Saturday, May 30, 2026

Resource Fair for Fire-Displaced Artists Opens Today at Altadena Recovery Hub

[photo credit: Eventbrite]

Organizers say a March survey found creative workers still lack workspace, income stability and community connections 17 months after the Eaton Fire

A free resource fair for artists and creative workers displaced by the Eaton Fire opens today at The Collaboratory, the Altadena recovery hub where organizers say they will offer wellness services, art workshops, live performances and networking to a community still struggling nearly 17 months after the January 2025 disaster.

“Creative Workers Rising: A Resource Fair for Fire-Impacted Artists” runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 540 W. Woodbury Road, according to an Eventbrite listing by the Arts & Culture Coalition of Altadena, which organized the event with the Eaton Fire Collaborative. Admission is free. Registration is requested through Eventbrite.

The event grew out of findings from ACCA’s March 2026 Creative Worker Survey, which organizers say showed artists continue to lack financial support, stable income, creative workspace and community connections, according to a statement provided to the newsroom. Specific survey results, including the number of respondents and detailed findings, were not publicly available.

The Eaton Fire destroyed 9,418 structures and killed at least 19 people after igniting January 7, 2025, near Eaton Canyon, according to LA County. The LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, which raised over $15 million, led by the J. Paul Getty Trust and administered by the Center for Cultural Innovation, distributed grants to 1,689 artists and arts workers before concluding in May 2025, according to the Center for Cultural Innovation. Seventy-eight percent of recipients were impacted by the Eaton Fire, according to the Getty Trust.

With that fund closed, organizers describe today’s gathering as an effort to address needs that outlasted emergency relief, according to the statement. Attendees will be invited to complete a questionnaire to help shape future programming.

The event takes place at The Collaboratory, which opened in October 2025 as a permanent hub where fire survivors can access recovery resources. The Pasadena Community Foundation, the California Community Foundation and other funders provided $975,000 to secure the location and launch operations, according to the Pasadena Community Foundation.

“We support a recovery effort that is created by and for those affected by the fire,” Jeannine Bogaard, vice president of community impact at the Pasadena Community Foundation, said in a January statement about The Collaboratory.

The event contact is Sunder Ganglani, artistic director of Pasadena-based Cornerstone Theater Company, at sganglani@cornerstonetheater.org or (646) 321-8859.

“Beside the tragic losses, the experience of being displaced from your home deprives artists of the stability needed to be creative,” Philipp Kaiser, then-president of Marian Goodman Gallery and a former Altadena resident, said in a February 2025 statement about the fire’s impact on the community.

At least seven staff and teaching artists at Pasadena’s Armory Center for the Arts lost their homes in the fire, according to the Armory Center. Some displaced Altadena artists have relocated to Pasadena, according to The Art Newspaper.