Join us for the opening of our next exhibit featuring all things metal casting on Saturday, October 19th, 4-7pm. You will have the chance to meet a fun group of artists who work in this medium, learn a little bit more about the processes involved in the art form and see some spectacular art. We hope to see you!

Join in community as we read about and discuss art history, contemporary art, artists’ inspirations, and more. We're meeting to connect to our local arts community and discuss various topics related to art! Our first book will be Disordered Attention: How We Look at Art and Performance Today by Claire Bishop.

Please RSVP here if you plan on attending! Refreshments will be provided.

This won't be like other book clubs--whether or not you've read (or heard of) this book, we want you there! This book will be a starting point for discussion, but anyone with lived experience as an artist, art lover, or creator will be able to contribute to the conversation.

If you’d like to borrow or purchase the book beforehand, physical copies can be found at:

Hennepin County Libraries

Black Garnet Books - $26.95

Moon Palace Books - $26.95

Magers & Quinn - $24.26

More about the book:

How technology and the politics of attention changed the way we look at art

The ways we encounter contemporary art and performance has changed. How are we expectedto engage with today's diverse practice? Is the old model of close-looking still the ideal, or has itgiven way to browsing, skimming, and sampling?

Across four provocative and insightful essays, art historian and critic Claire Bishop identifies trends in contemporary practice. Charting a critical path through the last three decades, Bishop pinpoints how spectatorship and visual literacy are evolving under the pressures of digital technology.

She explores how researched-based exhibitions have proliferated turning the artist into an investigator or archivist with mixed results. Spatial performance can now involve the artist, dancers, or even the audience as participants, often framed with Instagram in mind. The political event is not longer activated without an understanding of the media that will record and distribute it. The proliferation of works that use modernist architecture is noticeable; but has this become a shorthand for something else?

Disordered Attention is a vital survey of 21st century art, from one of the leading art thinkers of our times.

Join us for a final “hearth to heart” talk and a closing reception with artist nouf saleh about her exhibit “sawad” on Friday, September 27th, 7-8pm.

Artist Statement:

This show is part of my ongoing larger project, Sawad Thakira Albahar Ahmar (Black Memory Red Sea). Through this project, i contend with secrecy, kinship, displacement, separation, and memory in Afro-Arab communities, specifically of the Yemeni Muwalladeen. For me this body of work is an act of resistance to erasure of Afro-Arab communities. Secrecy is a big part of Arab, Yemeni, and Mixed cultures. In my practice, i work with this limitation, thinking creatively about how to depict my family and myself in ways that honor our privacy and our truths. One way this secrecy shows is through language or codified language. I focused on this aspect of the project during the residency at Chicago Ave Fire Arts Center (CAFAC).

During this residency, i wanted to focus on language and phrases that i heard growing up and create them in neon. And then display phrases from Arabic, Amharic and English side by side. However, after starting the residency and spending some time at CAFAC and realizing how close it was to GFS, i changed the word i wanted to create in neon to pay homage to George Floyd. His murder has shifted global consciousness, conversations and language around blackness. 

Artist Bio

i was born in Sana'a and raised in the diaspora.  And currently living in occupied Wahpekute land also known as Minneapolis. i am an interdisciplinary artist, organizer and art administrator. In my practice, i speculate and research collective memory, language, migrations, time, familial relations, absence and change. i work with many materials but primarily with alternative photographic processes, wood work and neon.

It’s that time of year again! Our biannual Open(Hot) House is coming up on Wednesday, September 25th with events starting as early as 5pm, featuring fire arts demos, hands-on artmaking, and recent student work on display. We’ll also be having our very first IRON pour to celebrate our new foundry shed!

Starting at 6:30pm, we’ll have arts demos and hands-on activities, along with refreshments, nouf saleh’s exhibit “sawad” for viewing in the gallery and recent student work on display. The culminating event of the evening—our very first iron pour!—will take place around 7:30pm. You won’t want to miss it!

There's something for everyone at the Open (Hot)House. Come see what we've been up to at CAFAC, enjoy snacks and refreshments, and learn how you can get involved through classes, consignment, commissions, and more!

