JOSH IS GONNA MAKE IT AFTER ALL
Donation protected
JOSHUA D ANDERSON, friend to the arts and the other disadvantaged, has been working harder than you (FACT) to manifest a glorious future, and the time has come to help him help himself make the thrilling transition to the next stage of his creative and human existence (a line faint enough to declare it nonexistent)!
Like an impatient butterfly still enbutterflied in the cocoon of his present (nurtured as he is by the love and support of the people around him), there comes the inevitability of splitting that warm little jacket, and that inevitability is one we have inevitably reached: it is time for Josh to [tired butterfly-emerging metaphor].
(HINT: He is relocating to Minneapolis to make art.)
HELP JOSH FLY by donating $5-$5000 so that he may embark upon the next stage of his fantastic voyage to the glorious Middle West: your contribution will assist him in the stressful, arduous process of transplanting from one place to another (halfway across the country or halfway down the block: the hassle of moving is real and inescapable).
WHY MINNEAPOLIS: It's a city Josh has visited on numerous occasions, garnering new friends and new opportunities each time. It's a city that respects and nurtures artists. It's a gay city, a creative city, a city that Josh loves, and that loves Josh in return. (It's also a city that houses Josh's longtime creative partner, who is sitting on the plans for at least a dozen projects and refuses to give them up unless both parties are present to bypass the biometric security protocols.)
WHEN MINNEAPOLIS: Josh's current contract expires May 31, just in time for the glorious Midwestern summer, before the humidity defeats even the staunchest of souls and just in time to help some Young People discover their forever homes through summer theater workshops, in which Josh has ample experience as an instructor, and takes much joy as a human. (He is also the sort of person who honors the aforementioned contracts, and will not go before he has completed his obligations.) In this, most perfect of all worlds, Josh will be relocated by June 15, 2016.
WHAT FOR MINNEAPOLIS: As mentioned above, moving is a hassle and a half, and having worked professionally, exclusively, and tirelessly in the arts for 15+ years, it's understandably a hassle he's unprepared to take on financially. Your donation will help with moving his things (things like the very large, heavy, and expensive keyboard that provides the backbone for much of his creative work) across this sprawling nation, as well as allowing him to feel secure in the fulfillment of his basic needs (housing, food, that stuff) as he establishes himself in his new home (it takes a while for paychecks to start adding up--usually a lot longer than it takes to get approved to give someone the money it costs to move into a new apartment).
WHY FOR MINNEAPOLIS: In every life a little rain must fall; leaving a place (Josh has spent most of his life in the PNW) is never easy, but sometimes it's the thing one must do. It takes courage to make a great change, and it takes courage to live your life in such a way that these changes become necessary. It's an evolution, a next step on his long and lovely road. Also his creative partner lives there; they've spent the last decade figuring out how to make performances together, and they've reached a point at which it is impossible to keep creating while so far apart. The compulsion to make remains overwhelming, though, so the number of unexplored ideas has reached an unsustainable level, the pressure of which demands release (like it does).
It may seem unreasonable to expect you to help a friend move, but in this situation, in this world, Josh is more than a friend moving: he's an artist, getting to a place where it is infinitely easier, healthier, and happier for him to create. The work he generates will still be available to you, probably in the ways you consume it now (video, image, type); it'll just be more self-directed and on a grander scale, with the added benefit of its creator feeling less precarious about the mundane business of living.
Think about this: place a dollar value on the time you'd spend helping Josh move from one part of a city to another and donate that--let's say, if he was moving from one Seattle neighborhood to another, you'd spend 4 hours of a Saturday helping, and your weekend, unstructured time is worth--at minimum--$10/hr*; that's $40 worth of assistance and you didn't even have to put on shoes. (*if this seems insultingly low to you, imagine the stories he could tell about the actual, practical compensation given to working artists.)
Think about this: how much have you spent on the things Josh has made in the past year and donate that (say you spent $80 on theater tickets for shows he's musically directed). If you didn't spend any money, think about how much you'd thought about spending (say, $80 for a full season of shows he's musically directed) and then add a few bucks to compensate for your guilt.
Think about this: the times in your life you considered, wanted, and needed to make a change, and how much you'd be willing to spend on that, and how much less it costs you to help someone else do that very same thing (let's call it the $50 you'd spend on takeout your first night in a new place).
Think about those things, and then think about the ways your donation may not add new tangible objects to your life, but oh, how many nights you can dine out on your satisfaction (this is 100% shade-free, as low-stakes, purchased satisfaction is statistically the most conveniently enjoyable kind). And then think about Josh, making the art he is so skilled at and passionate about making, doing it in a place where he can afford to buy a nice dinner every once in a while, and maybe also a new sustain pedal while he's at it.
