Rhizome Needs Your Support

When you say $12,000 to Rhizome artists, what do you mean?

-e.





—– Original Message —–
From: "Rachel Greene" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 2:36 PM
Subject: RHIZOME\_RAW: Rhizome Needs Your Support


> Hi Rhizomers:
>
> When we made the transition from free membership to requiring membership
> contributions last January, there was a lot of debate on Rhizome.org and
> elsewhere. It was a difficult decision for us, but in the end it was the
> decisive factor in keeping Rhizome.org alive.
>
> If you are getting this message, then you are one of about 4,400
> Rhizomers who decided to support Rhizome.org with a contribution. I'm
> writing to you now to let you know that we need your support once again.
> Our goal this year is to raise $37,000 by the 1st of February. So far we
> have raised about $5,000.
>
> Please renew your membership now at
> http://www.rhizome.org/support/?list, and consider increasing your level
> of support.
>
> Although our affiliation with the New Museum of Contemporary Art helps
> us reduce our overhead significantly, we are still a small, independent
> nonprofit and we must raise own funds to survive. It will cost about
> $210,000 to operate Rhizome.org this fiscal year (this is about
> two-thirds of what our was budget last year). Though they offer other
> forms of support, the New Museum does not support us financially. Many
> economies around the world have started to recover, but the funding
> environment for American nonprofits remains very challenging.
>
> Your support will be put to good use. In the next few months, we will
> initiate a new cycle of commissions in which we will award more than
> $12,000 to Rhizome artists, revamp our search engine, develop a new
> ArtBase curatorial program and launch Rhizome Memberships for
> Organizations, a new program that will provide access to Rhizome.org
> through schools, libraries and arts organizations from Chiang Mai to
> Chile. And we will continue to offer our core programs, including the
> Rhizome.org web site and email lists, with a focus on further improving
> the quality and relevance of our content.
>
> Starting now, Rhizome members who donate more than $15 will receive a
> 10-20\% discount on all items purchased at the New Museum's Online Store
> (the discount range depends on the producer – books or editions
> published by the New Museum are discounted 20\%). The New Museum Online
> Store, which you can peruse at
> http://www.newmuseum.org/comersus/store/comersus\_dynamicIndex.asp, has
> wonderful books and gifts. Their book inventory is wide-ranging across
> the fields of art, theory, and media. Titles include Uncanny Networks by
> Geert Lovink, Snap to Grid by former Rhizome Regional Editor Peter
> Lunenfeld, and the New Museum Press' Art After Modernism: Rethinking
> Representation edited by Brian Wallis. These are just three terrific
> books you could buy at a significant discount! They would each make a
> nice holiday gift. The Online Store also sells artists editions,
> CD-ROMS, clothes, gifts, and children's merchandise. If you contribute
> $50 or more, we will also will thank you with a "SOYLOVE" T-SHIRT
> designed by Rhizome artist Cary Peppermint. Cary's wearable art is a
> resounding hit among art and media crowds internationally!
>
> Please renew soon by making a donation here
> http://www.rhizome.org/support/?list
>
> I hope you will enjoy the New Museum Online Store discount or Cary
> Peppermint's conceptual art t-shirt. I also hope you'll let me know what
> you think about Rhizome.org's direction.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Rachel Greene
> Rhizome.org
> +
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>

$12,000 in Net Art commissions. Only members of Rhizome ("Rhizome
artists") are eligible for the commissions. The announcement with all
the program details will run next Monday, by the way.


On Tuesday, November 11, 2003, at 03:04 PM, Eryk Salvaggio wrote:

