Side Street Projects
Side Street Projects is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992 in Pasadena, California that runs mobile woodworking classrooms in converted buses and trailers to deliver hands-on arts education and community programming to youth, working artists, and justice-impacted communities across LA County.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersPasadena, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Side Street Projects does
Side Street Projects is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, artist-run organization founded in 1992 and based in Pasadena, California, that delivers hands-on arts education and community programming through a proprietary fleet of mobile fabrication studios. Its core technology consists of converted buses, trailers, trucks, and shipping containers (including Blue Trailer 'Karen', White Trailer 'Joe', The Truck 'Anubis', and Thing 1/Thing 2) configured as traveling woodworking classrooms, which travel to schools, community sites, and public spaces to serve up to 200 students per week across as many as six schools. Programming is organized around four product lines: Mobile Woodworking Classes, free bi-monthly Skillshares led by Teaching Artists, the Camp Build summer program (ages 5-15) operated in partnership with the Gamble House, and community events such as P.E.A.C.E. In the Park, Altadena Pride, and DENA Juneteenth, complemented by the annual Phantom Ball Artist Editions series and professional podcast resources for working artists.
Side Street Projects firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Side Street Projects
- Legal name
- Side Street Projects
- Website
- https://sidestreet.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Side Street Projects is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992 in Pasadena, California that runs mobile woodworking classrooms in converted buses and trailers to deliver hands-on arts education and community programming to youth, working artists, and justice-impacted communities across LA County.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Side Street Projects industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Arts Education
- NAICS
- Landscape Architectural Services (541320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Crafts & Maker Arts (Ceramics, Textiles, Jewelry, Mixed Media) (EDAMAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Arts & Design Camps (Visual Arts, Crafts, Design Thinking) (EDAMALAH), Arts & Crafts Workshops (Painting, Pottery, Ceramics, Sculpture) (THAJAKAA), Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises (BPAGALAO)
Keywords
Where Side Street Projects is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pasadena
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Side Street Projects business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Grants: Relies on community donors and institutional funders to sustain and grow programs. Receives support from foundations including Pasadena Community Foundation, Mike Kelley Foundation, NEA, and Ford Foundation.
- Artist Editions and Print Sales: Limited edition artwork sales (Artist Editions) through annual Phantom Ball events. Proceeds support free public art programs and education services.
- Program Tuition (Sliding Scale): Camp Build and other programs use a sliding scale model with four tiers from free to $650, allowing families to pay what they can. Revenue from paid tickets subsidizes free programming.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Community Support (Free) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Reduced Rate |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Full Cost (Actual cost of programming) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Pay-It-Forward |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Side Street Projects product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Side Street Projects is a mobile, artist-run nonprofit organization that connects artists directly to communities through a fleet of mobile fabrication studios (buses, trailers, trucks, and containers) outfitted as woodworking classrooms. The organization delivers hands-on woodworking classes to schools, free community skillshares at its headquarters, week-long summer Camp Build programs for youth ages 5–15, limited-edition Artist Edition print sales, and professional development podcasts and resources for working artists.
Product overview
Side Street Projects is a mobile, artist-run nonprofit organization founded in 1992 that connects artists to community through hands-on art education and programming. The organization operates a fleet of mobile fabrication studios (buses, trailers, trucks, and containers) that serve as traveling woodworking classrooms. The core offerings include Mobile Woodworking Classes that travel to schools and communities, Free Skillshares workshops led by Teaching Artists, and Camp Build summer programs for youth ages 5-15. Supporting programs include Artist Editions (limited print sales), professional podcast series (Shop Talk, What Do Curators Want, Social) providing artist resources, and Community Events including P.E.A.C.E. In the Park, Altadena Pride, and DENA Juneteenth. The organization employs a DIY/DIT (Do It Yourself/Do It Together) ethos and sliding scale tuition model to ensure equitable access to the arts.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mobile Woodworking Classes Mobile fabrication studios housed in buses and trailers that travel to schools and communities, providing hands-on woodworking education using real hand tools in a safe, guided environment where students build projects from start to finish while learning tool-based design and fabrication.
- Free Skillshares Free workshops occurring every second Saturday of the month, led by community-based Teaching Artists who guide participants in learning hard and soft art skills including woodworking, natural dyeing, screen printing, bookbinding, weaving, and more.
- Camp Build Week-long summer woodworking and creative discovery program for young makers ages 5-15, offered in partnership with the Gamble House. Includes 2 hours of daily woodworking plus 1 hour of art activities inspired by architecture and nature, totaling 15 hours of camp time per week. Tuition is offered on a sliding scale from $0 to $650 across four tiers.
- Artist Editions Limited edition artwork prints and publications sold to support Side Street Projects' free public art programs and education services, featuring collaborations with contemporary artists such as Kenturah Davis, Mel Chin, and Rafa Esparza through annual Phantom Ball editions.
- Mobile Fabrication Studios Fleet of mobile units including buses, trailers, trucks, and shipping containers that serve as traveling woodworking classrooms and art-making spaces, strategically serving at-risk youth and underserved communities where there is the most need. The fleet includes named units such as Cheddar (Bus 3), Blue Trailer 'Karen', White Trailer 'Joe', The Truck 'Anubis', and shipping containers Thing 1 and Thing 2.
