GRAND RAPIDS — Fire in the Village is a collective of artists and cultural organizers with a new permanent headquarters in Old Central School.
Two members — Annie Humphrey and Shanai Matteson — joined Area Voices on the KAXE Morning Show to share how they see Room 203 as a space for communities to connect through arts, culture and stories.
“It's a place where you don't even need to be doing anything," Matteson said. "It's a place where you can just be.”
Talking about the meaning behind the space, Humphrey said, “I think in any border town, there's a lot of racism. I mean, you can go out into Grand Rapids and find me [only] five Native people employed anywhere. And I think it’s important to have a room that's like super inclusive ... a place for acceptance and the place where all that matters is you’re a human being.”
The philosophy behind Fire in the Village is that fires are places people will sit around and connect. They want to create these spaces to connect. There’s a shortage of community spaces in small towns, Matteson and Humphrey said, and they want Room 203 to fill that void and hopefully inspire other communities to open similar spaces.
“Little towns are where these movements can make the most difference,” Humphrey said.
They want people to view it as a visiting room where people can have a cup of coffee and make connections with their community.
This week is “Welcome Week” at the space, with activities going on every weeknight. Monday was bingo night, and musician Keith Secola called the game and played some music afterward. Secola wasn’t advertised to appear, but that was part of the plan.
“Nobody really knew about it. So, we want to put out to people to expect the unexpected when we put on events here,” Humphrey said.
Tuesday was family game night, Wednesday will be movie night showing the film Land, Thursday is "Crow-aoke" in the Crow-aoke Karaoke Lounge and Friday ends with a living room concert with S. Carey.
All the activities except for the concert are free to attend, like most Room 203 events. People, however, are free to make a donation. It’s a family-friendly space, so no alcohol is served and it’s a chance for intergenerational learning and connecting.
Room 203 will also host weekly Free Friday Art Jams. People can bring in art projects they’re working on or come in to learn something new. There’s diamond art and printmaking tools available, or people can just come in to hang out with other creative people.
Another idea they had for the space is disco yoga after they add a disco ball to the space. They’re also not limiting themselves to activities that can only be done in the space. One project they’re working on is a huge mural in Ball Club with families joining in.
“I hope that this whole nonprofit project thing will help people see their similarities, because there's enough stuff dividing everybody," Humphrey said. "I just think that we need to get down to the heart of it, and you can get down to the heart of it through art and through music."
Another upcoming project in Room 203 is a summer day camp where middle school and high school students will come in and learn different kinds of art, like printmaking, mural painting, poetry and more. They will then showcase their work the during the First Friday Art Walk in August.
To keep up with what’s going on in the space, there is a website available. However, they encourage community members to keep their eyes out for their logo on flyers at spaces like laundromats, libraries and coffee shops. They also started a newsletter called Fire Starter.
They encourage people to check out the space during events, and once a month on the final Sunday of the month, they will host a morning gathering called “Remember Who We Are.” It’s like a spiritual grounding space open to anyone.
“Our hope is that [Room 203] really is one of those warm spaces that you can gather and that people feel safe here," Matteson said. "That they feel like it's a space where they belong... I think a lot of unexpected things are going to grow out of here.”
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
