Welcome to Santo Cabrón

Build & Launch a Large Scale Art Project 

Who This Is For

This course is for artists and creators looking for to validate their ideas, or find a new system to put into practice 

Whether you're a student group tackling a large project, or an experienced producer looking for a refresher, this class provides meaningful questions and actionable ideas

Large part of delivering correctly is committing to the right things, we start the course by asking why and helping you consider a roadmap and develop your production skills over the rest

We have lead and collaborated on large scale art installations and stages at music festivals, warehouse parties, private events and film sets

We draw from our successes, but also from our mistakes, in the hopes to save you some trouble. Where possible we use anecdotes to keep it personal and let you decide

What do we mean by “Large Scale Art”

We're talking about projects that require more than an individual, and can benefit from project management, manufacturing and logistical advice

The course is not introducing any foreign concepts, just a summary of useful things we've put to practice multiple times

Our Philosophy

Art is a conversation between past, present, and future; your ego can isolate you while collaboration expands your conscience

By budgeting and planning your logistics with time and organization you can create more freedom and deal with most issues that will come your way

We think that the whole purpose of art is this excuse to collaborate, to participate in a community

Joseph Beuys considers society itself is the ultimate artwork, proposing that every individual is an artist who can shape this social body through creative, political, and ecological actions

When you work at scale, you are challenging systems

Interactivity

Simple, clever installations can be very memorable

The Santo Cabron Energy

To contain the chaos of Santo Cabrón we use systems, that we designed to allow for a certain degree of leisure and irresponsibility and prevent collaborator burnout

Wanting to create art, dreaming of big projects, a big audience in your stage, is not arrogance, is not reckless ambition; art can be an almost super natural calling, it doesn't need to overwork anybody and people don't need to get injured as a result of unsafe working conditions

To be successful and liked you must develop to attempt what's beyond you, the discipline to put systems in practice, the humility to collaborate and the patience to think years away

Don't be discourage by big numbers, and handling new materials, postpone but don't forget; start with defining your objectives and staying true to yourself

During this course you will develop new skills to help you plan for your goals and feel confident at every step

Some of the ideas we're covering:

• importance CAD and visualization

• Standard materials and smart purchasing

• Structural responsibility

• Budgets from $5,000 to $500,000+

• LLCs and separate bank accounts

• Grants and sponsorship alignment

• Deciding between fundraising avenues

• Production timelines across multiple years

• Logistics for teams of 5 or 200

• Permits, insurance, and liability

• Documentation and legacy building

Because heavy art without structure collapses, structures not tied to the ground are carried away by dust storms

How to Use This Course

Questions are some times better than answers, so we included very few answers; to engage with the course we recommend having a journal or place to gather your answers. Optionally you can create digital files as well, for your internal process and to inform marketing, fundraising and recruiting efforts 

You can skip around the chapters to find the topics relevant to your current project, and come back to other articles when its relevant

Participate in the forum to share ideas or ask questions from our friends 

A Long-Term Vision

We usually start with a small prototype, temporary installations, organizing crafting sessions, ordering stickers

And then practice and continuing with clear objectives, strong systems, a faithful team, professional structure and community relationships

Then is easy to start moving towards large public commissions, recurring festivals, state park activations, civic partnerships and become a beloved producer in the local community

Artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude demonstrated that monumental public works can take decades of planning, but they begin with clarity and persistence

SANTO CABRON

miami

Opening Reflection

Before you start each project, ask yourself:

• What's the biggest thing you've build so far? 

• What's the largest team you've lead so far?

• What scares you about building big?

• What excites you about art?

• What are your motivations?

• What new skills do you want to develop?

Consider journaling and doodling through the course; when looking back at your answers at different stages your evolution as an artist becomes will surprise you