>
> When you say $12,000 to Rhizome artists, what do you mean?
>
> -e.
>
>
>
>
>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: "Rachel Greene" <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 2:36 PM
> Subject: RHIZOME\_RAW: Rhizome Needs Your Support
>
>
>> Hi Rhizomers:
>>
>> When we made the transition from free membership to requiring
>> membership
>> contributions last January, there was a lot of debate on Rhizome.org
>> and
>> elsewhere. It was a difficult decision for us, but in the end it was
>> the
>> decisive factor in keeping Rhizome.org alive.
>>
>> If you are getting this message, then you are one of about 4,400
>> Rhizomers who decided to support Rhizome.org with a contribution. I'm
>> writing to you now to let you know that we need your support once
>> again.
>> Our goal this year is to raise $37,000 by the 1st of February. So far
>> we
>> have raised about $5,000.
>>
>> Please renew your membership now at
>> http://www.rhizome.org/support/?list, and consider increasing your
>> level
>> of support.
>>
>> Although our affiliation with the New Museum of Contemporary Art helps
>> us reduce our overhead significantly, we are still a small,
>> independent
>> nonprofit and we must raise own funds to survive. It will cost about
>> $210,000 to operate Rhizome.org this fiscal year (this is about
>> two-thirds of what our was budget last year). Though they offer other
>> forms of support, the New Museum does not support us financially. Many
>> economies around the world have started to recover, but the funding
>> environment for American nonprofits remains very challenging.
>>
>> Your support will be put to good use. In the next few months, we will
>> initiate a new cycle of commissions in which we will award more than
>> $12,000 to Rhizome artists, revamp our search engine, develop a new
>> ArtBase curatorial program and launch Rhizome Memberships for
>> Organizations, a new program that will provide access to Rhizome.org
>> through schools, libraries and arts organizations from Chiang Mai to
>> Chile. And we will continue to offer our core programs, including the
>> Rhizome.org web site and email lists, with a focus on further
>> improving
>> the quality and relevance of our content.
>>
>> Starting now, Rhizome members who donate more than $15 will receive a
>> 10-20\% discount on all items purchased at the New Museum's Online
>> Store
>> (the discount range depends on the producer – books or editions
>> published by the New Museum are discounted 20\%). The New Museum Online
>> Store, which you can peruse at
>> http://www.newmuseum.org/comersus/store/comersus\_dynamicIndex.asp, has
>> wonderful books and gifts. Their book inventory is wide-ranging across
>> the fields of art, theory, and media. Titles include Uncanny Networks
>> by
>> Geert Lovink, Snap to Grid by former Rhizome Regional Editor Peter
>> Lunenfeld, and the New Museum Press' Art After Modernism: Rethinking
>> Representation edited by Brian Wallis. These are just three terrific
>> books you could buy at a significant discount! They would each make a
>> nice holiday gift. The Online Store also sells artists editions,
>> CD-ROMS, clothes, gifts, and children's merchandise. If you contribute
>> $50 or more, we will also will thank you with a "SOYLOVE" T-SHIRT
>> designed by Rhizome artist Cary Peppermint. Cary's wearable art is a
>> resounding hit among art and media crowds internationally!
>>
>> Please renew soon by making a donation here
>> http://www.rhizome.org/support/?list
>>
>> I hope you will enjoy the New Museum Online Store discount or Cary
>> Peppermint's conceptual art t-shirt. I also hope you'll let me know
>> what
>> you think about Rhizome.org's direction.
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Rachel Greene
>> Rhizome.org
>> +
>> -> post: [email protected]
>> -> questions: [email protected]
>> -> subscribe/unsubscribe:
>> http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
>> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
>> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
>> +
>> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
>> Membership Agreement available online at
>> http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>>
>

Will Rhizome supporters be able to assist in the selection process? I
remember the last time you all did this, you picked "Members of the Rhizome
Community" to serve on the board, who also just happened to be the heads of
various New Media orgs and museums around the country. Are we keeping the
hierarchy intact this year or going rhizomatic?

-e.




—– Original Message —–
From: "Rachel Greene" <[email protected]>
To: "Eryk Salvaggio" <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 3:16 PM
Subject: Re: RHIZOME\_RAW: Rhizome Needs Your Support


> $12,000 in Net Art commissions. Only members of Rhizome ("Rhizome
> artists") are eligible for the commissions. The announcement with all
> the program details will run next Monday, by the way.
>
>
> On Tuesday, November 11, 2003, at 03:04 PM, Eryk Salvaggio wrote:
>
> >
> > When you say $12,000 to Rhizome artists, what do you mean?
> >
> > -e.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > —– Original Message —–
> > From: "Rachel Greene" <[email protected]>
> > To: <[email protected]>
> > Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 2:36 PM
> > Subject: RHIZOME\_RAW: Rhizome Needs Your Support
> >
> >
> >> Hi Rhizomers:
> >>
> >> When we made the transition from free membership to requiring
> >> membership
> >> contributions last January, there was a lot of debate on Rhizome.org
> >> and
> >> elsewhere. It was a difficult decision for us, but in the end it was
> >> the
> >> decisive factor in keeping Rhizome.org alive.
> >>
> >> If you are getting this message, then you are one of about 4,400
> >> Rhizomers who decided to support Rhizome.org with a contribution. I'm
> >> writing to you now to let you know that we need your support once
> >> again.
> >> Our goal this year is to raise $37,000 by the 1st of February. So far
> >> we
> >> have raised about $5,000.
> >>
> >> Please renew your membership now at
> >> http://www.rhizome.org/support/?list, and consider increasing your
> >> level
> >> of support.
> >>
> >> Although our affiliation with the New Museum of Contemporary Art helps
> >> us reduce our overhead significantly, we are still a small,
> >> independent
> >> nonprofit and we must raise own funds to survive. It will cost about
> >> $210,000 to operate Rhizome.org this fiscal year (this is about
> >> two-thirds of what our was budget last year). Though they offer other
> >> forms of support, the New Museum does not support us financially. Many
> >> economies around the world have started to recover, but the funding
> >> environment for American nonprofits remains very challenging.
> >>
> >> Your support will be put to good use. In the next few months, we will
> >> initiate a new cycle of commissions in which we will award more than
> >> $12,000 to Rhizome artists, revamp our search engine, develop a new
> >> ArtBase curatorial program and launch Rhizome Memberships for
> >> Organizations, a new program that will provide access to Rhizome.org
> >> through schools, libraries and arts organizations from Chiang Mai to
> >> Chile. And we will continue to offer our core programs, including the
> >> Rhizome.org web site and email lists, with a focus on further
> >> improving
> >> the quality and relevance of our content.
> >>
> >> Starting now, Rhizome members who donate more than $15 will receive a
> >> 10-20\% discount on all items purchased at the New Museum's Online
> >> Store
> >> (the discount range depends on the producer – books or editions
> >> published by the New Museum are discounted 20\%). The New Museum Online
> >> Store, which you can peruse at
> >> http://www.newmuseum.org/comersus/store/comersus\_dynamicIndex.asp, has
> >> wonderful books and gifts. Their book inventory is wide-ranging across
> >> the fields of art, theory, and media. Titles include Uncanny Networks
> >> by
> >> Geert Lovink, Snap to Grid by former Rhizome Regional Editor Peter
> >> Lunenfeld, and the New Museum Press' Art After Modernism: Rethinking
> >> Representation edited by Brian Wallis. These are just three terrific
> >> books you could buy at a significant discount! They would each make a
> >> nice holiday gift. The Online Store also sells artists editions,
> >> CD-ROMS, clothes, gifts, and children's merchandise. If you contribute
> >> $50 or more, we will also will thank you with a "SOYLOVE" T-SHIRT
> >> designed by Rhizome artist Cary Peppermint. Cary's wearable art is a
> >> resounding hit among art and media crowds internationally!
> >>
> >> Please renew soon by making a donation here
> >> http://www.rhizome.org/support/?list
> >>
> >> I hope you will enjoy the New Museum Online Store discount or Cary
> >> Peppermint's conceptual art t-shirt. I also hope you'll let me know
> >> what
> >> you think about Rhizome.org's direction.
> >>
> >>
> >> Sincerely,
> >>
> >> Rachel Greene
> >> Rhizome.org
> >> +
> >> -> post: [email protected]
> >> -> questions: [email protected]
> >> -> subscribe/unsubscribe:
> >> http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> >> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> >> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> >> +
> >> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> >> Membership Agreement available online at
> >> http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
> >>
> >
>
> +
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>

