Campaign Manager

The National Tour

The national tour is designed to raise awareness, create a national buzz, and raise money for our charity partners. 100% of the net proceeds from our art sales will go directly to GIFFORDS, Sandy Hook Promise, and the state-based grassroots organizations we'll connect with across our national tour. Our goal for this campaign is empowering voices, influencing policy, and fostering a collective sense of safety across America's communities.

2025: FOUNDATION PHASE

We're currently in our foundational year, focusing on completing the butterfly art pieces, solidifying our branding and marketing strategy, and carefully preparing for our national tour. This preparation phase is critical to ensuring our message resonates across diverse communities while maintaining the artistic integrity that makes our approach unique.

2026-2027: LAUNCH AND NATIONAL TOUR

Campaign Schedule:

• January 2026 – Phoenix, AZ – Launch event – Phoenix Art Museum co-branded with GIFFORDS

• March 2026 – Tucson, AZ – Commemorative event honoring Gabby Giffords

• April-May 2026 – Parkland, FL – Main event with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Installations/smaller activations: Orlando and Jacksonville)

• August 2026 – Los Angeles, CA – GIFFORDS Community Violence Intervention Conference – Panel discussion tbc

• Sept-Oct 2026 – Newtown, CT – Sandy Hook Elementary School community

• February 2027 – Los Angeles, CA – Frieze LA Art Fair (Installations/smaller activations: Thousand Oaks, San Bernardino, and Monterey Park)

• March 2027 – Washington, DC – Main event in DC (Installations/smaller activations: VA Beach and VA Tech)

• April 2027 – Pittsburgh, PA – Tree of Life Synagogue community

• May 2027 – Austin, TX – Venue tbd – (Installations/smaller activations: Santa Fe, El Paso, Killeen, Uvalde, Sutherland Springs, Fort Hood)

• October 2027 – Las Vegas, NV – Route 91 Festival community

• 2028 – New York City – Legacy Event

Launch

Our official launch begins January 26, 2026 with a cobranded GIFFORDS event in Phoenix, Arizona—a deliberate choice to begin in a state with significant conversations around gun safety legislation. One year later, our exhibition at Frieze Los Angeles in February 2027 will introduce our work to the international contemporary art community.

Commemorative Event

In March 2026 the first stop on our national tour is Tucson, AZ where we will dedicate a butterfly to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords who survived a 2011 assassination attempt while meeting with constituents, and later founded GIFFORDS to save lives from gun violence.

Campaign

Concurrent with these landmark events, we'll launch our social media presence, begin our Gifting Tour (above) to communities affected by gun violence, and potentially coordinate special exhibitions across the country primarily in cities most impacted by gun violence such as Baltimore, MD and the like.

This two-year period represents the heart of our project's public engagement, where our butterflies will migrate through various communities, sparking conversations and inspiring action around gun safety.

This timeline reflects our understanding that meaningful social change requires sustained engagement rather than fleeting attention. By establishing a multi-year presence, we create ongoing opportunities for education, advocacy, and community building around gun safety—transforming what could be a moment into a movement with lasting impact.

What distinguishes our approach is how we use art to sustain conversations beyond news cycles. In today's media landscape, public attention to gun violence typically surges after tragedies but quickly fades. Our butterfly installations serve as persistent visual reminders that maintain engagement when headlines move on. The artistic medium becomes critical to our voice—upon seeing the butterflies, people are invited into meaningful, expanded conversations rather than defaulting to partisan reactions or emotional responses to propaganda.

Critical thinking forms the educational foundation of our work. By encouraging deeper analysis of information and challenging biases, our project empowers people to make informed decisions about gun safety. When thinking critically, individuals are less likely to accept the status quo of gun violence and more likely to support evidence-based advocacy and policy change that respects diverse perspectives while prioritizing our children's safety.

In this way, the Butterfly Art Collective expands the definition of social activist art by moving beyond awareness into active transformation—creating a sustainable model where art, education, and community action continuously reinforce one another in service of positive social change.

The Butterfly Art Collective is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds who share our commitment to community safety and healing.