Join us for a celebration of the end of summer with a mini RedHot Art Market. You will have the opportunity to purchase work from local artists/makers, Mary Ila Duntemann, Dipp’d in Hunnie, Jenn Angell, Lior Perlmuter, Mary Ila Duntemann, Samael Leopold-Sullivan, Sergey Vaynshenk, Woody Stauffer, and introducing Pivot HIGHer, a local career building group with a focus on helping women and non-binary individuals in the skilled trade jobs. We will end the evening with a family friendly movie night in our parking lot. Bring a chair or blanket and a beverage and we will have the movie and popcorn. Save the date for August, 24th, 2pm-9pm. The market will be from 2-7pm and the movie 7:30-9pm.
And as a heads up, our GFS neighbors are having a Black August event around the same time with speakers, food and kids activities. That means Chicago Ave between 37th and 39th St and 38th St between Elliot and Columbus Ave will be closed to vehicles. There will be parking available on the side streets or you can bike your way in.

**ATTENTION!! The opening for "sawad" opening time has changed to 8pm so that the neon can be better appreciated.**

Join us Saturday, July 27th, 8-9:30pm for the opening reception and a chance to celebrate all of the incredible work nouf saleh has done during her residency with us. Save the date for a talk with the artist on Thursday, August 8th, 6-8pm and again on September, 25th, 5pm afterwards, stay for our fall Open (Hot)House from 6:30-9pm.

Congratulations to nouf saleh on the completion of her residency and this beautiful exhibit. It has been a treasure having you and we can't wait to see where your new skills take you.

ONE DAY ONLY!! June 23rd from 10am-3pm for a fun CAFAC Garage Sale clean out! There will be used equipment, tools and other fun goodies! Keep your eyes on our social media for some sneak peaks as the date gets closer.

We have a couple of updates to share about our current exhibit “We See, We Feel, We Know, We Unite!” by Douglas R. Ewart. Due to unforeseen circumstances we have rescheduled the Hearth to Heart Talk with Douglas from May 24th to Friday, June 21st. Which excitingly enough also means that this incredible exhibit will be in the gallery for an extra month with a new closing date of June 28th. 

We hope you will be able to join us on this new date, Friday, June 21st, 6-8pm, for an intimate evening of conversation with this legendary musician and artist and get inspired by his journey, creative process, and insights into the world of art and music. It will be a truly unique opportunity to connect with a true visionary.

Gallery hours are Wednesday-Friday 9:30am-3:30pm and Saturdays 1-4pm or by appointment. To set up a viewing email Jhyle at gallery@cafac.org. 

This May we have the honor of having Douglas R. Ewart featured in CAFAC’s Nokomis Gallery. Stop by on May 1st at 5 pm as we unveil the exhibit titled “We See, We Feel, We Know, We Unite!” An exhibit featuring the works of Douglas R. Ewart. Light refreshments will be provided. *Update!: Fireside Chat with the artist has been rescheduled to May 24th”

Perhaps best known as a composer, improviser, sculptor and maker of masks and instruments, Douglas R. Ewart is also an educator, lecturer, arts organization consultant and all around visionary. In projects done in diverse media throughout an award-winning and widely-acclaimed 40-year career, Mr. Ewart has woven his remarkably broad gifts into a single sensibility that encourages and celebrates--as an antidote to the divisions and compartmentalization afflicting modern life-the wholeness of individuals in culturally active communities.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1946, Douglas R. Ewart immigrated to Chicago, Illinois in the United States in 1963. His travels throughout the world and interactions with diverse people since then has, again and again confirmed his view that the world is an interdependent entity. An example of his efforts both to study and to contribute to this interdependence is his use of his prestigious 1987 U.S.-Japan Creative Arts Fellowship to study both modern Japanese culture and the traditional Buddhist shakuhachi flute, and also to give public performances while in Japan.

In America, his determination to spread his perspective is part of the inspiration behind his often multi-disciplinary works and their encouragement of artist-audience interactions. It is also the basis of the teaching philosophy with which he guides his classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he has taught since 1990, and the basis of the perspective he has brought to his service on advisory boards for institutions such as The National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer (New York City) and Arts Midwest. Mr. Ewart uses his past experience as chairman of the internationally renowned Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) to celebrate and build upon the history and achievements of the organization, and is from this perspective a natural extension of the activities he has been engaged in for the past four decades.

