Rescue Trans Rescue
A collaborative art exhibit for charity!
About Trans Rescue
We help trans*, intersex, and other people flee places where it is dangerous to be trans.
We help them reach places of safety and reasonable quality of life.
We do so legally and securely.
and
We are facing a real shortage. We need 400 EUR more than we have to keep all the balls in the air. For any organization this would be serious. For us it's a matter of who becomes homeless in a dangerous country.
We need help today. Please.
- @trans_rescue@mastodon.social
The Exhibit
The exhibit is live! You can also donate directly to Lee with any message indicating that it's regarding this fundraiser and it will go to Trans Rescue. See the signup page to join Trans Rescue's email list.
Frequently Asked Questions
toggle all questions
Who are the artists?
Trans and gender expansive/diverse people who wish to help. If you are unsure whether this includes you: it does.
What type of art?
All mediums. Content restrictions may be imposed at Trans Rescue’s discretion (will talk to them about this). Physical and digital are both allowed (digital will be displayed in the exhibit with a watermark). Art can range from “fine art” to “craft” to “merch” as long as it is your artistic creation. Let your definition of art be as expansive as your definition of trans.
At current, our plan is to use Ko-fi as our shop platform. This comes with content restrictions artists should be aware of.
Special focus on a planned collaborative sticker sheet as a major small-dollar item. Ideally all artists contribute to this and it includes the TR logo.
AI/LLM "art" is not permitted.
Can I offer one of my commission slots?
[Note: I use the term “commission” heavily when discussing pricing schema later on this page. Understand that a “commission slot” is distinct from the artist’s “commission rate” in the pricing schema.]
Art must be able to be paid in full up front, and artists should feel confident in their ability to deliver on what they promise. If you’re comfortable with those boundaries, you may offer a commission or otherwise buyer-customizable piece of art. Customization can be something simple that requires a single text field question (in which case it will be worked into the platform and the answer provided to you on purchase), or it may be complex enough to require that you get in touch with the buyer after purchase.
I encourage you to set strict guidelines that allow you to set a firm price up front that you’re confident in; the fundraiser is not responsible for following through with buyers if you later feel you need more funds to deliver.
Can I use pre-existing material as part of my art?
Of course. You may collage, knit a hat from yarn you didn't spin, paint with pigments you didn't crush yourself, etc.
Must it be created for this exhibit?
No, but it’s preferred that it is. If we have so many submissions such as to make this logistically perilous and I have to impose submission limits, reused existing work may be cut. However, I don’t currently expect to reach those limits.
Is there a theme?
From TR:
We help people escape. That’s something that appeals outside the trans community. I just got off a call with a guy who had never met a trans person before. He thought what we were doing was so cool he’s volunteering with us. Freedom, escape, rebirth, slavery, captivity, ...
Basically, be inspired by what TR does :)
Can I collaborate with another artist?
Sure, but only one of you is responsible for being the “point” person for any one piece of art. This is to keep my signup forms and email lists straightforward.
Obviously, credit all artists who participate in creating a piece.
How many works per artist?
one of:
- 1 original work (this may mean a single item, or for something like a print, it may mean a set of similar items) that can be digitally included on the sticker sheet as well as sold on its own.
- 1 original work (single item or set of prints etc) that cannot be included on the sticker sheet plus 1 small digital design for sticker sheet inclusion.
- 1 small digital design for sticker sheet inclusion only. However, be aware (as you read the next question) that I am not able to set artist commission rates on sales of the sticker sheets, only individual artistic creations. The sticker sheets will be too collaborative to realistically apply all artists’ commissions in a meaningful way.
I want to expand on the “single item or set” thing - this lets different types of crafts shine differently and allows us to price things reasonably and at many price points. It also means not everything will be one-and-gone!
How is pricing determined? Are artists paid?
For an original work, artists set the following:
- Inventory: number of pieces of the work
- Base price: starting price of the work
- Commission: % of the base price they would like to take home, up to 50% inclusive
- Shipping: shipping fees broken out by continent
Artists will therefore at a minimum take home (Base price * Commission + Shipping) * Inventory units sold. This gives them the ability to ensure they are paid what they consider adequate for charity work.
