What We Do:

~ We create events, pop up markets, art shows, and host classes, by partnering with artists, makers, and indie businesses, to uplift and highlight those who’ve often been underrepresented and under-recognized.

~ We offer studio rental space for your artwork, events, projects, office hours, and art materials.

Why We Do It:

~ Self expression is our jam + art is for everyone. At Firefolk, exploration, experimentation, expansion, and fun are ever embraced.  We think every human is creative in some way, and seek to foster that.

~ We value collaboration over competition, and think that sharing skills and resources, cross-promotion, and community members working together toward creative solutions, creates healthier villages, humans, and economies.

~ We know what it’s like to live in a small town without regular access or exposure to various cultures / subcultures, and we want to encourage more people to experience this diversity, first hand. This fosters greater empathy, understanding, and equity within our communities.

~ It’s rare to find art shows in rural Vermont that are curated by BIPOC / AAPI artists; and when we view culture, curated through varied lenses, we have an opportunity to see the world and people through perspectives that we don’t commonly encounter.

~ We know that many artists find it daunting to get their work seen widely, and it’s great to have an opportunity to step beyond gatekeepers, and challenge that system.

~ Having a community of creatives to share ideas with, can be paramount to reaching goals, by gaining beneficial feedback.

Founder:

Tina Picz is a Filipina American multidisciplinary Artist / Photographer, who has collaborated with artists and musicians for decades, in the 5 states she’s lived. She’s the daughter of a Filipina immigrant mother and white military father. Tina’s married to a rad dude, and mom of a teen who’s an activist /poet. ~More on Tina HERE.

Space:

Firefolk is housed in an old town firehouse, where fire trucks were stored many moons ago, on unceded Abenaki land.  So essentially, it’s a big garage with a concrete floor— now meant to house active creation, and allow space for multidisciplinary makers and entrepreneurship to grow.  

It’s not a pristine, museum-ish gallery. We like messy!  We bring our authentically human qualities here, so you don’t have to worry that you, or your kids might be “too messy or wild” to join us.

This is an inclusive art space, meaning a working / industrial space which allows for messes to be made, and rough drafts to be tested, to spark and ignite artful connection. 

If you are a creative person (or group), but perhaps don’t consider yourself an “Artist” — but you make, organize, or produce objects / ideas / plans / events, which help to mobilize humans toward creative solutions for the greater good… Then this is a space for you to utilize. 

This could look like creating a one-off workshop, or a series of classes to inform, educate, or edify others. Or a fun event to invite playfulness and curiosity to blossom in youth or adults!  

Firefolk’s a blank slate, blank canvas, blank field for seeding and nurturing what you hope to grow in this world.  When we open ourselves to creating together, great things can happen.

Email to discuss ideas! firefolkarts@gmail.com

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

We live and work on the ancient, unceded land of the Abenaki Nation (N’dakinna). We honor the Abenaki peoples (Alnobak), their ancestors, current generations (elders, leaders, & families) and future generations, and seek to create connections with them on this land that they’ve tended for centuries.