At AIRMW our mission is to build a vital, self-empowered Asian American community in the Chicago area by maintaining traditional practices and recontextualizing them within the contemporary arts landscape—keeping traditions alive while informing new works with an underlying artistic value. As we consider the sustainability of our organization and cultural mission, we are moving forth with our capital campaign the Dojo Project to officially fund our move to our new dojo. We envision our new space to be not only AIRMW’s foundational base but as an art center that can support other smaller organizations, projects and individual artists within the Chicagoland community. We are looking to create a small black-box theatre space to support performances and productions of AIRMW and by other artists and organizations within the community.
Our initial fundraising efforts began in 2019 and we are now resuming our efforts to find a permanent new home as we slowly begin to come out of a devastating pandemic year. Thanks to our early fundraising supporters and dedicated members who shape our programs, AIRMW is pleased to announce that we are a recipient of the Chicago Cultural Treasures grant. This grant will enable us to purchase our own building, but we are looking to raise another $60,000 by next year. These additional funds will help with infrastructure updates and interior renovations to shape the space suitably for all of our needs.
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We at AIRMW must raise at least $120,000 in capital funds to cover the following:
- Deposit on a new lease and dual rent throughout the move
- Custom build-out of our new space, including some construction and painting requirements
- Installation of special flooring for dance rehearsal and performance
- Secure storage for instruments, stands, and other essential equipment
- A new communications infrastructure
- Moving expenses
We will update provide updates as we progress. Thank you for your continued support!