salmonrojo
¡Poesía está en la calle!
Resistencia Bookstore
casa de Red Salmon Arts
1801-A South First St.
Austin, Texas
(512) 416-8885
revolu@swbell.net
Dec 7th, 2011 @ 3:39 pm
Red Salmon Arts
December 2, 2011
Saludos desde el cora del South ‘Osten!
Friends, Community, and Supporters: We send you good energy as we enter el año nuevo. 2011 has been a happening year for us! Save Our Youth (SOY) is ON A MOVE, and continuing its work of utilizing the power of poetry, arts, and culture to empower, inspire, and liberate marginalized young people.
Your year-end , tax-deductible contribution helps Red Salmon Arts continue to expand its work with young people and the Black and Brown communities of Austin. It is deeply appreciated! Since most of our work is volunteer-based and we receive no foundation funds, we rely on your support to keep it going!
What we’ve been up to this year
Have you been by our community space recently? If so, you’ve probably seen the color of our dreams brightening our walls! I’m talking about this brilliant mural:
… an inspired vision is the result of a two-month SOY all-volunteer project with twelve young people, eight of whom were transitioning out of the halfway house at Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center. Both visually and telling the story of their lives and ordeals through poetry, the group discovered how the public education system’s zero tolerance policies is linked to the rising rate of intergenerational incarceration for Black and Brown communities of the US. This mural shows how the school-to-prison pipeline runs through and over their bodies and lives, as well as their dreams for a different future.
As co-facilitator Jorge Renaud noted, we owe “ a nod to the ancestors who give the vatos and rucas the power to pull these images out of their spirit and soul.”
SOY also ran two eight week poetry workshop series at Gardner Betts. Look out for the upcoming release of the young women’s chapbook, “Stitching Our Wings,” which follows on the heels of our previous release, “Does Heaven Have a Ghetto?” and “I Come from a Teardrop.”
In keeping with Red Salmon Art’s commitment to sharing the love of literature written by nuestra gente, our 2011 author book reading series was graced with the presence of Virginia Grise (Los Angeles, CA), Roberto Rodriguez (Tucson,
AZ), Richard Yañez (El Paso, TX), Jessica Helen Lopez (Albuquerque, NM) and Maylei Blackwell & Anna Nieto Gomez (Los Angeles, CA). Our spoken word and jazz series, CONJURE, rocked the house in September, with Omi Osun Joni Jones and Stephanie Lang jamming with The Black Project.
Who says you can’t plant in Texas summer heat?
SOY has also been learning about caring for our Mother Earth, reciprocity, and food sovereignty as we beautify our small patch of concrete! First we started with planting chiles, bell peppers, rosemary, ruda, and other medicinal herbs in our box garden, with the help of Geoff Valdes. Later, Geoff taught us how to make Self-Watering planters made out of reclaimed five-gallon pails. Now, we’ve turned our parking lot into a vegetable garden!
SOY has been on the road!
In March, one SOY youth and two facilitators created a performance that told the inside story about what life under lock-up means for racialized young people, for a conference in Riverside, CA. This inspired a powerful discussion where two young folks in the audience spoke up about the impact of the prison-industrial complex on their families. We are so grateful for the heartfelt connections of solidarity forged from performing our stories.
Big plans for the coming year!
We’re excited to carry on our poetry workshops with young women and men at Gardner Betts. Of course, Red Salmon Arts’ artist events and CONJURE jams will continue to be places of sacred refuge, artistic exploration, and renewal for spirits in struggle. Adelante!
Exciting News: To break cycles of repeated incarceration, SOY is offering a new internship program that is designed to continue the creative writing and social justice imaginations that were sparked in SOY workshops inside Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center. It also serves as a mentorship program to support the youth in realizing their creative visions, career goals, and everyday well-being. The transition phase of returning home is a critical time for the youth, yet the system does not offer much support. SOY is offering paid internships that links young people to the community and helps them get back on their feet, financially and personally.
NOW IS THE TIME!
We are asking our communities to help re-invest in the lives, careers, and well-being of our youth especially those who are immigrant, Chicana/o, Black, and Indigenous and who are falling through the cracks of the public school system. If you are interested in financially supporting a youth’s internship or donating on a monthly basis to the Red Salmon Arts and SOY, feel free to contact us and we would love to talk more about how you can support this important community work.
As a community-run and –supported non-profit organization, your tax-deductible donations allow us to carry on raúlrsalinas’ vision and legacy for his community and especially the young people.
Poetry is Healing – Poetry is Empowering – Poetry is Liberating.
La poesía está en la calle!
How to Donate:
PayPal accepts credit cards
(Paste this url below if you are having trouble):
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8PYSAGEBJ5ZRC
Checks can be mailed to Red Salmon Arts. Or stop by to drop off your check or cash donation in person. We welcome your visit and getting to re-connect with you! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions …
Thank you for your generosity, love, & good energy!
Rene Valdez
Red Salmon Arts
1801-A South First St., Austin, TX 78704
512-416-8885/ salmonrojo.tumblr.com