Like an impatient butterfly still enbutterflied in the cocoon of his present (nurtured as he is by the love and support of the people around him), there comes the inevitability of splitting that warm little jacket, and that inevitability is one we have inevitably reached: it is time for Josh to [tired butterfly-emerging metaphor].
(HINT: He is relocating to Minneapolis to make art.)
HELP JOSH FLY by donating $5-$5000 so that he may embark upon the next stage of his fantastic voyage to the glorious Middle West: your contribution will assist him in the stressful, arduous process of transplanting from one place to another (halfway across the country or halfway down the block: the hassle of moving is real and inescapable).
WHY MINNEAPOLIS: It's a city Josh has visited on numerous occasions, garnering new friends and new opportunities each time. It's a city that respects and nurtures artists. It's a gay city, a creative city, a city that Josh loves, and that loves Josh in return. (It's also a city that houses Josh's longtime creative partner, who is sitting on the plans for at least a dozen projects and refuses to give them up unless both parties are present to bypass the biometric security protocols.)
WHEN MINNEAPOLIS: Josh's current contract expires May 31, just in time for the glorious Midwestern summer, before the humidity defeats even the staunchest of souls and just in time to help some Young People discover their forever homes through summer theater workshops, in which Josh has ample experience as an instructor, and takes much joy as a human. (He is also the sort of person who honors the aforementioned contracts, and will not go before he has completed his obligations.) In this, most perfect of all worlds, Josh will be relocated by June 15, 2016.
WHAT FOR MINNEAPOLIS: As mentioned above, moving is a hassle and a half, and having worked professionally, exclusively, and tirelessly in the arts for 15+ years, it's understandably a hassle he's unprepared to take on financially. Your donation will help with moving his things (things like the very large, heavy, and expensive keyboard that provides the backbone for much of his creative work) across this sprawling nation, as well as allowing him to feel secure in the fulfillment of his basic needs (housing, food, that stuff) as he establishes himself in his new home (it takes a while for paychecks to start adding up--usually a lot longer than it takes to get approved to give someone the money it costs to move into a new apartment).
WHY FOR MINNEAPOLIS: In every life a little rain must fall; leaving a place (Josh has spent most of his life in the PNW) is never easy, but sometimes it's the thing one must do. It takes courage to make a great change, and it takes courage to live your life in such a way that these changes become necessary. It's an evolution, a next step on his long and lovely road. Also his creative partner lives there; they've spent the last decade figuring out how to make performances together, and they've reached a point at which it is impossible to keep creating while so far apart. The compulsion to make remains overwhelming, though, so the number of unexplored ideas has reached an unsustainable level, the pressure of which demands release (like it does).
It may seem unreasonable to expect you to help a friend move, but in this situation, in this world, Josh is more than a friend moving: he's an artist, getting to a place where it is infinitely easier, healthier, and happier for him to create. The work he generates will still be available to you, probably in the ways you consume it now (video, image, type); it'll just be more self-directed and on a grander scale, with the added benefit of its creator feeling less precarious about the mundane business of living.
Think about this: place a dollar value on the time you'd spend helping Josh move from one part of a city to another and donate that--let's say, if he was moving from one Seattle neighborhood to another, you'd spend 4 hours of a Saturday helping, and your weekend, unstructured time is worth--at minimum--$10/hr*; that's $40 worth of assistance and you didn't even have to put on shoes. (*if this seems insultingly low to you, imagine the stories he could tell about the actual, practical compensation given to working artists.)
Think about this: how much have you spent on the things Josh has made in the past year and donate that (say you spent $80 on theater tickets for shows he's musically directed). If you didn't spend any money, think about how much you'd thought about spending (say, $80 for a full season of shows he's musically directed) and then add a few bucks to compensate for your guilt.
Think about this: the times in your life you considered, wanted, and needed to make a change, and how much you'd be willing to spend on that, and how much less it costs you to help someone else do that very same thing (let's call it the $50 you'd spend on takeout your first night in a new place).
Think about those things, and then think about the ways your donation may not add new tangible objects to your life, but oh, how many nights you can dine out on your satisfaction (this is 100% shade-free, as low-stakes, purchased satisfaction is statistically the most conveniently enjoyable kind). And then think about Josh, making the art he is so skilled at and passionate about making, doing it in a place where he can afford to buy a nice dinner every once in a while, and maybe also a new sustain pedal while he's at it.
Organizer and beneficiary
Josh Anderson
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
Joshua Anderson
Beneficiary
