RAW
RAW:natural born artists is an independent arts organization, for artists, by
artists.
We're a community made up of creative individuals across the
nation.
Our mission is to provide independent artists within the first
10 years of their career with the tools, resources and exposure needed to
inspire and cultivate creativity.
We welcome all genres of art including
independent film, fashion, music, visual art, performing art, hairstylists,
makeup artists and more.
We encourage the creative success of the many
visionaries and storytellers of our generation.
RAW currently operates in
54 cities across the United States & Australia and counting ...
HOW DOES RAW WORK?
Our RAW Directors hand-pick and spotlight local artistic talent in film,
fashion, music, visual art, hair & makeup artistry, and performance art.
With artists from all genres in each showcase, RAW events come together to form
an amazing one-night circus of creativity. These showcases occur once a month in
each city location (54 showcases a month). Our RAW season runs from
February-October and comes to an extravagant end with our indie arts awards show
RAWards in Hollywood (Read more on RAWards below).
What can you expect
when attending a RAW Showcase? You'll experience an independent film (usually a
short, webisode or music video), a fashion show from an up-and-coming local
designer, a musical performance, an art gallery featuring several independent
visual artists and photographers, and performance art (comedy/dance/fire
dancers, you name it...). You'll get a little taste of everything. Combine all
this creativity with drinks, fun, and good company! To partake in the
experience, RSVP ($10/ticket) to any of our 54 monthly, city showcases by
clicking on the city tab at the top of the homepage!
ONLINE COMMUNITY
www.RAWartists.org is designed to showcase our RAW artists online.
RAWartists.org hosts a plethora of online profiles -- exclusive to our
hand-picked RAW artists. RAWartists.org is open to the public to view, however,
the site profiles and perks are reserved for only selected RAW artists. RAW
artists can connect with other RAW artists, post videos and music, promote
upcoming projects, and track their success. We also host what we call our RAWk
Wall, where art gets down to business. This portion of the site consists of
exclusive art-to-business opportunities for our RAW artists to partake in.
RAWards
RAW's Annual Indie Awards Show
At the end of season (October), we
host our annual RAWards Show. During a two month-process, we ask the community,
a panel of judges and the nation-at-large to vote for their top five favorite
artists of the year in film, fashion, music, art, photography, performing art,
accessories, hair and makeup. RAW takes that popular vote and narrows down
nominees in each city location. We then ask the community to place a live vote
(complete with a ballot) at a special City Semi-Final nominee showcase in
November. One winner from every city, in every category is chosen by the
community (e.g. RAW:Denver, Fashion Designer of the Year). One winner from every
city in every category goes on to be judged by the RAW panel of industry
professionals in each field. The scores are based on criteria in skill,
creativty, wow factor and professionalism. The winners are announced online in
December, and honored with their awards at our annual RAWards Show in Hollywood,
CA (mid-January). The winners receive big career-boosting prizes like
distribution, store placement, studio time, gallery placement and consultations
with industry executives and professionals. It's truly an awesome event with
performances and highlights from the RAW season.
THE HISTORY
In 2003, a small-town girl graduated high school and moved to the big city of
Los Angeles, CA. Her only wish was to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a
fashion designer. Not wasting any time, she started her own clothing line. She
soon realized that she was just one small fish in a very big pond. She sold her
pieces at swapmeets on the weekends while going to school full-time, working
part-time and interning in the fashion district.
After a while she thought ... "there's got to be a better way to get my work
out there."
In 2005, Heidi Luerra threw her first multi-faceted showcase in Los Angeles.
After much interest from the over 750 attendees that came to the event, she
found her calling -- to create a platform for the many people who are talented,
yet go unnoticed.
In 2009, equipped with a mission of bringing tools and resources to artists
who were fighting the good fight on their own, RAW was born. After the first RAW
event, a local web developer, Matthew Klahorst approached Heidi about combining
these art events with an online showcase for artists. From this collaboration
came the next evolution of RAW -- promoting artists both online and
offline.
In 2011, they decided to take the concept beyond Southern California. RAW now
hosts monthly showcases that spotlight indie talent in film, fashion, music,
art, hair & makeup artistry, performing art and photography in 54 cities
across the U.S and counting. By July 2012, RAW will be in 54 U.S. cities and
Australia. RAW will launch in China and Europe in 2013.
artists.
