About Firehouse Art Collective

  • Firehouse Art Collective began in 2004.

    Its original ten members met at art college and wanted to create a studio space run by artists, for artists.

  • The old firehouse

    The first Firehouse location was on Harmon Street in South Berkeley. It was rumored by the community to be an old 1800's fire station with a horse and carriage fire truck, thus “Firehouse Art Collective” was born.

  • new beginnings

    In 2010, founding member Tom Franco, with the support of his ex-wife Julia Lazar, became sole director of the Firehouse Art Collective.

  • building a legacy

    For the past 19 years, Firehouse Art Collective has brought together thousands of artists to create and spare perspectives.

    Read Tom’s interview about FAC and the creative journey: http://www.theroguemagazine.com/features/tom-franco

    Today, Firehouse Art Collective is partnering with different arts organizations to expand the scope of the mission.  We are starting to develop physical locations in cities outside of the Bay Area. 

Our collective model is one that has manager(s), who are usually artists themselves, that support a location.

Our members can sign up for work spaces in the categories of: shared living, gallery event space, and retail projects- such as cafes or shops.

we believe that through a community-based model with shared resources, our art practices and neighborhoods will grow.

Our Mission

Empowering the practice of artistry for the benefit of personal and community well-being. The main function is to provide physical spaces for artists to co-create a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration.

“I’m so excited to be a part of the fac artist community! Having a studio practice has been crucial to my creative development, and i couldn’t ask for a more inspiring group of studio-mates.”

Cara Smith, FAC Member since 2021

“FAc has been a great environment to pursue my craft within. the community is friendly and there is much to learn from one another.”

Firehouse Films is a branch of the collective that focuses on film, tv, and documentary projects.  These projects are led by producer Iris Torres Franco and Tom Franco.