Mutual Aid Support for Hannah and her Community

Hi everyone, my name is Ella and I'm starting this GoFundMe on behalf of my sister, Hannah, and her fellow docents at the Zorthian Museum. We are making a call out for any support to help them through this difficult time following an unimaginable tragedy.

On the night of November 12th, my sister went out for 10 minutes and left a candle burning in her yurt studio, where she was to work on her living art space at the museum. She came back to find her space engulfed in flames, with her precious dogs trapped inside. Luckily one of them was able to escape and is being treated for burns, and to the heartbreak of us all, her other dog did not make it.

While grieving the loss of her precious dog, Coyote and treating the burns she sustained while trying to save him, she and her community are now facing the challenges of dealing with fire clean up, initiating a new living art space, as well as supplementing the income lost to the Museum due to the fire.

The Zorthian Museum sits on a ranch created by Jirayr Zorthian in 1946. His objective when he arrived, and now for the docents working to further his legacy was and is "The Center for Research and Development of Industrial Discards with the Emphasis on Aesthetics". The Zorthian Museum, located on the land of the 40 acre Zorthian Ranch, unique, incomparable, and difficult to explain, is a museum without walls. The docents are committed to archive the cultural history, tend the land, preserve the art and overall uphold the legacy of the artist, visionary and legend; Jirayr Zorthian. To support this endeavour, they gain income primarily through a few AirBnBs. Due to the trauma of the fire, one of the guests left, causing them to refund her and thus lose that much needed income. We are raising funds in part to supplement the $3500 in Airbnb income that was lost due to the stress of the fire.

Additionally, the cost of the yurt was quite high as well. With labor and materials included, it was worth over $20,000. Alongside this, the owner of the yurt whom my sister was renting it from had some of his own possessions inside. We hope to raise funds to replace what was lost of his, specifically his pair of speakers and other electronics, and of course, the cost of the yurt.

All of Hannah’s equipment, art materials, tools, computers, personal items, tools and equipment loaned to her by others, as well as her truck, which was parked close outside, were completely destroyed.

We are very grateful that our dog, Lovergirl, was found and taken to the vet. She is being treated for burns and has been at the vet for the past week, and will likely be there another week. The vet bills are rising but the current number we have is around $18,000.

My sister is an incredibly loving person who cares deeply for her community. Though she has lost most of everything she owns, including her truck and all of her cameras, film, and hard drives (she is a photographer), she is steadfast in ensuring that this fundraiser not be solely about her losses, but about helping the Museum to rebuild as easily as possible. While this does remain the main focus of this fundraiser, I do also wish to add that my sister lost a significant portion of her tools, art supplies, cooking supplies, and drums all of which she uses towards community initiatives such as Garden Club in South LA, frequent donation-based yoga sessions she would lead, as well as co-facilitating a protest drumming group which the drums were central to.

We are also aware of the many travesties ongoing in this world, and do not wish to take away from the urgent appeals for life saving care that so many families are seeking amidst the ongoing genocides in Palestine, Sudan, and the Congo. This is a stark and devastating reminder to us of how quickly destruction can occur, and whilst the pain felt is immense, we are grateful that the fire was contained and it did not endanger anyone else. We also want to use this space honor the nightshift nurses at Huntington Hospital, the Altadena fire department, and the local veterinarians at Access Pasadena, whose services we deeply value. While these services are essential, we consider them a privilege in light of current events and feel deep gratitude for our safety and our community.

Here is an estimated list of costs in order of priority:

1. $18,000 vet bills for Lovergirl

2. $20,000 for the yurt structure

3. $5,000 for lost/destroyed items

4. $3,500 Airbnb income lost.

If you can donate anything to help rebuild after this traumatic incident, my family, our friends, and the community who know and love the Ranch would be incredibly grateful.

If you would like to donate specifically to helping support Lovergirl, please leave a note for that alongside your donation.

Any extra funds raised will go towards land restoration efforts in the beautiful San Gabriel Foothills.

Thank you so much for reading.