For any item in the exhibit, a buyer may choose to pay beyond base price. The artist’s commission will be applied to this as well.
Here's why:
Anyone is able to make a donation to the fundraiser without buying art. By buying art and paying additional, the buyer credits the artist as well as the fundraiser, and this should be reflected financially.
Let’s further elucidate this pricing schema with examples.
(Also, look, there will technically be little nickel-and-dime platform fees that chip in to the math here. I’m... not doing that yet, please.)
Alyx
Alyx creates a painting. Xe decides that xe would like to recoup materials cost and donate labor. Xe sets xyr inventory at 1, base price at $100, commission at 15%, and shipping at $20 (there will be regional categories for shipping. it’s not relevant here so ignore it).
Alyx’s painting might be bought for its base price + shipping ($120) in which case xe would get $100 * .15 + $20 = $35. Or maybe xyr painting is bought for a bit above its base price, $130 + $20 shipping = $150. In this case, Alyx would get $130 * .15 + $20 = $39.50.
(In these cases, TR makes $85 and $110.50 respectively.)
Babs
Babs creates a series of tooled leather keychains. She can’t afford to donate much. She sets an inventory of 4, a base price of $20, a commission of 50%, and a shipping price of $10.
If all of Babs’ keychains sell, she will be compensated, at a minimum, ($20 * .50 + $10) * 4 = $80, half of which covers shipping and half of which is commission. If some of her keychains sell for elevated prices — let’s say they sell for $25, $40, $20, and $30 — she will be compensated, forgive my ad-hoc math notation but hopefully it gets the point across without being exhaustingly long... sum of ([$25, $40, $20, $30] * .50 + $10) = $97.50, $40 of which is shipping.
(In these cases, TR makes $40 and $57.50 respectively.)
(Also, if any keychains don’t sell, Babs retains the keychain and can resell to anyone she desires.)
Coral
Coral creates a phone wallpaper with their digital art skills. They don’t care if they receive anything for this, and they want their item to be accessible and for everyone. They set their inventory at 50, their base price at $5, their commission at 0%, and their shipping at $0 (digital purchase).
Regardless of how many sell, Coral doesn’t get anything but satisfaction of helping. (And exposure, but like, don’t work for exposure kids.)
(In this case, TR gets $5 * # sold.)
(Coral retains the rights to their digital art and can continue to resell and reproduce it after the exhibit — this goes for physical reproducible art as well).
How is fulfillment handled?
Individual artists are responsible for their work’s fulfillment. After an order, relevant buyer details (address/phone/email, or just email for digital) will be forwarded to the relevant artist(s).
Yes, this means if you buy items from multiple artists you will pay multiple shipping fees. That’s just the way it’s gonna be. I don’t want all of this stuff in my living room.
Missing or damaged items will be dealt with case-by-case with best effort, but this is a fundraiser so do be kind about it. Let’s hope we don’t see much of that.
Returns are not a thing.
If shipping is per-item, why bother having it listed as shipping? Just bundle it.
Clarity of information. Helps you understand where your money’s going. Also, I want to encourage artists to actively plan for all shipping eventualities and think through what they want to offer.
What's the timeline?
Our opening dates are Sep 15th, Oct 15th, and Nov 15th of 2024. Artists will pick an opening date on sign-up. The show closes Dec 15th, 2024.
Why 3 opening dates?
3 opening dates allows variable time for artists to prepare. Artists may choose the opening date that best works for them with the understanding that a later deadline leaves them less exhibition time and therefore less chance to sell.
I want to be part of this!
First, sign up as an artist or supporter
After that, here’s some potential actions, ranging in skills required, level of effort, and level of interaction with me.
- Follow the hashtag #rescueTransRescue on your favorite platform:
- Boost posts or write your own - don't forget to tag!
- Tell your friends
- Work with TR and I to design promotional material
- Work with me and our artists to lay out sticker sheets
- Work with me to help support artists and buyers who have questions over email and fedi
Reach out to me via any of the methods on my contact page.
I signed up! Why am I not on the artist page?
At current, the artist page is manually updated, not automatically. I just haven't seen your signup yet :)
If you want to confirm that you've signed up (as an artist), check your email for the subject line "You’ve signed up for #rescueTransRescue".