Buy Johnny Joo a coffee

Every bit contributed here will go to supporting the Red Panda Projekt. I really wish coffees were actually $1 anywhere...

A bit about the Red Panda Projekt:

The Red Panda Projekt is dedicated to directly supporting artists across all mediums by providing financial assistance, increased visibility, and meaningful opportunities for exposure. Providing artists with support without the need for tedious paperwork or forms. It was created to address a common barrier within the arts community: the gap between creating work and sustaining a livelihood from it. One small step at a time, we will do what we can to give to the art community.

Rather than relying on traditional systems that often require extensive applications, networking, or institutional approval, this project focuses on immediate, random acts of kindness. By engaging with artists in real-world settings and through digital platforms, we hope to offer contributions that can help offset the cost of materials, daily living expenses, and the ongoing demands of maintaining a creative practice. First steps may be small, but as this project grows, we hope to make a bigger impact. 

Through the use of social media and community-driven funding, the Red Panda Projekt aims to transform acts of generosity into a scalable model of support. Each interaction will not only be a direct investment in an individual artist (or to a group of artists or art-driven programs), but also an opportunity to share their work with a broader audience, creating pathways for continued growth and recognition, while also providing a positive experience for artists, with hopes to bring more confidence in pushing forward.

Our mission is to reduce the obstacles that prevent artists from continuing their work. By building a network of supporters and amplifying the voices of artists, we aim to create a sustainable system where both exposure and financial support work together to strengthen the creative community.

My path into a sustainable art career was not immediate. Even several years in, the work itself was there, but the structure around it was not. Selling art proved difficult, and I had little understanding of how to market or position my work in a way that would allow it to reach the right audience.

In 2014, I was given an opportunity through a single client project, which carried a lasting impact. It provided something that had been missing up until then—time, or more so the necessary funds to allow me that time. Time to focus more deliberately on my work, to refine my approach, and to begin understanding how to share it more effectively. That period became a turning point. Without it, it’s difficult to say whether I would have been able to continue on the same path, or would have simply burnt out feeling that my work was just never going to go anywhere or allow me a career in art.

From there, growth came gradually. Over the years, the support of others—those who chose to follow, share, and invest in my work—made it possible to sustain a career in the arts. I finally started to see how many others also saw value in what I was creating, and that felt amazing knowing that others were enjoying my work in such a way.

That experience shaped my understanding of how fragile that early stage can be for many artists. Often, it is not a lack of ability that creates barriers, but a lack of access—access to time, to resources, and to visibility. The difference between continuing or stepping away can come down to a single opportunity, a brief period of stability, or a moment of recognition at the right time.

The Red Panda Projekt is built largely from that perspective. It reflects an understanding of how impactful even small acts of support can be, and how a single opportunity can alter the direction of an artist’s path forever.