Our Mission
The Bean & Barter (B&B) Market is a volunteer-led mutual aid market dedicated to expanding access to essential resources, fostering community connection, and exploring alternative systems for community care.
Our History
The B&B Market was started by a group of artists and is anchored within the creative community. Artists are often hit hard during times of crisis, and when budget cuts are made, the arts are often the first to go.
But, creative communities are resilient, collaborative, and open to experimentation in their practices and approach. Many use their voice and practice to draw attention to injustice and ask hard questions about power, access, and equity in the worlds we live in. We recognize that being an artist is not separate from the web of capitalism; questions of value, cost, financial stability, and who can thrive and survive in this space are ever-present in our communities. This is one of the many reasons we wanted to center B&B around crafters, makers, and artists--to use our energy of experimentation, care, and critique to dive into this practice of mutual aid and alternative economies.
Through Bean & Barter, we ask community members to explore other means of exchange that don’t rely on money and to view our resources as communal.
The Team
Thamar "Tammi" Jean Fedestin
Thamar “Tammi” Jean Fedestin is a Boston-born arts administrator and visual artist with over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector. They hold a BA in Arts Management from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. Acting as the Executive Manager of the Haitian contemporary dance company, Jean Appolon Expressions, she strives to develop systems that boost efficiency without losing the human touch. They are a community organizer with Creatives of Color Boston, where she organized exhibitions and festivals showcasing the work of BIPOC creatives in Massachusetts. As a queer Haitian femme, she strives to build spaces for all to be their most authentic selves while creating and building together. Tammi works to imbue this spirit into their art practice as Cosmic Zo.
Lena Noni Browne
Lena is an Afro-Caribbean American artist, writer, and educator who is passionate about bridging the gaps between arts, faith & spirituality, and civic engagement.
Beginning her career at arts organizations like 826 Boston and EdVestors, Lena spent years designing visual, performing, and literary art activations that empowered young people to explore their cultural, artistic, and socio-political identities in compassionately challenging spaces.
At Boston University, she expanded her reach, curating gallery talks and art workshops to explore the intersection of the arts and various social issues, like prison reform and reproductive justice. With an MS in Arts Administration and a passion for her individual arts practice, Lena aspires to create interactive art spaces that weave together the threads of our shared humanity while celebrating the sacred in our unique heritages and identities.
Through her work, Lena seeks to affirm each person's place in this world, encouraging deep reflection and purposeful action toward a more just, harmonious society.
Sharon Amuguni
Sharon is an arts administrator, civic practitioner, craft artist, and poet who is dedicated to supporting her communities through creative interdisciplinary collaborations and civic practice.
With an MA from Emerson’s Civic Media Art and Practice program (now Media Design), she brings a thoughtful and exploratory approach that centers diverse perspectives, participatory design, cross-sector partnerships and most importantly, community. She’s worked in Boston for organizations like Mass Poetry, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture where she managed the Artist-in-Residence program. She’s a grant writer and team member for The Poet’s Cauldron, a monthly spoken word, arts, and culture event, and a member of El Salon, an artist collective that curates exhibits, programs, and community events that support local artists and Worcester’s art scene.
Her personal practice includes poetry, papier mache, and paper arts.