At Make It Mariko, we believe that events are more than just parties – they can be portals. Portals into community healing, joy, and liberation. Since our founding, we’ve been committed to creating magical, meaningful moments that celebrate creatives of color, uplift local businesses, and transform public spaces into hubs of creativity and connection.

Over the years, our impact has grown beyond events. We’ve been building cultural ecosystems dedicated to supporting artists, entrepreneurs, and organizers who have long been shut out of mainstream opportunities. Here’s a look at just some of the work we’ve done to help shift the industry.

UNDISCOVERED SF: Elevating the Filipino Creative Economy

Born out of a dream to launch and activate San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District in partnership with Kultivate Labs UNDISCOVERED SF has become a beloved staple of the Filipino American arts and entrepreneurial scene. What started as a launch party has grown to a yearly celebration featuring live music, local makers, food entrepreneurs, and DJs repping the diaspora with pride. It’s not just a market, it’s a vision of Filipino community in action. We’re proud to have helped incubate dozens of small businesses and showcase hundreds of Filipino creatives right in the heart of the city. And some may say, we were one of the first night market models of its kind that have inspired many other similar concepts being birthed in San Francisco today.

Balay Kreative: A Home for the Culture

In partnership with Kultivate Labs, Balay Kreative has become a literal and symbolic home for Filipino creatives. “Balay” means “home” in many Filipino dialects, and that’s exactly what we’ve helped create: a home for workshops, healing spaces, artist residencies, and cultural programming that centers Filipino artists in SOMA Pilipinas. Make It Mariko has helped build the foundations that shape the welcoming, community-first space we have today through our work as Venue Managers, Event Planners, and also residents of the first Balay Kreative Studio at 5th and Mission. Even during the pandemic we were able to create a safe space for community to convene.

Pinayista: Building Sisterhood In The Hustle

As a Pinay-led company we knew the importance of creating space specifically for Pinays. When Gina started as Make It Mariko CEO, she only knew three other Pinay entrepreneurs. Through Pinayista, we’ve built a national network of thousands of Filipina/x entrepreneurs, creatives, and organizers who are building careers rooted in culture, community, and care. From sold-out summits to intimate healing spaces, Pinayista is our love letter to every Pinay who’s ever felt like they had to dim their light to fit in. You don’t. You never did.

POC Food & Wine Festival: Celebrating Culinary Excellence

The culinary industry has long marginalized chefs of color, so we created the POC Food & Wine Festival to change that. This event brings together boundary-breaking chefs, winemakers, and food creatives of color to showcase their talents, tell their stories, and build new legacies. It’s more than just a food festival, it’s a radical act of celebration and reclamation. Our inaugural year was nothing short of a miracle – we pulled off an incredible feat of producing a sold out 3-day Festival presented to over 500+ attendees.

Introducing: Brave New Spaces

All of this work has led us to a powerful realization: the inclusive spaces we need don’t yet exist, and we have to build them ourselves. That’s why our founder, Gina Mariko Rosales, recently launched a new nonprofit: Brave New Spaces.

Brave New Spaces is about investing in cultural infrastructure for our future. It’s a movement to reclaim space for diverse curators, producers, and creatives to cultivate healing-centered events, and create permanent homes for creativity to thrive. It’s where our radical imagination meets long-term impact.

Because the truth is, we’re tired of being temporary and we’re tired of just “popping up.” We deserve space to breathe, to dream, to build.

Let’s Build Together

Make It Mariko has always been about making space for joy, for community, for culture. With Brave New Spaces, we’re taking that mission to the next level.

If you’ve ever danced at UNDISCOVERED, cried during a Pinayista summit, or tasted something unforgettable at POC Food & Wine, this is your invitation to help us build what comes next.

With Brave New Spaces, we’re planting seeds for the future. Help us grow them:

🌱 Follow Brave New Spaces on Instagram

🙌🏾 Apply to join our Board of Directors

💸 Donate to support cultural space building

Let’s make brave new spaces. Together. 

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