OUR MISSION & VISION

Our mission is to provide access to space, information, and quality arts/culture programs for our community. We stand at the intersection of art, culture, wellness, and organizing, and we act as a vehicle for elevating the intentions and actions of our residents.
Through community-led and community-oriented gatherings, events, and workshops, we envision growth and a sense of deep belonging for our neighbors that grows out of meaningful engagement in our community. We imagine an ever-growing pride in the resilient and diverse cultures that define the cities we love.

 

  • Community members seeking a place to meet.
  • Individuals and organizations seeking to hold events that are open and free to the community.

  • Workshops
  • Community programs
  • Public forums and meetings
  • Film screenings
  • Performances (poetry readings, musicians with their own equipment)
  • Art showing (though we are not a staffed as a gallery, we will work with you to help your exhibition vision become a reality)

FREE CENTER DIRECTORS

RICHARD HOLLANT

I am the Free Center Founder and Executive Director. I keep us true to our mission and do a lot of the work of presenting Free Center and the interests of the people we support to the service leaders, policy makers, and big dreamers who care about the communities we care about. I make sure we honor our community and do right by our neighbors.

A little bit about me
Pronouns: he, him
I’m for real recording my first album
I take photographs with expired film
I’m the chair of Hartford’s Commission on Cultural Affairs
I lecture and run workshops and teach about the road to equity

KERRY KINCY

I direct our Free Centers. I coordinate all space use and administer our Free Center originated programs. I believe in our community and I’m always refining how everyone can feel genuinely welcomed here.

A little bit about me
Pronouns: she, her
I am a mother of two amazing daughters who are 11 years apart
I’m passionate about giving voice to the voiceless and I facilitate programs using movement as a language
I collect rocks and curly sticks

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kamora Herrington
Chair

Kamora’s Cultural Corner
Founder & Director

Anya Shatilova
Secretary

Wesleyan University
Adjunct Professor, Ethnomusicologist

Jackie Jeske
Treasurer

Metropole Realty Advisors
Executive Assistant

Jamal Eric Henry
Member-at-Large

LMSW Clinician
Hip Hop Journalist & DJ

OUR ADVISORY GROUP

Jennifer Galluzzo
St. Vincent’s Medical Center
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
CRNA

Lovette Johnson
Mudcloth Mentorship Society

Betsy Needle
Educator, Adjunct Professor
Educational Grant Writer

Joseph Seagrave
LGBTQIA+ Advocacy
Master Sommelier

Annie Smith
The SIFE Equity Project
Co-Founder & Director