Among his many honors, Ewart received the 2022 McKnight Foundation Distinguished Artist Award, Jamaica Musgrave Silver Medal for Outstanding Merit in the Arts, Education, and Culture 2019, and Chicago’s Outstanding Artist Award. He has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, Bush Foundation, Jerome Foundation and others.

This exhibit will be available for viewing until May 31st. Check back for added events during his month with us. We can’t wait to see you.

Fireside Chat at CAFAC with visiting teaching artist Elizabeth Belz on Sunday, April 7th, 6-7pm. You will get a chance to meet her and hear about all of the incredible things she is doing. AND hear about the class she taught with us.

Elizabeth is a blacksmith, educator, and the owner of Black Widow Forge. She is currently the Blacksmithing and Metals Coordinator at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina and was previously the blacksmithing apprentice at the Metal Museum in Memphis where she trained under master smith Jim Masterson. Elizabeth was also craft education intern at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN, a resident artist with the Science Museum of MN, and a Creative Catalyst fellow. She has shown her work, competed, and taught blacksmithing throughout the U.S. and internationally and has most recently finished up a year long artist residency at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Elizabeth sits on the board of the Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths, an international nonprofit committed to building equity and diversity in the field of blacksmithing.

We can’t wait to see you! Light refreshments will be provided.

6:30pm - 9:00pm

It’s that time of year again! Our biannual Open(Hot) House is coming up on March 27th, featuring fire arts demos, hands-on artmaking, and recent student work on display. We’ll also be having a live metal pour AND with a Fire Jam brought to you by Insphyre Performance at 8pm!

In the gallery "re.tic.u.la.tion" studies of familiar and unfamiliar networks will be on display. Featuring the works created by our most recent studio residents, Emily McBride and Emma Wood.

There's something for everyone at the Open (Hot)House. Come see what we've been up to at CAFAC, enjoy snacks and refreshments, and learn how you can get involved through classes, consignment, commissions, and more!

6-7pm

Join us Friday, March 8th, 6-7pm as we host visiting teaching artist Ellen Durkan for a “Fireside Chat”. Ellen is an artist blacksmith based in Wilmington, DE, who teaches both in a college setting and through her business, Iron Maiden Forge. She specializes in wearable “Forged Fashion” art that she presents through performance runway shows in addition to large-scale drawings. If you missed out on her workshop, now is an opportunity for you to come and meet the artist and hear about her incredible work.

5-7pm. Fireside chat starts at 5:30pm.

Join us at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center for an exciting evening of art and conversation. Immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere as we unveil “re·tic·u·la·tion”, studies of familiar and unfamiliar networks. Featuring the works created by our most recent studio residents, Emily McBride and Emma Wood.

After exploring the exhibition, gather around for a fireside chat with the artists and CAFAC Gallery Coordinator, Jhyle Rinker. Listen to their inspiring stories, gain insights into their creative processes, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to celebrate art, connect with fellow art enthusiasts, and be part of a dynamic conversation. Mark your calendars for this unforgettable event!

"Fireside Chat" with the artists will start around 5:30pm. We hope to see you there.

You’re invited to join us for our 8th annual RedHot Art Market on Saturday, December 16, from 11am to 5pm!

Our 8th Annual RedHot Art Market features art in every medium created by our incredibly talented local community of artists. This event is our biggest scholarship fundraiser of the year, with 30% of sales directly contributing to the scholarship fund.

Our scholarship program has never been more popular—as of today we’ve disbursed over $14,000 in scholarships! Come to meet amazing local artists & makers, buy some beautiful artwork, and support local fire arts learners.

This Years Featured Artists: Analeise Jarvi-Beamer, Dipp'd in Hunnie, Functional Heirlooms, Tai Salisbury /Salibenne, Katie Monroe, Emma Skala, Samael Leopold-Sullivan, Jason Umentum, Elyse, Pete Gierzynski, Katie Monroe, Margaret Vergara, Jeanine Malec, Lior Morton Perlmuter, Linda Banning, Samasti Studio, Jessica Bergman Night, Mary Ila Duntemann, Sarah Berry Glass, Anna Brauch and Mari Navarro - Las Criaturas, Erick Wiger, Shelly Thrall, Lucie Cherel, Kaitlyn Luhm, Eleanor Giese, Heather M. Cole, Greta Hammelman, Jenn Angell, Erin Gunelson, Lucia Vasquez, Crystal Celeste Studio, Dana Gervais Johnson, Martha Fetter, Alberta Mirais, Obsidian Pause, Allison Anne, Emma Wood and Emily McBride

Friday, December 8th from 5 - 7pm.

