Saturday, July 27, 2013

MAI Launches Kickstarter Campaign

The Register-Star published the news today that the Marina Abramovic Institute has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund phase one of MAI's development. A goal is to raise $600,000 by August 25 in amounts from $5 to $10,000 or more. For each level of giving, there is an appropriate acknowledgment. 

This text from the Kickstarter page explains how the money will be used: 
In total, $20 million is needed to complete renovations of the institute and begin operations. Marina has paid for phase zero of this development process. She purchased the building at 620 Columbia Street in Hudson, New York for $950,000. She funded the budget of the MAI office for six months and commissioned the architectural concept. In total, Marina has paid $1.5 million out of pocket towards the early stages of MAI. Now, she hopes you will contribute to phase one.
The ask total will cover phase one of MAI's development: the design process. Given that MAI is the first of its kind, its early design phase demands an innovative approach. Your pledge will contribute to early MAI programming, office operations, and schematic designs of architectural elements, including building structure, lighting, acoustics, and AV. Leading this process are world-renowned architects Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu of the Office for Metropolitan Architect (OMA), whose unique vision will help MAI to create new ways for audiences and performers to interact.
The goal for completing the renovation and having the institute fully operational is fall 2015.

9 comments:

  1. ... and $20 million will buy out the Bearcraft Mountain Quarries and the waterfront ending years of confrontation , freeing up Hudson from hostage status. We could have a world class International Park and regain ALL out waterfront without trucks encircling our community 24 / 7.

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  2. My favorite:

    Pledge $10,000 or more [THE EXERCISES / LIVE EVENT: NOTHING] Marina will do nothing. You will do nothing. You will not be publicly acknowledged.

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  3. Wake up, Hudson. This entire production is typical New York City horses**t. Abramovic ain't no DIA Foundation and our village ain't no Beacon. It's insulting our intelligence to think that Hudson would swallow this brand of elitist, content-free smoke-and-mirrors in the name of "art."

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    1. As long as she pays taxes,...wait..if you go to N.F.P status ..do you still pay full taxes?

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  4. This project is not going to happen. She is 2.8% of the way towards her $600,000 Kickstarter goal (average donation, $93). At that rate she needs 6,452 donations to hit $600,000 (she has 185). To get $20,000,000 she needs 215,054 donations. Not happening.

    And I agree with Mr. Hamilton that it is ridiculous that a $10,000 gift gets you NOTHING.

    -- Jock Spivy

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  5. The Kickstarter page, if honest, would read:

    For any donation amount: "Nothing. MAI will not materialize. Your donation will disappear into the ether. Marina will do nothing. You will do nothing. You will not be publicly acknowledged."

    As Jock said, this will never happen.

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  6. MAI Kickstarter update. 423 donors. $32,663 raised. $77 average gift. 5.4% of way to $600,000 Kickstarter goal.

    259,740 gifts like this to achieve $20,000,000 overall goal.

    Good luck, Marina.

    -- Jock Spivy

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  7. happy to report that the 600,000 kickstarter goal has been met with days to spare. If you can't see the benefits that such an institution will have on the local economy, with the potential to positively influence all of your other personal local issues, you are truly blinded. As a business owner here I eagerly await the influx of art collectors etc. to visit and spend money in Hudson.

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  8. sorry to burst your bubble of negativity, but the kickstarter fundraiser has already exceeded its goal with time to spare. Vince, as a business owner here, you should be doing whatever possible to celebrate and support this project. Our business already caters to the international fine art market but we need to go to fairs in NYC, miami and basel in order to best reach them. I will be ecstatic to welcome these people to our city to shop and dine as well as visit the MAI when (not if) it opens. If you cannot see the benefits this will bring to our city, with the possibility of positively affecting many other of everyone's pet issues, you are truly unaware of the economics around art.

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