Subject: RHIZOME\_RAW: Rhizome Needs Your Support


> Hi Rhizomers:
> I'm
> writing to you now to let you know that we need your support once again.
> Our goal this year is to raise $37,000 by the 1st of February. So far we
> have raised about $5,000.
>
> It will cost about
> $210,000 to operate Rhizome.org this fiscal year (this is about
> two-thirds of what our was budget last year).

Hi Rachel,
I think we've been here before. I'm a donor and have the T-shirt to prove
it. But honestly I got the impression that Rhizome was over now, apart from
the mailing list which we stay on for old times sake. I haven't seen any
announcements about the ArtBase for months, is it suspended or did I miss
something?
Your mail asks for $37,000 ('this year') by Feb 1. But you give no context
to this. What is 'this year' (as February is patently in next year)? You say
you have raised $5000 'so far', but what is 'so far'? When did this
fundraising start? What part of your fundraising is this $37,000. Is this an
emergency, or do you have to raise this every quarter? How does this relate
to the $210,000 it will cost 'to operate Rhizome this fiscal year'?
I say we've been here before because I can remember discussions before about
Rhizome's income v. expenditure and I think Tribe pointed us to the Rhizome
accounts. I did go to the website to read something about Rhizome's
expenditure/income, but I can't find anything. So I thought I'd ask.

> Your support will be put to good use. In the next few months, we will
> initiate a new cycle of commissions in which we will award more than
> $12,000 to Rhizome artists, revamp our search engine, develop a new
> ArtBase curatorial program and launch Rhizome Memberships for
> Organizations, a new program that will provide access to Rhizome.org
> through schools, libraries and arts organizations from Chiang Mai to
> Chile. And we will continue to offer our core programs, including the
> Rhizome.org web site and email lists, with a focus on further improving
> the quality and relevance of our content.

Give away $12,000 <— hmm, if it were $120,000 it might pique
interest, should I support this?
Reveamp the ArtBase. <— yes please, cluster around the ArtBase, I
support this assuming the ArtBase is still open
Recruit organisations. <— Fundraising, should I support this?
Provide access to Rhizome.org through schools, libraries and arts
organisations <— are you giving them web access then? what more do they
need?

I thought by way of comparison with Rhizome's $210,000 expenditure, we
could ask Ruth and Marc how much it costs them to run Furtherfield. Then we
could do a value comparison.

Cheers,
Ivan

This is a great idea. Just spoke to Francis about the feasibility of
designing a Rhizome Member Jurying Tool, or some such that will link
from each Member page, and he has ideas on how he can build it. Give us
a couple of weeks to design it but for now it's a go. - Rachel

On Wednesday, November 12, 2003, at 03:09 PM, Eryk Salvaggio wrote:

>
> Will Rhizome supporters be able to assist in the selection process? I
> remember the last time you all did this, you picked "Members of the
> Rhizome
> Community" to serve on the board, who also just happened to be the
> heads of
> various New Media orgs and museums around the country. Are we keeping
> the
> hierarchy intact this year or going rhizomatic?
>
> -e.
>
>