Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center

Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center's mission is to inspire hands, hearts, and minds through art forms produced by heat, spark, or flame. 

There is nothing quite like CAFAC in our local arts ecosystem, with our focus on art forms that include blacksmithing, enameling, glass, jewelry making, metal casting, neon, welding and metal fabrication, and more. The pillars of our programming are arts education, artist support, and public art, which together provide a platform for social impact and community-driven resources.

Our facility is equipped with tools and equipment that artists and learners might not be able to access otherwise. Our classes introduce people of all ages and backgrounds to the power of the creative spark. We support artists in developing their skills and their careers. We use public art to amplify under-represented voices and address issues of equity and justice. 

FUEL OUR FIRES

Let’s make the future bright together!

Your contribution to CAFAC creates a ripple effect, because we can turn your support into support for learners and artists. We’ve been able to do things like:

• Sustain a scholarship fund to offset the cost of taking classes with us, with a low-barrier application and an option specifically for BIPOC students, who are under-represented in industrial art forms. Last year we awarded $16,000 in scholarship support, with over 60% going to BIPOC learners.
• Launch an artist residency program that has so far supported seven artists with time, space, and resources to create new work and expand their skills in blacksmithing, enameling, glass, neon, cast metal, welded fabrication, and more.
• Expand our glass, jewelry, and cast metal programming by adding new facilities, tools, and equipment, and building our teaching artist roster.
• Deepen our commitment to providing a welcoming, inclusive learning environment by adding wheelchair accessible workstations and developing a sensory rubric for all of our program areas.

Join the community and support artists with your contribution today!

To support our work on an ongoing basis, become a Fueler! You'll also receive some perks like early class registration.