Hello. There are three things I want you to take from this post:
- Galaxy Brain is still alive, and has no intention of going away
- Our primary purpose is to make the most interesting art we can think of
- If we can get $300/month we can exist almost indefinitely
I’m not going to talk about the past much. The gulf between where we were planning to be at the beginning of 2020 and where we are now is indescribable, and also boring. Suffice to say: we have survived, and will continue to do so. We’re building something that will last the rest of our lives. Galaxy Brain was born to provide a launch pad for the weird creative projects of Philip James and Rosemary Campbell, with no delusions that the work would change any part of the world that didn’t include us but with the hope that others would find our output meaningful, or interesting, or at least fun. The past three years have not killed the fire, only damped it, and we are perpetually optimistic that we can blaze again. If there is one thing that we can consider a “failure”, it’s that we have not expanded the artists we’re empowering outside ourselves; we exist to support as much art and as many artists as possible, and we hope more folks will join us.
Along the lines of producing interesting art, there’s 2.5 things we do right now that are still ongoing and that we think you’ll like. One is “Brain Tape”, our ongoing podcast chronicling the deceivingly impactful webcomic Achewood. We release at least one episode a month, and more if we can manage. Two is the Galaxy Brain Printing Library. We offer, to all residents of San Francisco and Alameda County, public printing services on our Risograph and our various 3D printers. The cost is covered by the taxes you pay as part of being a resident of those places, in our effort to champion the idea of Library Socialism. Two-point-five is Adult Juice Box, our second-longest-running creative project, our podcast about libations, language and logistics. AJB isn’t dead, but is on a hiatus as we figure out what we want to do with it. We reached a point with it where it felt like “work”, and that’s not why we’re here.
Speaking the subtext: We have the interest, capacity, and passion for more creative work. If you have an idea that you want to bring to life in print, or audio, or video, or games, we want to hear it and help nurture that flame into something bigger. There is no such thing as an idea that is “dumb” or “too small” or “not serious enough”. In fact, your reward for making it this far into this post is more work: We are politely-but-firmly requesting that you send the thing you want to exist in the world to [email protected], so we can help you make it real.
Finally, the brass tacks, the hard reality, the part we hate talking about: Money. It costs about $300/month to keep the lights on for Galaxy Brain, with the bulk of that going to our accountant. That’s not much, thankfully! The best way to help us with that is to buy things from the store, because we make these things to go into your hands. The next best way is to support us in some sort of monthly fashion; if you do that you will get at least one thing a month from us, and you’ll have a lot of choice in what that thing is.
You chose to read this, chose to support us with room in your head, and that means quite a bit on its own. It’s hard out here for us all, and Galaxy Brain exists to make it just that bit easier with art. We’re happy you’re here, and we’re thrilled to keep making things for you.