Chip Thomas, Colin Holmes, Racheal Rios & Monique Laraway, 2021
Photos from Racheal Rios
Interview with Chip, 2021
What got you started on your creative process/brought you to where you are now?
I moved to Northern AZ in 1987 and set up a black and white darkroom shortly thereafter. For the next 22 years I spent time in the community photographing and having occasional shows of that work. However, it didn’t feel complete in that the people in the photos weren’t seeing the work. A 3 month trip to Brazil in 2009 led to me spending time with street artists who introduced me to the large, wheat pasted photographs of JR which influenced the work I’m doing now. Chip Thomas Mural from jetsonorama.net
What brought you to BICAS, and/or inspired you to contribute the incredible wheat paste mural that went up recently?
I was invited by Kylie Walzak to do an installation at your original site in 2010. I returned in 2011 to install work as well. Then Colin Holmes invited me to do an installation there this year. Racheal Rios and Chip Thomas at BICAS, 2021. Photo from Racheal Rios
What are you working on right now?
Well, I’m working on a couple things. I just completed an installation at Fort Garland in the San Luis Valley on Native enslavement from 1492 to the late 1800s. As an extension of that I’m looking at doing an exhibition on the complex history of the Buffalo Soldiers who were stationed at Fort Garland for 3 years in the mid 1860s. They’re recognized and celebrated as Black American heroes but in truth they were freed enslaved people who were seeking acceptance into American society by participating in the settler-colonial narrative of fighting and killing Native people. In order for healing to begin we need to start there. Chip Thomas mural from jetsonorama.net
For over 36 years, BICAS has been a place where anyone could go to gain access to bikes, bike parts, bike repair, mechanics education and art. We have built a beautiful and much needed community resource where all are welcome, children can thrive through bike education, and low-income individuals can quickly gain access to resources needed to maintain their employment, housing, healthcare and access essential community resources. We take our commitment to this community very seriously, but at this time we are in a financial crisis and need your help.
In 2025, BICAS was owed $106,000 through a government funded grant, but this money was not paid out and then spent by the city of Tucson, causing BICAS much financial uncertainty. In 2026, several ongoing funders have been unable to provide grants due to the decreasing amount of federal funding available and drastic changes to the nonprofit funding landscape. These combined have immensely impact our small organization and as a result BICAS is at risk of closing or pausing our operations.
This shift means that we are more reliant on financial donations, and money raised in our bike shop. We are urgently asking you to consider making a donation to our organization in order to preserve bicas and ensure we can remain a resource for years to come. Any support you can offer is deeply appreciated and needed.
With much gratitude and love,
The BICAS Collective
