build, love, hold, cultivate, experiment, take risks, and grow.

With everything that Level Ground has been building—connections, culture, and artistic creations—we’ve come to realize that having our own physical space is crucial to building bigger, deeper, and higher into our next era. It’s been proven time and time again that artists can do so much with a dedicated space.

“For when a people no longer have the space to construct homeplace, we cannot build a meaningful community of resistance.” -bell hooks

Production Incubator Fellowship Cohort, hosted at Junior High

Help us reach our homeplace campaign goal by becoming a Level Ground Patron by July 31. 

We currently have 46 active Patrons and our goal is to reach 100 by the end of July. Through a small monthly or annual donation (at any amount), joining our Patron community will help us afford a dedicated space for our vital work in and with community. 

“The work of Level Ground is not solely for the benefit of its artists, but also for the ecosystem of humanity that has much to learn from the voices that are so frequently suppressed by lack of resources.” -Rae, Level Ground Artist

PATRON PERKS

No matter the size of your contribution, every Level Ground Patron receives the same perks. This reflects our commitment to building a non-hierarchical organization. Patron perks include: 

• An invite to our homeplace warming party (when we move into our own space, target date: Spring 2027)

• An annual art print from a Collective Artist (mailed every Fall) 

• Special invites to Level Ground events (throughout the year) 

• Discounts on merch and gift shop items

• A quarterly community-only newsletter

• Digital downloads of all our publications

• An annual giving receipt (for tax purposes)

Social Practice Labs programming, hosted at PIETER Performance Space

Level Ground has a rich history of homeplace to grow from.

In 2015, Level Ground first launched what is now our Patron Program to raise funds to move into our first full-time space. From 2016-2018 we ran a community arts space in Pasadena and hosted dozens of events a year from film screenings, to arts and crafts nights, to monthly storytelling events. The space could fit about 100 people. As an upstart, volunteer-run organization, the cost of rent and managing the space became too much for us at the time. 

Left: A concert and conversation hosted in our Pasadena space. Right: Keys to our first-ever space!

In 2018, we downsized into a much smaller administrative office in Echo Park that was attached to a large sound stage. We hosted small meetings (and podcast recordings) in our office and were able to use the larger sound stage as an event space a couple times a year. After the owner of the building sold it during the pandemic, we lost this space – as happened to so many artists and arts orgs during the pandemic (the impacts of which the LA artistic community is still trying to recover from). 

Left: An art show we hosted in the sound stage. Right: A “Why We’re Friends” podcast recording.

From 2021 to 2024, we ran Level Ground out of an office in a creative studio complex in Chinatown. We could host larger meetings and small workshops (up to about 12 people) in this space. As Level Ground transitioned into a cooperatively run organization and faced the economic uncertainty of post-pandemic funding, we decided to move out of this office and redirect our financial resources towards mutual aid and other direct funding to artists. 

The entrance to our space in Chinatown. 

In 2024, we were offered an organizational residency at The Center for Provocative Thought in Silverlake (at Effie House). We had access to this space for weekly meetings and occasional small community gatherings, but unfortunately the house sustained significant damage after some heavy rains in early 2026 and we haven’t been able to use the house since. 

Since those early days in Pasadena, our organization has grown substantially. We’ve increased our budget to pay two full-time Co-Directors and a part-time Collective Staff team, we’ve done the work to solidify our governance and financial stability, and we have an engaged leadership community holding us accountable to our mission, vision, and values. 

We’re ready to take on the responsibility and privilege of moving into our own space, while staying rooted in the larger artistic ecosystem we’ve cultivated through deep partnership and collaboration over the last 13 years. 

With your support, you can help us build a homeplace.  

When’s the move-in date? 

We're launching this homeplace campaign in anticipation of moving back into our own full-time space in Spring 2027. Until then, we will continue to work with partner organizations to host our public programs and gallery shows. 

Between now and our eventual move-in date, we’ll be raising the funds needed to afford the rent and move-in costs, as well as conducting a wide-spanning accessibility audit to ensure we find a space that meets our entire community’s needs. We want to be able to commit to being in a space for at least 3 years before signing a lease. 

“In the experiences I've shared with Level Ground over the last 10 years, it is staggering to think of the potential it could achieve with substantial growth and support.” -Anthony, Level Ground Patron

A Level Ground community night, hosted at All Power Books. 

Thank you for helping us build the future!

We believe in the radical possibilities of artistic creation paired with diligent organizing. As we stand at a crucial juncture amidst rising fascism and pervasive racialized, gendered, and ableist capitalism, Level Ground recognizes the importance of having a dedicated space to support our community. 

We value every Patron contribution. A donation of any amount will go a long way in helping resource and make room for new worlds to emerge. 

From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You!

Residency Program activation, hosted at LA Artcore. 

Level Ground runs our tax-deductible Patron Program on Donorbox. To learn more, and check out our FAQ, please visit our website. If you have any questions, please email team@levelground.co.