- Community Events Intergenerational art programming collaborations with local organizations including P.E.A.C.E. In the Park, Altadena Pride, DENA Juneteenth, and Repair Cafe Pasadena, fostering healing, connections, and creativity across Pasadena and LA County communities.
Quantifiable outcome
- Serves thousands of artists and youth each year
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Side Street Projects
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Side Street Projects technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Side Street Projects partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- Gamble HousecorePartnership for Camp Build summer program - a week-long woodworking and creative discovery program for ages 5-15 held at the Gamble House in Pasadena. The program includes 2 hours of woodworking daily in mobile classrooms plus 1 hour of art activities inspired by architecture and nature.
- MY TRIBE Rise (MTR)coreCollaboration since 2021 on P.E.A.C.E. In the Park events celebrating mobility justice and creating safe spaces to gather, heal, and connect. This partnership led to the development of Altadena Pride and MTR's Annual DENA Juneteenth.
- Altadena PridecoreSide Street Projects serves as organizing partner for Altadena Pride, offering programming opportunities including Queer Sanctuary Youth program and Skillshares during the event.
- Repair Cafe PasadenaminorHosts Repair Cafe Pasadena events where local volunteers help people repair items. Side Street Projects often provides screen printing workshops at these events.
- The Music Center (Los Angeles)majorCollaboration to bring intergenerational woodworking workshops to communities across Los Angeles County, fostering healing, connections, and creativity.
- LACE (Los Angeles)minorHosted roundtable workshop 'Social: How Does Socially Engaged Art Happen in Los Angeles' exploring possibilities and limits of organizational models supporting Social Engagement Art practices.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves13 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Side Street Projects competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Project Row Houses: Founded by Rick Lowe (an advisory board member of Side Street Projects), Project Row Houses is a Houston-based nonprofit that combines artist residency, community engagement, and creative placemaking on third-ward row houses. Most directly comparable community-arts/social-engaged-art nonprofit peer.
- The Crucible: Oakland-based nonprofit industrial arts education organization offering hands-on classes in woodworking, metalworking, and fabrication to youth and adults. Closest direct peer by program type (maker/woodworking arts education, sliding-scale access, youth-focused).
- Armory Center for the Arts: Pasadena-based community arts nonprofit offering studio art classes, exhibitions, and K-12 education programs. Direct geographic and programmatic peer for community arts education in Side Street Projects' home market.
- 18th Street Arts Center: Santa Monica-based artist residency and exhibition complex where Side Street Projects was originally founded in 1992. Comparable artist-run community arts nonprofit model with residency and public programming.
- Self Help Graphics & Art: East LA-based Chicano arts nonprofit providing artist residencies, education, and community programming for 50+ years. Comparable LA community-arts nonprofit with intergenerational programming and equity-driven mission.
- Craft Contemporary: Los Angeles museum of contemporary craft, design, and makers offering exhibitions and hands-on workshops. Comparable LA-based nonprofit that elevates craft/maker arts with educational programming.
Broad incumbents
- Children's Creativity Museum: San Francisco-based nonprofit (formerly Zeum) offering hands-on technology, art, and media-making experiences for youth. Broader incumbent in the youth maker-arts education space with larger infrastructure.
Others
- Pasadena Arts Council: Local Pasadena arts funder and advocacy organization that supports and collaborates with Pasadena-area arts nonprofits like Side Street Projects. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.
Emerging players
- A Blade of Grass: National nonprofit that funds and convenes socially engaged art practitioners. Comparable in mission (artists working in community/social practice) but functions primarily as a funder/field-builder rather than direct service provider.
- High Desert Test Sites: Joshua Tree-based nonprofit commissioning site-specific art projects in desert communities. Comparable alternative-arts nonprofit model with experimental, place-based, artist-led programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Side Street Projects social profiles
Digital presenceSide Street Projects financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Side Street Projects leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
Side Street Projects funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Side Street Projects M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Side Street Projects
What does Side Street Projects do?
Side Street Projects is a mobile, artist-run nonprofit organization that connects artists directly to communities through a fleet of mobile fabrication studios (buses, trailers, trucks, and containers) outfitted as woodworking classrooms. The organization delivers hands-on woodworking classes to schools, free community skillshares at its headquarters, week-long summer Camp Build programs for youth ages 5–15, limited-edition Artist Edition print sales, and professional development podcasts and resources for working artists.
Is Side Street Projects a public or private company?
Side Street Projects is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Side Street Projects founded?
Side Street Projects was founded in 1992. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Side Street Projects based?
Side Street Projects is headquartered in Pasadena, United States, in the North America region.
How does Side Street Projects make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Grants are the primary driver. The others are artist Editions and Print Sales and program Tuition (Sliding Scale).
Who are Side Street Projects's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Project Row Houses, The Crucible, Armory Center for the Arts, 18th Street Arts Center, Self Help Graphics & Art and Craft Contemporary. Children's Creativity Museum is listed as a broad incumbent. Pasadena Arts Council is listed as an others. Emerging players are A Blade of Grass and High Desert Test Sites.
Does Side Street Projects have an API?
No public API is recorded for Side Street Projects.
What industry is Side Street Projects in?
Side Street Projects's product category is Community Arts Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAAAD, Crafts & Maker Arts (Ceramics, Textiles, Jewelry, Mixed Media), with a secondary code of EDAMALAH, Arts & Design Camps (Visual Arts, Crafts, Design Thinking). Its NAICS code is 541320.