Vegetable Garden + Healing Garden
TOUR STOP #7: HEALING CENTERED
We respect and honor the wisdom of our lived experiences on journeys toward well-being.
This outdoor space holds both a healing / meditation garden and a vegetable garden.
The healing / meditation garden is a quiet, plant-filled space where folks can meditate, enjoy the sun, or just take a moment of peace to themselves. In the space, there is also a beautiful water feature to help folks feel a sense of connection to water throughout the day.
In the adjacent vegetable garden, youth can learn how to grow their own fruits and vegetables, learn how to cook what they grow, and learn how fruits and vegetables can be used for wellness.
Art Studio
TOUR STOP #3: LOVE AND RAGE
We love deeply and demand healthy, thriving lives for ourselves and our communities. Our Rage is rooted in Love.
This space was designed in a way that youth could create art in an open space. With double garage doors out to the courtyard, youth are able to feel like they are outside while still being able to create art in a protected space.
In the studio, young people can:
- Create art freely
- Try out different equipment
- Find opportunities to teach their peers and community about art
- Find opportunities to sell art
- Work on long-term artistic projects
Multi Purpose Room / Theater / Green Room
TOUR STOP #2: SHARED POWER AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
We celebrate and unite different knowledge, experiences, and strengths among young people and adults.
This dynamic space holds different performances (plays, singing/rapping, dancing), community meetings, trainings, and forums.
The stage in this room is portable, and is able to adapt to the different types of performances that we have at RYSE.
The Green Room is a space where performers can prepare for shows, change costumes, and hangout when they are not on stage. When not in use for performances, the Green Room is a break room for Culture Builders / youth leaders.
Solar Hub
RYSE and APEN have a long history of organizing and deep roots in communities across Richmond, ranging from youth of color, born in Richmond, to elderly refugees who had fled Laos and made Richmond their home.
In Richmond, disasters like refinery fires, oil spills, and power shut offs are a constant threat. Our communities face decades of disinvestment from schools and public services, live in close proximity to big polluters, navigate criminalization and over-policing, and are increasingly being pushed out of their homes. As converging economic, political, and climate disasters become more frequent and intense, it’s even more critical that we are ready, resourced, and organized.
Now, APEN and RYSE are coming together to build the Climate Resilience and Liberation Hub at RYSE. The hub will be a place where youth can find resources, organize, and lead our communities before, during, and after disasters. The Climate Resilience and Liberation Hub at RYSE will have solar, backup battery storage, and ventilation systems so that youth and communities can:
- Refrigerate food and medicine
- Charge devices to stay in communication with loved ones
- Stay cool and breathe clean air
We are organizing so that our communities not only cope and survive climate disasters, but find opportunities to grow and thrive.
Recording Booth + Jam Room
This space doubles as a control room for performance lights / audio and as a recording space for youth.
Youth are able to work on their artistic development – learning how to perform in a studio, mix, master, and play instruments.
The jam room, which is attached to the control room, is an open space where youth can try playing instruments they’re not familiar with, practice, or jam with other musicians in the space. If folks are enjoying an informal jam session, all instruments can be recorded into the control room on the spot!
Patio/Balcony
TOUR STOP #5: YOUTH POWER
We cultivate a community where young people guide each other on a path of self-love, self-expression, belief-in-self, and resistance.
This is an external space for folks to hang out, eat, or hold workshops. Because there are not many structures in Richmond that allow people to see from elevation, this space allows us to view The Bay Area from a different perspective.
Media Lab (Computer Lab and Media Suite)
TOUR STOP #4: SAFETY
We create spaces where one feels connected, protected, safe, and loved.
In this space, youth can:
- Surf the web
- Do their homework
- Work on beat of video projects
- Learn / practice new photo, video, music, and graphic design software
- Rent video / recording equipment for personal projects
- Design posters for RYSE youth-led events
Innovation Center / Legacy Building
TOUR STOP #6: RACIAL EQUITY & SOCIAL JUSTICE
We commit to multiracial, multigender, multiabled solidarity that names and centers the resilience, resistance, and leadership of people of color across all movements for justice.
RYSE’s hub for Education & Justice and Youth Organizing. This space centers school / career support, entrepreneurship, small business, and services for youth.
Values-aligned partners such as Hidden Genius Project and Young Women’s Freedom Center will be housed here.