Robot Heart Fare Forward

We are a charitable
music and arts
— foundation

The Robot Heart Foundation is a 501c3 organization. Its purpose is to support artists and the arts. The foundation aims to create and fund projects whether they be self-created, collaborative or commissioned.

At its core, the Robot Heart Foundation’s focus is experiential Music and Technology. We span the globe, we defy genres and borders, we connect dots and hope to create an innovative artistic experience for those in our community and beyond.

Upcoming event

Art Basel Miami

Learn more

Robot Heart
Foundation Launch

On the weekend of April 29th - May 1st, 2022 we publically launched the Robot Heart Foundation. Over the past 15 years, Robot Heart has provided a platform and a stage to artists - a gift in and of itself to the artist community. We have provided a stage and platform to many well-known acts including Bob Moses and F O S S. More to come…

  • Bob Moses

    • How has Robot Heart impacted your lives and careers?

      Robot Heart has had a huge impact on our lives and careers. Not only has the community created tons of magical moments that we both cherish personally but playing the bus during 2013 helped us launch our career in a big way. Recording and releasing our set from that Burning Man on Robot Heart’s SoundCloud page coincided with the release of our ‘Far From The Tree’ EP, and a couple months later we had more gig requests than we could play. The stamp of approval from such a respected Burning Man camp and their audience really helped establish us and helped us connect to a like-minded audience, which was crucial.

    • How do you see Robot Heart impacting Music & Culture in general?

      Robot Heart is the pinnacle of music camps at Burning Man. While we realize Burning Man is an arts festival more generally and not only a music festival, Robot Heart is the unofficial "heart" of music at Burning Man as far as we see it. We were first introduced to Burning Man when we were invited to play on the bus, and much of the crowd that we see all over the world when touring during the rest of the year is somehow connected to Robot Heart or to Burning Man more generally. The reach of Robot Heart is worldwide, and the memories created at the camp are re-lived by many throughout the rest of the year until they can return to the desert.

    • Your favorite Robot Heart moment?

      There are so many to choose from, but our favorite RH moment had to be when we played the bus for the 10-year anniversary of Robot Heart with our full live band. The bus linked up with the Mayan Warrior art car to unite the two most powerful sound systems on the playa. We had a crowd of thousands of people as the sun came up, and we remember thinking how cool it was to not only have brought our band and crew to the coolest festival on earth for their first time, but also to be able to share that magical moment with so many other burners in honor of a major milestone in RH history.

    • A line or two about the track "Time and Time again"

      Music for us is a form of catharsis - understanding and processing the world and the events that transpire in it. In our sadness and surprise at the unexpected and sudden death of George last year, we were inspired to write ‘Time and Time Again’ as a tribute to him, but also to celebrate those perfect moments when you\'re dancing with your friends, and everything is just right. Those are some of the moments George strived to create with Robot Heart and some of our best moments together with him as friends. ‘Time and Time Again’ is about those moments and how we will continue to feel his presence in those moments to come.

    • What do you think of the evolution of Robot Heart launching a 501c3 Foundation?

      This evolution makes perfect sense and is the continued manifestation of the vision that George expressed to us for Robot Heart when we first met him. We\'re excited to see the continued impact of RH as it evolves in this capacity and look forward to witnessing the positive and increasing impact the foundation will have in the arts beyond the playa each year.

  • F O S S

    • How has Robot Heart impacted your lives and careers?

      Our first experience with Robot Heart was at the Free Burn in 2021. Aside from the clout that surrounded the name, we had little idea of what to expect when we were invited to perform. The sheer intelligence, clarity of vision and kindness that permeates the Robot Heart community instantly resonated with us. We were warmly embraced by a community that was clearly devoted to supporting and nurturing self-expression through the arts. Being on the bus, at sunset, felt like performing on the greatest stage on earth- both sonically and visually. The beauty and uniqueness of that experience came as much from the performance and the scenery, as it did from everyone we met at the Robot Heart camp. This is such an ultra-dynamic community of doers ready to enjoy the present, and explore the future. We are grateful to be contributing to this community in our humble way, and hope to keep helping to nurture and push their vision.

    • How do you see Robot Heart impacting Music & Culture in general?

