East Jesus Flood Relief

At the end of August 2023, Hurricane Hillary blew through East Jesus and the surrounding desert communities; the first tropical storm to hit the area in recorded history. At first, we thought we made it through with a moderate amount of damage; but when the second wave of rains came, the earth that was still saturated and wet from the earlier rains washed away in 12 foot tall swells of flash flooding.

Good Things: Everyone is safe. The animals are safe. The vehicles are safe. The art garden is safe. Two of our board members, Jenn and Caddy, have a plan and it's a pretty good one.

Not as Good Things: Due to the sheer mass and speed of the water moving through the wash alongside our property, we lost large portions of Sidewinder Drive. We lost several art pieces. We lost a bunch of infrastructure; our fuel storage shed, our recycling corral and waste sorting station, our composting and soil amendment storage, our fire road, entry way, fleet lot, and more. But what’s worse is what we’re about to lose if we can’t stabilize the 14’ cliff that suddenly appeared on our property: our power plant. Our operations office. Our workshop and tool shop. Our kitchen. The Music Room and Charlie’s Piano. The heart and soul of East Jesus is LITERALLY on the edge of total destruction.

(top: East Jesus front gate and driveway circa 2014. bottom: East Jesus front gate area as of 9/10/23)

We were asking for $5,000 to start to protect the most vulnerable portions of the oldest part of East Jesus, and to replace critical infrastructure that has been lost in this flood.

Thanks to everyone sharing bumping and boosting we've cleared the initial goal as of and will be asking for additional increments to further relief efforts. As of Thursday 9/14/23 we are just about to hit $10k and are and Jenn and V have been steadily watching the numbers climb with awe and more than a few tears of gratitude. Thank you ALL so much.

Because we are a 501c3, your donation is tax deductible.

What is East Jesus?

If you’ve been here, you already know what an incredibly inspiring and magical place East Jesus is. An experimental, sustainable, habitable art installation started by Charlie Russel in 2006, East Jesus is a sprawling 30 acre museum dedicated to large-scale art. We charge no admission and rely solely upon small donations that fund our mission to preserve, protect, and continue the work of Charlie Russell. Our artist residency program gives up to a dozen low-income artists at time the space, tools, and supplies to create permanent large scale works using reclaimed materials. A member of the California Association of Museums and the only registered art museum in Imperial County, we welcome thousands of guests per week to see the possibilities of a world without waste where every action has the potential for self expression.

In 2014, we formed the Chasterus Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit; in 2016 we purchased our land from the state of California with the intent to keep Charlie’s dream alive and to inspire others to see a life for their waste beyond the landfill.

That dream is in dire jeopardy due to historic, unprecedented flooding; 7 inches of rain in a week from Hurricane Hillary and subsequent weather patterns in an area that averages less than 2 inches per year. Please help us procure an emergency flood barrier before the next rains, and to replace our structures that were washed away or damaged beyond repair.

Learn more about us:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

From Caddy as of 9/7/2023

"Initially, around 5k will get us 90 feet of temporary flood barrier, gas for heavy equipment, and work on the trucks so we can haul broken concrete and such.

Each 2k after that will give us another 90 feet of flood protection, and we need a total of 900’ to protect everything.

After that, money will go towards getting things to help us more like renting other heavy equipment, hauling trailers, materials, or hiring specialists such as grant writers or structural engineers.

Somewhere in there, we will have to replace some of the infrastructure and equipment that washed away.

If people want to come out and volunteer, they should know that we don’t have the facilities to take care of any more people during this summer, but if they would care to donate what they would have spent on gas, that would help a lot.

Later in a couple months during the season, we will absolutely welcome the in-person help. "

DISCLAIMER: While this is our current plan, the long term plan may be affected by decisions made by Imperial County, the California Office of Emergency Services, and possibly FEMA. If this happens, we’ll be sure to post about it in updates.

And if you're wondering "who the hell is Victoria Charnley" - Hi! Call me V! I handle the internet stuff for the residents of East Jesus so they don't have to. East Jesus is more than just a place to me, it's my family. Thank you from the bottom of our crusty, dusty, rusty hearts for caring about this special place so very very much.