Support Artist Michael Giancristiano in Hard Times

Artist Michael Giancristiano needs your help to recover -- financially - from job loss due to drop in tourism.

Dear friends, art lovers, and fans:

As many of you know, I have been working as a bartender in Palm Springs, while still making art. It's been a struggle even in the best of times. Being a tourist destination, our season runs from mid-September to June 1st when the weather conditions are within tolerable range. Summer lay-offs in hospitality are a yearly occurrence here when the Snow Birds leave, and barely survivable if you don't have enough work or savings to stay alive.

This season has been the worst in recent history for the entire industry. Everyone is hurting, and businesses are surviving only through the grace of assistance from the City. The season started late this year and tourism ramped up, only to be quashed by our government's worldwide policies and tariffs. Tourists from around the world feel insulted and alienated. They simply aren't visiting the United States. The hardest blow is the loss of our Canadian Cousins who live here, many of whom are selling their winter homes and never coming back to the desert.

 Since May 2024 I've had little or no work and my savings is gone. I had to supplement my rent with credit cards, and now my bills are out of control. In February and March, I was threatened with eviction, and barely scraped by. April stabilized, but this month I've reached the tipping point. I don't have the rent. 

With income already sparse, I had to save my life’s work and what little I own from a storage auction. I used my rent money a few months ago and paid off 5 months of fees, but every month I have to choose between a roof over my head or losing everything else when they lock up my storage and threaten to sell my belongings. The Catch 22 is that if I can't get into storage, I can't access what I need to sell to pay the rent. On top of that, CalEd wants to cut the power off on June 1st because I haven't paid it in 4 months. I don't even own a car anymore. I had to sell it, but ironically I still owe the tire company credit card $500 for tires.

Hard to believe that I am a long term tenant, still completely alone and on my 7th year here. I've fixed up this property through landscaping and design, for which, I thought, the landlord, would be grateful and give me a break. Unfortunately, I'm not in communication with my landlord. It's the ruthless Management Company. They don't make deals. They just kick you out. In fact, the landlord has put the property up for sale! There is no way I can move if I have to. The lease should simply transfer if I can make the rent. It happened before.

 The desert has not been kind. I'm struggling financially and emotionally every day while I keep searching in vain for work. We were all laid off and no one is hiring. I clearly need help. Can you please help me navigate this rough spot? Any amount will do toward my goal of raising $5000 just to get back on my feet. That small amount won't make everything right, but it will keep the wolf away from the door and buy me a little time.

I feel terrible for asking and only reluctantly agreed to this fundraiser with the insistent intervention of a few of my friends who have my best interests at heart, but since I'm asking, please - can you help me avoid being homeless in the 100 + degree desert heat and losing everything? I would surly appreciate it and yes, based on donation, I will be sending you art. I have nearly 40 years worth of art at price points from $100 to 12,000 just collecting dust. Many bodies of work and different styles. A few examples are on my website, which needs to be updated soon with a full catalog. www.michaelgiancristiano.com

Thank you!

Michael