The Campfire Project

The Campfire Project Therapeutic arts for refugees and asylum seekers to strengthen resilience, enhance wellbeing, and cultivate community.

Last week at P.S. 212 Midtown West, we joyfully culminated a yearlong project as part of our “Small Wings, Big Impact” p...
05/28/2026

Last week at P.S. 212 Midtown West, we joyfully culminated a yearlong project as part of our “Small Wings, Big Impact” program, an ongoing international initiative that takes flight through the metaphor of monarch butterfly migration to explore themes of immigration, journeys, resilience, transformation, and communal efforts.

Throughout this year, students collaborated with Campfire teaching artists to create a large mural installed permanently on the exterior of their school, serving as a lasting reminder of values of kindness and shared humanity. First graders also created a butterfly exhibition featuring “notes of kindness” written by Broadway artists, extending the project’s message of empathy and connection beyond the school community.

And in their culminating concert last Thursday, Pre-K through 5th grade students performed songs celebrating these themes!

In the spring of 2025, the Campfire Project produced our first major creative project centering the experiences and voic...
05/20/2026

In the spring of 2025, the Campfire Project produced our first major creative project centering the experiences and voices of our community members from West Africa in NYC. In collaboration with , and under the direction of Thomas Brunot (), we get a real glimpse of life as a new New Yorker in the short film 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴. This stunning short film marks the acting debut for several members of our Campfire family and grapples with their experiences of coming of age while navigating the challenges of acculturation in NYC.

We are thrilled to share that the film was selected to premiere last week at the 2026 New York Short Film Festival! 💫

The Campfire Project is headed to Ukraine this summer!In preparation, we’re looking back to 2022, when we were on the gr...
05/08/2026

The Campfire Project is headed to Ukraine this summer!

In preparation, we’re looking back to 2022, when we were on the ground at the start of the invasion partnering with crisis centers across Moldova to support Ukrainian refugees, women, and children escaping the conflict.

Today, in 2026, youth in western Ukraine still face layered psychosocial strain. In regions like Lviv, where communities are absorbing large numbers of internally displaced families, young people are also navigating isolation, fractured routines, and disrupted education.

We see this as a call to action. In July 2026, The Campfire Project will lead a two-week mission to work with children in rural western Ukraine, many displaced and all of them growing up in the shadow of a war that has touched every part of their lives. In partnership with the cross-border cultural organization, Folkowisko, we will facilitate a trauma-informed therapeutic arts camp for these children, as well as a training program for local teachers and social workers in arts and health for humanitarian contexts.

If you would like to partner with us in support of this mission, we are raising funds to cover the costs of travel and supplies…every dollar makes a difference!

Tap the link in our bio to learn more.

Asylum seekers in NYC carry the weight of conflict, displacement, and trauma, often without access to the support system...
04/30/2026

Asylum seekers in NYC carry the weight of conflict, displacement, and trauma, often without access to the support systems that every human needs.

In July 2024, The Campfire Project launched our pilot NYC initiative, bringing together dozens of asylum seekers. Participants received legal support alongside therapeutic arts programming, culminating in a powerful performance of their own creative work—writing, music, dance, and stilt walking.

Since then, we have continued this work weekly, launching support groups for new New Yorkers across the city. One of these groups brings together some of the most inspiring young adults we know, all hailing from West Africa. Together, they have created multiple artistic collaborations, from a short film to a zine of their own writing and art, and now writing and recording their own original music! But most importantly, they have formed a community...a family gathered around the same fire.

This is the beauty of what happens when people are given the space, time, and support to be seen, not just as survivors, but as the artists and storytellers that they are.

Thank you to the for welcoming us into your incredible studio.

Whether across the globe or in our own backyard in NYC, Campfire programming centers displaced communities to build last...
04/24/2026

Whether across the globe or in our own backyard in NYC, Campfire programming centers displaced communities to build lasting connections through creative practices of care.

In 2023, Campfire led a mission to the Palorinya Refugee Settlement in Uganda. We engaged over 500 refugee children and ...
04/16/2026

In 2023, Campfire led a mission to the Palorinya Refugee Settlement in Uganda. We engaged over 500 refugee children and youth from Sudan, South Sudan, and the DRC, creating spaces for joy, expression, and healing through the arts. In partnership with local artists, educators, and Child-Friendly Spaces, that work continues today. We were fortunate in our opportunity to provide onsite training in psychosocial support to teachers and staff, and we continue to support weekly therapeutic music and art workshops for children in the settlement.

The first team of Campfire volunteers arrived in Greece in 2017, at the peak of the Syrian refugee crisis. It was during...
04/16/2026

The first team of Campfire volunteers arrived in Greece in 2017, at the peak of the Syrian refugee crisis. It was during this foundational mission in Ritsona, alongside .aid, that we began to weave a living tapestry of workshops—music, dance, stilts, theater games, mask-making, and textile crafts—along with ESL classes and SEL programming, all designed to make lasting impact in the lives of the people we serve.

At the heart of our first mission was an Arabic-language staging of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩, directed by Arin Arbus and produced with the actor Adham Murched. Through rehearsals, staging, and production of this performance, we witnessed firsthand how the arts can reduce isolation, cultivate connection, provide tools to manage emotions and the impacts of trauma, and—most importantly—spread joy.

This is the framework we keep coming back to—our theory of change through trauma-informed therapeutic arts practice. 🌱
04/16/2026

This is the framework we keep coming back to—our theory of change through trauma-informed therapeutic arts practice. 🌱

The numbers are clear—our challenge is global.This is the 𝙬𝙝𝙮 behind the work that we do. 💛
04/16/2026

The numbers are clear—our challenge is global.

This is the 𝙬𝙝𝙮 behind the work that we do. 💛

We are grateful for the work that we have been able to do, and for the people we have met along the way. As we continue ...
04/16/2026

We are grateful for the work that we have been able to do, and for the people we have met along the way.

As we continue to grow, we are looking ahead with our hearts and minds open.

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