Join The Lucky Jungle!
Carly here! On January 21st I came down to the shop that my neighbor and friend Hisham was trying to run by himself. He was selling antiques and plants, but could only do so much because he’s 65 and needs surgery on his back and foot. I started by helping him paint all of the shelves that he built white upon his request—naturally to me they just looked primed for color. Two days later we were on a trip to pick up some more plants when we came up with the name The Lucky Jungle together. We would go 50/50 on the business- a rotating art gallery with live music, plants, handmade goods from local makers, and an event space for philosophy lectures and discussions, poetry readings, and art/music classes. We made a ton of progress over the past seven weeks and it was a perfect situation- I was able to provide almost all of the labor (plants are a great workout!) and bring in volunteers to help get us off the ground. Hisham is very handy so he’s able to take care of all maintenence and he was even prepared to build a stage (he made one for a church once) until we decided we might not even need one. He wouldn’t charge me rent, and I’d do most of the work.
That changed when Hisham’s bills started piling up and he let me know he couldn’t go 50/50 on a business that wasn’t turning a profit yet. “You’ve done most of the work, why don’t I take my name off the business certificate and you just pay me rent”. Just! If only- I thought to myself, until our friend Emily from OasisArt suggested we start a GoFundMe. The next day we launched the GoFundMe and here we are!
The fundraiser covers our rent for the entire year. As artists we’ve poured a lot of time and energy into this beautiful space that we know will bloom at the right time with the way we’re moving towards everyone being vaccinated. Luke and I have spent hundreds of dollars, maybe a thousand at this point, on spray paint alone. We know that we’ll be successful because we’re continuing to give it our all every day and we now feature work from over 20 local artists and craftspersons at The Lucky Jungle. Most of the artwork in the space was created during the pandemic quarantine, and it certainly shows that we all need this.
I have yet to say “no” to someone who wants to show their work in our space. We know the value of this opportunity, the location, and what it can bring to everyone who has been sorely lacking community and an outlet for artistic expression. We won’t let you down.
I’m in the shop every day from 10:30am until 7:30pm. Steven is here most days out of the week when he isn’t making pies at All Star Pizzeria. His company, FishEyeSupply is a hand picked selection of soils and locally roasted coffee. Luke is here a few days a week contributing to an increasingly impressive mural with fluorescent accents that glow at night- and we’re all doing the best we can with what we’ve been given!
My Art History:
I started designing websites for my father’s clients when I was fourteen. I was fortunate to get my first paid job as an artist when I decided to offer free portraits on Newbury St. at seventeen before starting my first semester at MassArt (http://voyagemia.com/interview/meet-carly-sanker/ ). I subsequently learned 3D modeling at an internship-turned-job at Harmonix. Learning that software secured me another internship right out of college at Marvel Animation which then led me to work at Disney as a Technical Director animating shorts for Wander Over Yonder (https://youtu.be/3kQkAW1H3fk). After several jobs in the entertainment industry which had always been my dream, I still wanted to be sure that my skills were making the most positive impact- so I switched back to working in education. Alongside that experience I’ve been published as a scientific illustrator for Science Magazine, NSF.org, the Oxford Press (The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics by Robert Hanlon), Apple iBooks (E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth), Advanced Materials magazine, and more. I worked for Harvard and the Smithsonian Institute as a UI/UX designer on a better interface for EOL.org, the world’s greatest resource for information about all species of life on earth. At MIT I was Artist in Residence for the CEE department under Markus Buehler. I led my own interdisciplinary research in art, category theory and materials science as a Research Affiliate for the group Laboratory for Atomistic and Molecular modeling.
At MassArt, there was so much I wanted to do, so I constantly switched majors and cumulatively studied painting, illustration, acting, writing, and digital art. I’ll be thirty in July, and I have a Pixar/Disney-like story that I dream to have adapted into an animated film one day.
My dream for The Lucky Jungle is that we are your friendly neighborhood resource for everything creative. Whether you’re pursuing art as a career or an expressive outlet, we aren’t holding back any trade secrets, we want to share everything we know and offer custom design services. Lastly, I’d like to be able to hire our neighbors who continue asking me for a job.
Shout outs:
HISHAM HEGAZY
None of this would have been possible without the help of Hisham who opened his shop and his heart to our mission. Even though he has no stake in the company itself, he still comes by most days to help us maintain the property, come up with ideas for the space and talk philosophy. Hisham landed in Boston from Egypt for his archeological and conservation work with the Museum of Fine Arts. He’s always dreamed of having a gallery, and right now he’s most excited to get started on painting his modern take on Fayum Portrait painting (ancient Egyptian tomb art) inspired by the fluorescent paint in Luke’s work. Ask Hisham about his dreams.
LUKE BAROSKY
Early onto the project I brought Luke in to check it out the place and possibly get involved. He was instantly thrilled and incredibly helpful. His phenomenal work now covers most of our walls where you can hear the echos of us belly laughing at his constant jokes. You may recognize his work from Graffiti Alley where he goes by Cool Hand Luke.
MOON LIGHT
Moon found us online and reached out to volunteer her time in a creative space that was missing in her life. She has been of invaluable help in so many ways, it’s hard to say. She came to us from her work on television production teams including Love Island, the Food Network and more. She plans on recording her first album this year.
There are still a lot of stories and shout outs missing from this story, but I’ll add them as I have time. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, we’re extremely grateful and know that we’re going to be doing something truly groundbreaking and impressive with the year that we have ahead of us. We look forward to meeting everyone in the shop and making all of our dreams come true together.
*Today, 3/13, we’re hosting our first kids art classes—the number one event type I’ve been excited to start!
*4/12 A very big hug and thank you to everyone who has donated so far!!! We’re going to restock on paint and prints!
