03 Jun Richmond Youth Use Art to Heal, Lead and Organize

Sudinma T., 17, a Middle College High School student and member of Reimagine Richmond, is among the local youth practicing activism and advocacy through art. Seen standing by a mural on 23rd Street, she says her community work has impacted her artistic and educational outlook.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

In Richmond, young people are empowering themselves with art, using spaces provided by local organizations and community hubs.

Spaces like the RYSE Center or New Life Movement, among others, advocate for self-improvement, entrepreneurship and activism.

And when direct action through art is needed, many young people are quick to show up for local organizations like Communities for a Better Environment, Reimagine Richmond and Tiny Village Spirit that offer art-centered experiences.

One of those projects involves 18 youth who are hoping to get funded by the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission to do murals at TVS’ Richmond Tiny House Village, Farm and Garden.

 

On May 8, TVS and artists aged 16 to 25 from Richmond, San Pablo, Oakland and Antioch took their art to the RACC.

Iris Yu, 16, of Richmond designed murals inspired by local trails and parks to represent the beauty of the East Bay and its native plants.

“I think this program is a wonderful opportunity to have artists grow,” Yu said.

She urged the commission to approve the grants soon, so that as a student, she can prioritize this in the summer and focus on school in the fall.

Delilah Borg, 25, moved from Oakland to Richmond in 2018. She sees the East Bay as one large community.

Her design shows a woman with hoop earrings blowing bubbles. Within those different bubbles are depictions of a graduation cap and a man climbing stairs.

“My main goal was to show representation of who we are,” ​Borg said.

Her vision displays Bay Area youth as dreamers that work toward their ambitions, she said.

Gabriel Mendoza, a Salesian College Prep student from Hercules, said his work addresses the “unprecedented level of hate” in America.

Art is how he combats this hate; he created a fist to hand mural depicting duality of life: on one side, problems; on the other, peace and nature.

“In all this stress, we have culture, we have community, and we have each other to help,” Mendoza said.

Community leaders and previous RACC members also spoke at the May 8 meeting to encourage the current members to vote on the funding rather than discuss it further.

 

TVS’ Richmond site will house these murals if the RACC funding is approved.

Pedro Luis, Sudinma T. and Jocelyn Hernandez, all members of Reimagine Richmond, are using art to promote social justice, free speech advocacy and community empowerment.

They all have participated in different Reimagine Richmond art events and programs to give the community a healing and therapeutic environment.

Luis, 18, discovered his artistic voice during middle school through portrait sketching.

 

Initially drawn to creating faces of friends and celebrities as a form of relaxation, Luis has since shifted his focus to art’s potential for social impact.

“Art is much more than something to commercially use,” Luis said. “Throughout history, it’s been used as a sort of beacon to spark social change and social movements.”

He draws inspiration from art’s role in driving political transformation. And he is taking action with Reimagine Richmond to continue creating art as an activist.

He and other youth have been designing art for screen printing and T-Shirts and now have three screen printing designs in their collection.

The latest design is featured on a T-Shirt that Luis, Sudinma and Hernandez modeled for Reimagine Richmond’s latest media project.

 

Seventeen-year-old Sudinma primarily draws and writes. The El Sobrante resident sees creativity as a universal language.

“It can definitely be a way for us to connect with each other through symbols, through more abstract ideas,” she said.

With Reimagine Richmond, she collaborated on choosing key movements from Richmond to put into the shirt design.

“And I feel by putting it on a T-shirt, we’re not only expressing what we believe, but we’re showing the world what they need to look at,” Sudinma said.

 

Reimagine Richmond members will wear the shirt while tabling events and organized actions.

Throughout Richmond and the East Bay, youth are finding their stride by blending art, creativity and community.

New Life Movement, above New Life Cafe at Market Square Mall in downtown Richmond, is also helping youth embark on their entrepreneurship and artistic journey through shirt-making.

New Life Movement’s Designer of the Year program teaches students ages 12 to 24 to design, manufacture and sell clothing while developing entrepreneurship skills. The 12-week program meets twice weekly at the organization’s downtown Richmond STEM lab, where students learn graphic design, screen printing, marketing and financial literacy.

Participants are taught to open bank accounts and create websites to continue their businesses after graduation, with sessions ending in student showcases where they sell their products.

Another community hub, the RYSE Center, offers Richmond youth professional development training in music, video production, visual arts and performing arts using industry-standard equipment. Programs include spoken word workshops, graphic design, beat production, videography and an advanced media producers internship. Youth create original content, perform at community events, and develop leadership skills through arts-based activism and mentorship.

Jocelyn Hernandez, 18, brings a multidisciplinary approach to her practice.

“I’d like to think I’m an artistic person,” she said. “I really like visual art, like sketching and painting. I also dabble in music and I really like theater.”

The Richmond resident has been involved with Reimagine Richmond for three years and is also a member of Communities for a Better Environment in Richmond.

Wearing a Reimagine Richmond shirt in front of a mural of a folklorico dancer, she said her shirt symbolizes her political beliefs, the culture of the city of Richmond, and where it is moving towards.

 

“It also reminds me of a similar mural near my home. I think it says, like, ‘It’s better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.’ And I think art really represents that in activism,” Hernandez said.