Brooke Richards/VP
Brooke has spent the past 20 years implementing art programs around the world including in orphanages in Cambodia and prisons in Bolivia. Programs designed to encourage individuals to use art as a tool for self-empowerment.  Currently she helps build schools in abandoned shopping centers around South Central Los Angeles and San Bernardino County. It was at FurstWurld that she met Cody Montgomery, founder and Owner of Totally Blown clothing and it was at FurstWurld that they got married. Through Cody,  Brooke was introduced to the art community of the high desert. These introductions ignited in her a passionate desire to protect the art community, that made Joshua Tree what it is today.

Brooke believes that in FurstWurld’s mission to serve the community through art, music and theater she has found a vehicle to put that passion to good use, - and oh, what is she good at you ask? Well she came into our lives by way of a wedding, our first discussion was about wedding ceremonies, and in our experience of her since, she is good at 'wedding' things together;  cheerfully and thoughtfully, finding the threads, tying the knots, - you know, like marrying, or matching this good idea to that practical method,  this inspiration to that action, that problem to this solution and so on. 

Mark Walsh/Director
“The artist community is already here, doing stuff and is growing. My goal is to support what's already happening. The pieces are all there, we just need to join them together. We can work against the fragmentation of the community by developing a strong and inclusive organization  and operate within the context of the community as a whole. A community is made strong by social interaction and mutual support. Places like Furstwurld function as part of the connective tissue that links different groups and unites us with music, food, and a place of informal interaction.”

Barbie Sommars/Secretary
“I find it difficult to write about myself. Perhaps if we chat, more will come out of me. I honestly become emotional when I think about how much Bobby and Furstwurld mean to me. I recalled how his PEACE piece regarding the troops who lost their lives were so meaningfully represented; with consideration to the different shapes and colors humans are and how he correlated them to the different shapes and patinas of the bullet casings. How he recognizes their names, faces and other information in the binders below. How he gives us a bench to sit, reflect and emote. I never related to the Memorial Day holiday until I sat on that bench. I am grateful for Bobby Furst in my life. His art has more meaning to me than most. Thank you, Robbi for inviting me to be on this board. I love you and Bobby very much.”
 

Jane Allingham/Director
Jane became a resident of Joshua Tree in 2004 in a quest for space for both herself and her partner, artist Bobby Furst. Beginning in 2001, with musician Bill Maresh, their Americana band Honky Tonk Train played Gram Fest, Pappy and Harriet’s, Beatnik Café, Joshua Tree Saloon and the Joshua Tree Music Festival. For years a traveler to the California Desert and a visitor to Joshua Tree National Park to hike and camp under its brilliant stars, she came to fully appreciate the power of place to restore spirit, inspire artists and activists and nourish visionaries past, present and future. Bobby Furst and Jane, in a search for an artspace, found the site that has evolved into the performance and community space now known as FURSTWURLD, to bring the world of artists and the community together. Jane Allingham is delighted to be a FURSTWURLD supporter.