Fire Museum Presents is going nowhere but still needs your money
The Philly concert presenter is transitioning into a nonprofit organization.
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When Fire Museum Presents founder Steven Tobin announced a fund-raising concert for the music organization, he called it a “make or break” event. He had hoped a Dec. 9 concert at Fishtown community center 2223 FISH would raise sufficient donations to transition the group into a nonprofit organization. If not, Tobin would put an end to the 21-year-old organization.
As of last week’s Giving Tuesday, the “break” option was removed from the table. Fire Museum reached and surpassed its fund-raising goal, garnering 162% of its initial $5,000 objective.
“Asking for money for yourself doesn’t come easily to me,” said Tobin, who through Fire Museum, has raised money for various causes like Community Legal Services and the Abortion Liberation Fund. Though 2022 was the biggest year for Fire Museum, Tobin didn’t want to get stuck in his comfort zone. “I had to issue an ultimatum to myself to try to take it to the next level,” he said. “If we didn’t, well, everything has its day.”
The funds Tobin raised “will be good to have a cushion while we’re navigating the nonprofit world. The show will still be a fund-raiser, but now it’s also a celebration.”
Tobin began Fire Museum in 2001 in San Francisco as a means to raise money for various causes, then created a concert series after arriving in Philly in 2006.
Friday’s concert offers the typically atypical fare for which Fire Museum has become a reliable purveyor. The show will feature Philadelphia visual artist Erik Ruin’s Ominous Cloud Ensemble, which combines Ruin’s intricate paper-cut projections with a rotating cast of local improvisers; a solo set by bandoneon player Shinjoo Cho; and the Great Cackler, the acoustic duo of guitarist/vocalist Justin Duerr and violinist Mandy Katz.
“Fire Museum has consistently presented the highest quality international and experimental music, hosting some of my favorite musicians [and some unknowns that have since become favorites] in a variety of unpretentious and welcoming locales,” Ruin wrote in an email. “It’s been exciting to see them grow audiences and capacities without losing touch with what makes Philly such a special place.”
Categorizing the music that Fire Museum presents can be a challenge — even pinning labels on individual artists on any particular bill can be a head-scratcher. Its twin pillars could broadly be termed experimental and world music, both of which are problematic and inexact terms. This year, Fire Museum presented avant-garde jazz artists like pianist Dave Burrell and saxophonist Ken Vandermark, the trance-inducing guitar/percussion duo 75 Dollar Bill, the Dutch vocal performer Jaap Blonk, Appalachian-inspired folk music, and music from Iran, Mali, and Korea, among others.
As Fire Museum remains nomadic, its primary homes these days are 2223 FISH, located in the Summerfield Church building on Dauphin; the Evangelical Church of the Atonement, also in Fishtown; the Rotunda in West Philly; and the Pageant: Soloveev gallery in South Philly.
A number of other venues, from private homes to art galleries, have come and gone over the years. Tobin appreciates the ability to make music accessible to communities in various parts of the city and the shifting atmospheres that moving locations offer, but when asked if a permanent home is a goal he said, “Never say never.”
Following Friday’s fund-raiser, Fire Museum has three more events planned for December. This Sunday , pianist Utsav Lal and mrudangam player Rajna Swaminathan will perform Indian classical music at the Church of the Atonement, which will also host a quartet led by avant-jazz bassist Brandon Lopez on Dec. 15. The calendar closes with the Iraqi-American duo of trumpeter Amir ElSaffar and oud player Omar Dewachi at the Rotunda.
The Fire Museum fund-raiser takes place 8 p.m. Dec. 9 at 2223 FISH, 2223 E. Dauphin St.