MN Waterfalls: A Fire Arts Perspectiv , was a year-long exhibition at the Minneapolis Airport that was installed in October 2022 and has been featured in our exhibit space since November 1st.  This exhibit was a collaboration with artist Pete Segar and included fifteen artists whose work was selected to be in the Thompson-Reuters Art Gallery in the central mall of the main terminal at the Minneapolis Airport as part of the MSP Airport Commission’s Arts@MSP public art program. The Artists featured in this exhibit are Pete Segar, Wayne E. Potratz, Kathleen Kvern, Brighton McCormick, Debra Maertens, Brad Buxton, Esther Osayande, Greg L Mueller, John Geier, Gail Katz-James, Craig Snyder, Kim Segar, Loretta Day, Jess Bergman Night, and Jon Ault. Join us in celebration for the closing reception!

6:30pm - 9:00pm

It’s that time of year again! Our biannual Open(Hot) House is coming up on September 20th, featuring fire arts demos, hands-on artmaking, and recent student work on display. And we’re excited to host Fire Jam with Lil C for a fire performance at 8pm!

This event also serves as the opening for our new gallery exhibit celebrating women in blacksmithing, “Forging Women.” This show is created by Carla Hall and co-curated by Jhyle Rinker.

“The pandemic years were quiet and reflective, yet isolating. My hope was to bring together a group of women and their forged work post pandemic. This show represents the people I encountered along the way, who continue to inspire me with their forged ironwork and open spirit of community.” -Carla Hall

There's something for everyone at the Open (Hot)House. Come see what we've been up to at CAFAC, enjoy snacks and refreshments, and learn how you can get involved through classes, consignment, commissions, and more!

1pm - 4pm

Dipp’d in Hunnie will be hosting a DIY Body butter workshop for six raffle winners. To enter, follow @dippd_in_hunnie and @fireartscenter on Instagram and tag 2 friends in the post on our profile. Winners will be randomly selected on Thursday, August 17th. She will also have pre-made work available for purchase—let’s take care of that skin and support an incredible maker.

Friday, April 21st, 5-7pm will be your last chance to view our current exhibit “No, yeah…Yeah, no” For this exhibit artists were asked to bring 2 pieces for viewing, their “best” and their “worst”. We created a ballot for the viewer to decide and we had a great discussion about that on April 7th which you can view via Facebook. For this closing reception we are going to do something a little different. Artist MollieRae will be doing a zine making workshop and a few of the artists will be bringing some works for sale for an impromptu pop up sale. Join us to celebrate the ending of a really fun exhibit.

Sunday April 16th from 12-4pm we will be having a fun collaboration with Memorialize the Movement . You will have the opportunity to get to know Memorialize the Movement, paint, listen to music and we will be sharing the art of enameling. You will be making a piece for our fence and will be able to make a piece to take home with you. Come and paint with us, have some snacks, listen to music and maybe even play with a little fire!!

Ok my lovely humans. We will be having our group fireside chat on Friday, April 7th from 6-7pm. You will get the opportunity to hear from most of the artists in the exhibit and we will dig into the ballots. If you can't make it in person, we always do a Facebook Live video. It's going to be a fun time. If you have any questions or concerns email Jhyle at gallery@cafac.org

You can view and place your own ballot during gallery hours which are Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays 9:30am-3:30pm or by appointment. Email Jhyle at gallery@cafac.org to set up a viewing.

Hello friends! It's time to gather again and welcome the change of season, fire arts style. Let's turn up the heat and melt away that snow!

Open (Hot)House is an opportunity to stop in and see what happens at CAFAC, open to the entire community. Watch fire arts in action as our instructors do a variety of demos. Participate in some hands-on art-making. See work by recent students.

We've also got a new show in the gallery. "No, yeah... Yeah, no," asked artists to submit two works: one that they thought hit the mark and another that fell short. Pieces will be displayed for the viewer to consider and decide.

There's something for everyone at the Open (Hot)House and it's a great reason to check out this neighborhood resource. Come see what we've been up to at CAFAC. Snacks and refreshments too!