We’ve had an amazing first year and we’re getting ready to take some time off to restore, reset, and level up the space. For the month of June we’ll be pressing pause on most of our internal events, including Interrupted by Trains, our Art Bazaar, and our monthly karaoke night. We’ll still be booking our space for community events, and channeling energy into future projects. This past year we went from a collection of a few people with a dream, to an organization with fifteen employees, a board, and community support that we hadn’t even thought possible.
We’ve been able to start some recurring events, including our monthly poetry night, Interrupted by Trains, an open mic night, and a monthly Art Bazaar with the help of the amazing Timo Padilla and PennElys Droz. We’ve experienced setbacks- though we had to shutter our space when the omicron outbreak hit Tucson, we’ve come back more resilient and driven than before. We’ve struggled to find harmony in collaboration and support with our unhoused community, but found joy and connection in the process, and the progress we’ve made is significant. To learn more about that, and get involved, check out Tucson Alliance for Housing Justice, and visit our instagram page for updates on current action items.
We’re looking forward to improving our space by working on accessibility projects like hardening the new substrate in the courtyard to make the space more accessible for folks who use mobility devices, improving the wheelchair access in the bathrooms, installing a shade cover to make daytime events more doable throughout the year, and working with our ASL team to expand our ability to offer translation at our events.
Also coming up this month is our first biannual board retreat, where we’ll have the chance to touch base as a team and make some big decisions about where we want to grow in the coming year.
Huge thanks to all our community members, collaborators, and generous donors for seeing us through our first year as a non-profit. We are endlessly grateful to the outpouring of support we’ve received, and look forward to many more years of growing and changing together.
Be well, stay cool, and come visit us this July.
Splinter Collective