Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Moth Belly and why should I support it?
Simply put, Moth Belly is an artist-founded and operated art gallery located in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. However, as we showcase a spectrum of emerging and established Bay Area talent, highlight underrepresented artists, offer free public art events, and host monthly exhibitions, it becomes clear that Moth Belly is much more than just a gallery.
Since 2021, we've showcased the works of nearly 300 artists, 90% of whom are local. We've also hosted numerous community events and consistently ensured artists receive a majority share of the art sales, (with ambitions to increase this percentage as our capacity allows.)
Here's why supporting Moth Belly matters:
Your support enables us to continue support the Tenderloin's cultural renaissance as it recovers and grows.
We believe artists should be fairly compensated. Your contributions help maintain our commitment to supporting living artists and their livelihood and craft.
From punk shows to open mic nights, we're dedicated to offering a wide range of free or donation based, inclusive events that make art accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status. (And personal taste)
Moth Belly as a project aims to preserve and invigorate San Francisco's artistic heritage at a time when the city is losing many of its cultural spaces.
We extend our mission through educational initiatives, artist talks, and publications that deepen the community's engagement with art.
Most importantly, this project of ours is run on a volunteer basis, and we would like to continue to run this space and see it grow and thrive sustainably.
2. What will the proceeds from this auction go toward funding?
100% of the money we make at the end of the auction will go towards our monthly expenses for the next year including rent, utilities, and the relentless, never-ending barrage of fees, taxes and other expenses that come with just having a storefront in San Francisco. However, of all the gross revenue made in the auction we only take a percentage of it— we offer all participating artists 50% of any sales.
If we happen to exceed our fundraising goal, all surplus funding will go towards hiring help to create more media content and more live events, as well as equipment and resources to help build our platform and serve the creative community.
3. I’m not interested in buying any art right now, but I would still like to support Moth Belly. How can I do that?
If you’re not interested in collecting any of the art in our auction or your walls are just too full right now, don’t worry! There’s plenty of other ways you can support our fundraiser:
For the duration of the fundraiser you can donate directly to our auction on 32auctions.com/mothbelly2023
You can donate directly through our website here via our fiscal sponsor Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, where we can receive donations year round via card or PayPal. Any donations made through the website via Intersection for the Arts can be considered tax deductible and upon request we can provide you with a voucher stating so.
You can give to Moth Belly LLC through Venmo (@mothbellygallery) or directly through PayPal ( paypal.me/mothbelly ). This method of giving is not tax deductible.
You can also donate through supportmothbelly.org by clicking on the small “Donate Now” button on the bottom right of the page. These donations are processed through our fiscal sponsor Intersection for the Arts, are tax deductible, and go toward keeping the gallery open, staffed, and providing resources to artists in the community.
This year, individual donations are more important than ever, so to those of you who can help out in that area, we deeply thank you in advance.
Lastly, if you want to buy some art but nothing in our auction speaks to you, then please check out the shop on our website—we have a wide variety of prints and originals available in all price ranges. Any and all purchases not only support us, but support local artists in the community as well.
4. How do I participate in the online auction?
Participating is easy! To sign up for 32auctions, all you need to register is an email address. Once you’re registered you can begin placing bids on the items you’re interested in. There are two types of bids that can be made—exact bids and proxy bids. Exact bids are straightforward bids, whereas with proxy bids you can input the maximum amount you would be willing to pay for an item, and the auction software will then automatically bid for you to surpass the previous bid by the minimum amount. If anyone has any questions about the bidding process, more information can be found on the 32auctions.com help page.
You can find the auction here.
The auction will then last for 10 days until it closes on Saturday, November 25th (at 8pm) with a closing reception and live event at the gallery from 6-9pm.
How do I pay if I win an item in the auction?
For all items won in the auction, you will be sent an email from us within 24 hours with an invoice payable by card or PayPal. If you are attending the live event on November 25th when the auction closes, we may have other payment options available such as cash or Venmo—depending on the amount of the transaction. The San Francisco sales tax rate of 8.625% will be added to all purchases made from the auction.
5. How do I collect the items I won in the auction? Can the art be shipped?
After the auction has closed, on November 25th at 9pm PST, and the item has been paid for, it will then be available for pick up from the gallery immediately. If you would like the item to be shipped, that will be no problem at all and we are happy to arrange both domestic and international shipping—however please bear in mind all shipping transactions will be handled and invoiced separately after the item has been paid for.
To arrange shipping, email us: mothbellygallery@gmail.com or call us during our regular business hours: 415-655-3122.
Lastly, if you win an item, please do not sleep on taking home your art! We are still sitting on items from our auction three years ago that people have paid for and then just never picked up and haven’t responded to us reaching out to them. While the support is much appreciated, our storage space is very limited and we do not have room to indefinitely hold your work. So don’t be that person, and if you win, get your art!!!
6. How will the live events work?
The majority of the work from the online auction will be on display at our gallery from Thursday November 16th, until Saturday, November 25th—during which time we will have two receptions; an opening from 6-10pm on the 16th, and a closing from 6-9pm on the 25th. Unfortunately with the amount of work and all the other facets of this fundraiser, we will not have the capacity to keep bid sheets at the live event and all bidding must take place on the website 32auctions.com/mothbelly2023. However, if you aren’t so technologically inclined, or participating online presents some other challenges to you, please reach out to us prior and we will do our best to assign assistance to you at the live event so you can still participate.
Aside from the events, we will be open our regular business hours (Thursday and Friday, from 12pm-6pm, and Saturdays from 11am-5pm) to view the exhibit. We are also gladly open the rest of the week as well by appointment, just email us: mothbellygallery@gmail.com.
Since the live portion will only display a selection of the work from the online auction, if there are any particular items you wish to see in person, please inform us beforehand so we can prepare to bring them out for you.