      With Swamy curating the arts at Robot Heart, there is clearly a creative urge to push the boundaries of where entertainment and art collide. Robot Heart gives a chance for audiences to experience music that has agency, that’s fresh, and that’s contextualized in a way that feels fundamentally relatable. My first chat with Swamy pretty much went like this: “Just play whatever feels right to you for sunset”, to which I replied “Cool, we’re gonna bring a grand piano to the playa”. We just really loved the idea of setting up a stage with a grand piano in the middle of the desert. The visuals were impossible to resist. We tried to make it all happen within four days, which was unfortunately not quite enough to see it through. It’s still a fun story to tell, and we are glad the show went on beautifully regardless.

    • Your favorite Robot Heart moment?

      The Free Burn was our first experience with Burning Man. It felt extra special as none of the usual logistics were in place. The sense of freedom, and randomness to a certain degree, was so liberating. The Robot Heart bus was driving freely around the playa while we were all partying on top… Some things you just don’t forget.

    • What do you think of the evolution of Robot Heart launching a 501c3 Foundation?

      A non-profit organization offering a platform for artists to express themselves and keep creating…that’s pure love and we are all grateful. Thank you.

  • Diplo

    https://soundcloud.com/DIPLO https://diplo.com/

    • How has Robot Heart impacted your life and career?

      Robot Heart is kind of like my family on the Playa. And I made some friendships with those guys on and off the Playa and they're great people. And you know, it's crazy it's like a lot of times the idea of modern art meets a social platform, a social gathering, and then, technology in the same way. I just don't know how to explain it, but those three things have meshed in a cool environment that becomes Robot Heart.

    • How do you see Robot Heart impacting Music & Culture in general?

      I think the people that go to Robot Heart are just like music aficionados. So when you get to play for those kids and adults and those men and women and everybody, you know they really understand everything and they know everything, they have high expectations but they're also free to do whatever they want and feel music in a different way than a lot of people. I think if you go there, the energy, you feel it as a creator and as a DJ. And they just have that raw energy that's really freeing, makes them ready to go on the journey with you.

    • Your favorite Robot Heart moment?

      Probably taking the cow down with Geo back in 2019, 2018, 2019... the last real burn.

    • What you think of the Robot Heart launching a 501c3 Foundation?

      I don't know what that even is. But I hope that they evolve in the way that Charmander turns into Charizard.

As we have formalized into a 501c3 and are moving beyond our historical gifting nature, we are exploring beneficiaries for our funds which includes scholarships at local music universities.

Giving Back

Community is at our core and has been since our inception. We care deeply about not only our immediate community but the impact we have on the communities where we show up.

Every year between 2008-2016, Robot Heart produced immersive music and art experiences with local artists as well as artists from around the globe. A portion of the funds from each 4,000+ person event were donated to YAI—a program providing summer camp, crisis intervention, occupational and physical therapies, and more to both children and adults in New York, New Jersey, and California.

Upholding this long standing tradition of giving, this year the Robot Heart Foundation will donate $50,000 to the City Parks Foundation to adopt a park. Our chosen park, to be confirmed with the Parks Dept, is First Park on the Lower East Side. A special park where our Founder regularly took his children before his untimely passing, we plan to honor his legacy with a mural highlighting climate change, conservation, and its impacts. In addition, we also plan to create a program this year that will help put a student through an art or music school in the city. It is important to us that the Foundation not only pursues its direct mission of promoting appreciation of the arts but also supports not only causes close to our hearts but also those of our partners.

  • Gary Mueller

    President & Board Member

  • Clare Laverty

    Executive Committee & Board Member

  • Justin Shaffer

    Executive Committee & Board Member

  • Jason Swamy

    Executive Committee & Board Member

  • Rob Scott

    Secretary & Board Member

  • Rob Torti

    Treasurer & Board Member

  • Walter Smith

    Board Member

  • Ed Kilduff

    Board Member

  • Tom Katis

    Board Member

  • Benjamin Alexander

    Board Member

  • Ting Ji

    Board Member

At Robot Heart we're bringing the magic of love and beats to the world. Using the global language of music and movement, we work with artists, technologists and visionaries of all types to create wonder-filled, awe-inspiring moments, and support our mission of elevating the human experience.

The Robot Heart Foundation is a 501c3 organization supporting artists and the arts by creating and funding projects—whether they be self-created, collaborative or commissioned. While our core focus is experiential music and technology, we span the globe, defy genres and borders, and connect dots in the hopes of facilitating an innovative artistic experience for those in our community and beyond.

Fare Forward is the brainchild of the team behind the infamous Burning Man camp Robot Heart. Robot Heart’s exceptional track record of fostering tight-knit communities, creating large-scale events and extraordinary experiences has given wings to the vision that is Fare Forward.