On Sunday, Bay Area artists gathered in Berkley DIY art space, Firehouse Art Events Hangar, for an all-day networking and collaboration event aptly named the Mixed Media Mixer. Local bands are booked, live art is created, barbecue is eaten and alcohol is consumed, creating an environment where artists of all mediums can meet and make connections within the community.

The event takes place in a makeshift hangar squashed between an apartment and corner store, and from first glance of the exterior it is just another Berkeley store. Upon entering it is more like an art warehouse with unfinished sculptures and a makeshift stage slightly blocking the missing fourth wall in back.

Chairs are sparsely placed to keep the open feel of the space. Bands and DJs have sets, but it does not take away from live artists working on illustrations, or paintings, but rather becomes a cacophony of cultivation.

“The spotlight is never on anyone in particular,” said Mixed Media Mixer founder, Dorian Cohen, “[The East Bay] has a richness and diversity of art that is unparalleled… I wanted to create a space where [artists] could meet every month and work on whatever our specific craft may be.”

Music booker Brian Bauer gets about 10 local bands and music producers each month, giving each 20-minute sets with time between sets filled by resident DJ, Organic Rhythm. Bands range in styles from Punk-Folk, to experimental techno, to indie-acoustic acts which are all recorded by local videographers so as to get up and coming acts quality video of themselves and possibly create working connections between the artists present.

“I’ve hosted two open mics in the past, along with a weekly show at Rasputin Music… Through that I’ve built kind of a network of bands and artists in the area so there is no shortage of people down to play a free Sunday event,” said Bauer who also is a musician in the band Chonk.

With so many different types of acts featured that range in degree of popularity; attendance fluctuates both month-to-month and hour-to-hour. Like many D.I.Y. venues promotion lies primarily on how well the booked bands reach out to their respective fan bases.

This is also a platform for artists to showcase their work for not only people that would not traditionally see, but for a multitude of other artists acting almost like a mini-festival with new acts every month.

“Things like this, metaphorically, are kind of like the psychedelic experience,” said Oakland-based experimental electronic artists IDMX, formerly Ideo Mux, “We have so many artists jammed into one building that it’s like a breeding ground for new ideas.”

The Firehouse Art Collective provides the space each week to Cohen who covers costs by the donation-based mini-bar usually only paying a small amount out of pocket. Because the event starts at 2 p.m. and ends roughly around 7:30 p.m. noise complaints have generally not been an issue, despite having residential neighbors, which keep small D.I.Y. venues like this open that often find issue with local politics.

“It is absolutely essential to have a forum to communicate with your community like this,” said Cohen about the importance of venues such as this to smaller acts, “There are few places on the face of this planet that this is even a possibility…so we need events like this to help catalyst innovation.”

Doors open for the free Mixed Media Mixer at 2 p.m. on the last Sunday of each month, and a list of artists booked can be found on the event’s Facebook page.