This Spring, Firebird's Social Worker, Danie Nitardy, facilitated two sessions for staff and leadership where they dove into specific concepts of trauma informed care that resonate most in our context. What ensued were rich discussions and complicated nuanced scenarios that defied simple answers or approaches. Here we share...
In January 2024, Firebird staff engaged with the brilliant Dr. S Simmons to help us explore collective responsibility, or community accountability. His approach is rooted in principles of accountability and transformative justice. Above is one resource he shared defining accountability in this way. Really want to nerd out?...
Get excited! Our annual Holiday Bazaar will be Saturday, December 9th from 12 - 5PM. Admission to the event is FREE for all! Treat yourself or purchase a gift for someone special. All goods have been brought to you by local artists and Project FIRE participants. This year...
Friday, October 20, join us as we partner with Brewseum for a night of glass blowing, beer, and a bonfire? Yes, indeed! Buy tickets here. We gather in the spirit of community. Enjoy some glass blowing demos, learn about the history of your favorite beer vessel shapes through...
Join us Thursday November 9, 2023 at 8pm for The Portal, Chicago's roaming variety show, bringing comedy and music to every corner of the city.
For only $15 you can experience great comedy and a variety of other local acts. Get tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-portal-firebird-community-arts-tickets-600843488047
A bike tour in Chicago brings riders up close to Chicago's 1919 race riots, honoring the 38 victims and highlighting the riots' impact. By Ben Schamisso July 25, 2023 A somber history lesson on two wheels is taught by visiting sites where people died and places where people...
A series of memorials commemorating the worst instance of racial violence in Chicago history that have yet to be installed on city streets are now temporarily on view as part of a neighborhood art gallery’s final exhibition. The memorials recall the Chicago race riots of 1919, where for...
The Trace —
N’Kosi Barber lost a friend in a shooting. Now, he’s helping Chicagoans who have endured similar losses move on through the craft of glassblowing.
By Justin Agrelo
Jul 7, 2023
Read more here...
Chicago Sun-Times —
Thousands of people pass by Adams Street and Wabash Avenue every day, climbing the stairs to the L, or heading to the Art Institute or other spots in the Loop. Few may know that corner is a murder scene, part of the 1919 riots during which, for...
Please join us for a fun night filled with love, karaoke & cupcakes! There will be glassblowing demonstrations and the opportunity to learn how to sculpt a glass heart for $75. Glass hearts and roses will be for sale as well :) (Limited refreshments will be available) Register...
These are a series of signs and learning tools we have developed for use in our community studio space. Maybe some of them can be of use to you and your community?
Introduction "When we talk about being asset-based we mean eliminating the practice of defining less-protected communities as a culmination of deficits or traumas. Asset-based means first recognizing that all communities, including those often labeled as “marginalized” or “disenfranchised,” are filled with knowledge, skills, ideas, and solutions that if...
This “Public Service Announcement on
Philanthropy and Charitable Giving” is a guide that explains many of the common
misconceptions about giving to nonprofits, and how you can adjust your giving strategy to have the biggest impact.
GATHER 2022 - We came together to give, heal, and empower! Thank you for joining us for an evening filled with tasty treats, drinks, glassblowing, and a silent auction filled with original art and getaways. To see photos from that evening, please click here. Thursday, September 15th | ...
This October, beginning near Indigenous People's Day, Firebird initiated an ongoing conversation with Board, staff, and youth about indigenous land acknowledgements. As we crafted a land acknowledgement to open a Board meeting, the complexity of the task came to the surface. We did not want to make a...
Block Club Chicago —
Firebird Community Arts in Garfield Park was among the groups that received a special grant from LISC after the previous awards were canceled because of the pandemic.
Firebird is located within the East Garfield Park neighborhood of the West Side of Chicago. The students and student interns of our Fireworks teen program collaborated with their instructors to build a list of West Side mutual aid supports. Youth also designed icons to represent the types of...
Things we have done/are doing to dismantle white supremacy: Diversifying our Executive Board from 100% white in 2012 to over half POC currently Prioritizing access of South and West Side youth of color to rarefied art media in schools and in our studio Employing Black and Brown youth...
At Firebird Community Arts, we are struggling along with everyone else about how to think about change. We are discussing our contradictory feelings. We are all shifting wildly between rage, worry, hope, fear, desperation, anxiety, camaraderie.
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