Mission

Brew & Forge amplifies the collective power of writers and other artists to alchemize dreaming and build capacity in movements for liberation, justice, and survival. Through our annual book fair, retreat, and other events, we strive to foster mutual flourishing between writers and activists, leveraging the creative imagination to help build sustainable movements. 

Grace Lee Boggs wrote about the need for activist movements that “grow our souls” even as they fight for liberation.

We believe that this is where artists—especially writers and poets—come in. While organizers are working to bring a better world about, writers can help us see (and smell and feel and taste) that better world we are dreaming of. Writers can weave together complex narratives, envision new possibilities, spark questions, and gather communities in mourning or celebration. We believe that movement spaces can be joyful, nourishing, and self-sustaining, and that artists have a role in making it so.

Poet and former organizer Franny Choi ran the first Brew & Forge Book Fair in 2016, working with about 50 authors to raise about $1000 for Assata’s Daughters in Chicago. A group of dedicated volunteers has run the Book Fair every year since then, and Brew & Forge has grown to include events and a biennial retreat.

Vision

We envision a world in which:

  • the imaginative capacity required for radical change is robust, supported, well-resourced, and amplified;

  • the revolutionary imaginations of artists and movement builders merge to expand the visions, strategies, and possibilities of their work; &

  • rest is normalized, and movements are sustainable.

Operating Principles

Our methods of operating and decision-making are guided by the following principles:

  • Creative, reciprocal coalition-building and mutual aid

  • Challenging capitalist modes of decision-making by prioritizing open dialogue, collaboration, and relational well-being

  • Centering the voices, needs, and expertise of those most directly affected by oppressive systems, especially BIPOC, queer/trans, working class, women, and disabled artists and organizers

  • Honoring and celebrating the need for rest, retreat, and joy

Brew & Forge is fiscally sponsored by the Peace Development Fund, a 501(c)3 public foundation. Our current programs are possible thanks to support from the Markham-Nathan Fund, the Poetry Foundation, Resist, the Ruth Arts Foundation for the Arts, and our generous donors.