In keeping with the Craft Council of BC’s mandate to promote all stages of artistic practice in the craft sector, in 2022 we partnered with Terminal City Glass Co-op to launch Learning Fire, a glass arts education curriculum for students from diverse and historically underserved backgrounds.
Learning Fire began with youth from two Vancouver School Board programs: Cedar Walk, which provides a safe, culturally relevant environment for Indigenous students with a history of non-engagement at school, and Pinnacle Outreach Program, which addresses the complex needs of otherwise disengaged high school students. The students’ enthusiasm for Learning Fire was immediately clear in both the pride they took in their work and their interest in internationally renowned guest artist Preston Singletary, who demonstrated his glass working style and talked about his past as an underserved Indigenous youth.
Since its launch, Learning Fire has grown to add partnerships with other VSB alternative programs, with Nova and Spectrum in 2023 and in the following year with Aries, a program for Indigenous youth in grades 8–10 in partnership with the Urban Native Youth Association. From its original 2022 class with five students from two schools, Learning Fire expanded to offer three 2025 glass art classes—hot shop glassblowing, torch-based beadmaking, and glass fusing—to 30 students from six different VSB alternative programs. In 2026, the program is doubling the number of students it serves by adding a second round of classes.
Learning Fire meaningfully contributes to Vancouver’s cultural ecology by providing access to highly specialized equipment and resources for youth in the city. It offers them the opportunity to develop new skills, creatively express themselves, and learn in a safe environment. As part of this project, students work alongside professional artists in the hot shop and flame studio, while also having the opportunity to meet high-profile visiting artists such as Preston Singletary, Trenton Quiocho, Raya Friday, and Cedric Mitchell. These visiting artists demonstrate their glassmaking and deliver a presentation on their personal experiences in becoming professional glassblowers.
Having the chance to meet and work alongside professional artists opens new pathways for Learning Fire students, and by inspiring underserved, at-risk youth, the program offers an avenue for creative expression and the opportunity to consider a profession in the arts. Participants also learn valuable and widely applicable skills such as communication, cooperation, problem solving, and resilience. They gain confidence and learn to trust themselves through their work.
