What is Ardent/Interpretive Arson up to? Well, lately, we’ve fragmented off to do a lot of smaller projects, as well as exhibiting our primary projects.

Existing projects: DDI is back from Denmark, complete with a lot of organizational stuffs for the trip across the pond. 2pir made it to the playa and back, with some ignition woes that we may or may not discuss. Spurious Causality is a steampunk-styled control panel that controls… who knows what? David, Audrey, Ian or MotoMike will be on hand to talk about that.

Robotics! Morley and Sam are both working on two extremely different robotics projects, Morley rebuilding a battle bot frame to shoot fire, and Sam is making a semi-autonomous walker.

Fire! Ian’s got all manner of portable fire, some in the works. Ed made a nice portable flame effect that he or Nicole will discuss if prompted, and likely demonstrate. Peter is fabricating the prototype for a liquid fueled effect.

Music! Nicole (and friends) will be discussing a new large-scale project idea that integrates fire, light, music, and serious interactivity.

Optical curiosities! Neil and Casey and friends made a thing called HaloWall. It’s big. It creates rainbows in unusual ways. Refurbished and rethought after the playa thrashed it, tonight they demo night-time lighting effects and more brilliantly colored rainbows.

Metalwork! Morley and friends are teaching themselves to MIG weld, Sam is teaching himself Aluminum TIG. There’ll potentially be some bits for practicing sheetmetal fabrication, and discussion/demonstrations of metalworking in general.

Shop Upgrades! Unless you’ve been around lately, you probably haven’t seen how our shop has changed drastically. Come just see the new layout, hang out, and be a part of our shop family.

If you plan on staying through the evening, bring something to throw on the grill, and we’ll hang out some in the yard as well! We’ll have the grill hot, and as always, beer’s a dollar.

Wednesday October 7th, 7:30 PM
NIMBY, 8410 Amelia Street, Oakland

NIMBY 2.0 Layout

As we all know, the NIMBY we knew and love is no more. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Snook and crew are moving to a new space! We’ve decided to follow them into this awesome new space! *cheering* A mock-up of the new digs is above, and we’re excited to be a part of it.

There’s just one problem, NIMBY still needs to raise enough money to pay deposits on the new space. A large amount has already been raised, but we’re still not at the necessary goal to make this all happen. If you haven’t donated to support NIMBY yet, now is the time! Or if you’ve already donated, consider doing it again. Head over to nimbyspace.org and click on the Donate button. Every dollar helps, so don’t worry if you can only toss a couple bucks their way. Not only will you be helping a Bay Area institution continue operating, you’ll also be providing several Bay Area artists (i.e. Interpretive Arson) with a place to continue building, creating, and inventing plus a permanent place to install some of the large pieces currently hiding in warehouses. Donate now!

UPDATE: Here’s a layout of our potential new workspace done by Nicole.

Interpretive Arson NIMBY 2.0 Workshop

NIMBY - Oakland, CA - April 1, 2004 - Sept 11, 2008

Interpretive Arson has called NIMBY, a dirty but lovable warehouse in East Oakland, home for several years. We built the DDI and 2pir you know and love in this space. We spent many late nights testing equipment, welding, grinding, and working here. We ran our last Media Event here even. NIMBY is a place that has provided a lot to Interpretive Arson over the years. Unfortunately it is no more.

On September 10th, a fire broke out in one of the containers early in the morning. While several NIMBY tenants who happened to be around made a valiant effort to contain the blaze, the Oakland Fire Department was eventually called to extinguish the fire. The large majority of NIMBY was untouched by the fire, but the Oakland Fire Department was required to investigate the cause of the fire (determined to be an unattended candle by the OFD) and the conditions of the work space. While the inspectors and firefighters loved everything that was being built at NIMBY, they were unfortunately forced to close the space due to multiple code violations.

The City of Oakland supports our art and feels strongly that artist spaces like NIMBY should continue. They are doing everything they can to help find a new space for the displaced tenants of NIMBY that is up to code. Snook, the founder and manager of NIMBY, has already looked at several potential spaces for the new NIMBY.

We have until the end of December to get everything moved out of NIMBY, which is no small feat if you’ve see what all is stored there. But on top of the actual physical labor, the cost of moving everything is staggering. NIMBY has put a call out to the community for donations. Please take a moment to think about the things (and fundraisers) that you’ve seen and experienced thanks to NIMBY existing. It may have been at Burning Man, or Maker Faire, or Coachella, or any number of other events around the Bay Area. All of the following pieces and art groups at one time called NIMBY home:

So, if you have a few bucks that you can spare, please donate via Paypal to NimbyLLC@yahoo.com or the form below.

More info on the status of things can be found on NIMBY’s blog and Twitter.

The official website is a good place for tickets.

These photos by Lane Hartwell are amazing, and you should go look at them.

The East Bay Express has an article. Note, however, that my name is not Ian Hunter.

-Ian