To our supporters, followers, and friends -

This past week Los Angeles has experienced tragic loss throughout the communities affected by the on-going wildfires. The Pit has been incredibly fortunate and thus far all gallery staff and local represented artists have not experienced significant personal losses at the hands of the fires, but many of our friends, fellow artists, and colleagues have not been so lucky.

Through the generosity of our artists and community, we have put together a raffle to raise money for the Grief and Hope GoFundMe  a centralized grass-roots fundraiser started by LA-based artists and art professionals, working to directly connect funds to artists and art workers who've lost their homes and / or studios in the fires.

Donate $200 directly to the GoFundMe and email a screenshot of your donation to raffle@the-pit.la to be entered for a chance to win one of the amazing prizes listed below. Donations of multiples of $200 will be entered for multiple chances to win. 

About the Fundraiser:

Grief… and hope. We are a group of volunteers—artists, gallery employees, and other cultural workers—who love our city and our community!

Over the last few days, we have watched as neighborhoods that are home to many of Los Angeles' artists, gallerists, and cultural workers burn to the ground in an unprecedented Santa Ana wind and fire event. Many members of our personal communities, and our broader creative communities, have lost everything. The ramifications of that impact are varied: some people will be able to start over with preexisting support structures, while others may not have the same access to insurance coverage or other resources.

To achieve our goal, we are gathering information, and we have built out a brief pair of surveys. One survey is to assess the most urgent needs of artists and art workers affected by the fires—if you have experienced full loss or severe damage to your home, studio, or personal property crucial to your livelihood, please fill out our survey here.

Grief and Hope has reached their initial goal of $500,000, to be distributed immediately to those awaiting other forms of aid. But with over 230 applicants in need of immediate financial assistance, they're increasing their goal to $750,000. These funds will be dispersed between artists and art workers needing temporary and long term housing, studios, healthcare and more. 

The funds will be dispersed through The Brick, the fiscal sponsor and community partner of Grief and Hope, who has agreed to hold a fiduciary responsibility to distribute the funds raised directly—as grants for natural disaster relief—to the LA-area artists and art workers affected by the January 2025 fires who have submitted applications and completed a brief vetting process.

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