We're a community made up of creative individuals across the
nation.
Our mission is to provide independent artists within the first
10 years of their career with the tools, resources and exposure needed to
inspire and cultivate creativity.
We welcome all genres of art including
independent film, fashion, music, visual art, performing art, hairstylists,
makeup artists and more.
We encourage the creative success of the many
visionaries and storytellers of our generation.
RAW currently operates in
54 cities across the United States & Australia and counting ...
HOW DOES RAW WORK?
Our RAW Directors hand-pick and spotlight local artistic talent in film,
fashion, music, visual art, hair & makeup artistry, and performance art.
With artists from all genres in each showcase, RAW events come together to form
an amazing one-night circus of creativity. These showcases occur once a month in
each city location (54 showcases a month). Our RAW season runs from
February-October and comes to an extravagant end with our indie arts awards show
RAWards in Hollywood (Read more on RAWards below).
What can you expect
when attending a RAW Showcase? You'll experience an independent film (usually a
short, webisode or music video), a fashion show from an up-and-coming local
designer, a musical performance, an art gallery featuring several independent
visual artists and photographers, and performance art (comedy/dance/fire
dancers, you name it...). You'll get a little taste of everything. Combine all
this creativity with drinks, fun, and good company! To partake in the
experience, RSVP ($10/ticket) to any of our 54 monthly, city showcases by
clicking on the city tab at the top of the homepage!
ONLINE COMMUNITY
www.RAWartists.org is designed to showcase our RAW artists online.
RAWartists.org hosts a plethora of online profiles -- exclusive to our
hand-picked RAW artists. RAWartists.org is open to the public to view, however,
the site profiles and perks are reserved for only selected RAW artists. RAW
artists can connect with other RAW artists, post videos and music, promote
upcoming projects, and track their success. We also host what we call our RAWk
Wall, where art gets down to business. This portion of the site consists of
exclusive art-to-business opportunities for our RAW artists to partake in.
RAWards
RAW's Annual Indie Awards Show
At the end of season (October), we
host our annual RAWards Show. During a two month-process, we ask the community,
a panel of judges and the nation-at-large to vote for their top five favorite
artists of the year in film, fashion, music, art, photography, performing art,
accessories, hair and makeup. RAW takes that popular vote and narrows down
nominees in each city location. We then ask the community to place a live vote
(complete with a ballot) at a special City Semi-Final nominee showcase in
November. One winner from every city, in every category is chosen by the
community (e.g. RAW:Denver, Fashion Designer of the Year). One winner from every
city in every category goes on to be judged by the RAW panel of industry
professionals in each field. The scores are based on criteria in skill,
creativty, wow factor and professionalism. The winners are announced online in
December, and honored with their awards at our annual RAWards Show in Hollywood,
CA (mid-January). The winners receive big career-boosting prizes like
distribution, store placement, studio time, gallery placement and consultations
with industry executives and professionals. It's truly an awesome event with
performances and highlights from the RAW season.
THE HISTORY
In 2003, a small-town girl graduated high school and moved to the big city of
Los Angeles, CA. Her only wish was to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a
fashion designer. Not wasting any time, she started her own clothing line. She
soon realized that she was just one small fish in a very big pond. She sold her
pieces at swapmeets on the weekends while going to school full-time, working
part-time and interning in the fashion district.
After a while she thought ... "there's got to be a better way to get my work
out there."
In 2005, Heidi Luerra threw her first multi-faceted showcase in Los Angeles.
After much interest from the over 750 attendees that came to the event, she
found her calling -- to create a platform for the many people who are talented,
yet go unnoticed.
In 2009, equipped with a mission of bringing tools and resources to artists
who were fighting the good fight on their own, RAW was born. After the first RAW
event, a local web developer, Matthew Klahorst approached Heidi about combining
these art events with an online showcase for artists. From this collaboration
came the next evolution of RAW -- promoting artists both online and
offline.
In 2011, they decided to take the concept beyond Southern California. RAW now
hosts monthly showcases that spotlight indie talent in film, fashion, music,
art, hair & makeup artistry, performing art and photography in 54 cities
across the U.S and counting. By July 2012, RAW will be in 54 U.S. cities and
Australia. RAW will launch in China and Europe in 2013.