Re-centering with RISE

“When you’re doing something organic, and you’re building a community that’s authentic and genuine, it’s really easy for people to see and want to be a part of.” – Randell Adjei, founder of RISE Edutainment 

As small businesses struggle and people are largely confined to their neighbourhoods, “support local” has become a 2020 catchphrase. Though it may be new to the headlines, this sentiment of organic community empowerment through local engagement has been the ethos of organizations like RISE Edutainment for years—eight to be exact. Before the AGO’s recent temporary closure, we were set to welcome this thriving youth-led arts collective for a performance by their specially assembled choir, Soulful Noise. Instead, on Friday, December 4, they joined us for an in-depth conversation via Facebook Live to share insights about their important work and how they’ve managed to continue building community during a pandemic.  

After starting as a weekly youth-based open mic event eight years ago in Scarborough, RISE has blossomed into its own flourishing community. Led by youth and composed of artists, activists and free-thinkers, they create safe, welcoming platforms for self-expression and healing through the performance arts. This includes their original weekly open mic gathering (which has become a huge success), as well as curated concerts, workshops/educational events and speaking engagements. Along with other youth-led organizations like Blank Canvas, RISE has reinvigorated youth engagement in the GTA over the past decade—especially for young people of colour who live outside Toronto’s downtown core.  

The AGO first collaborated with RISE in 2016 when the organization curated four nights of performances at the Gallery, featuring poets and dancers. And again in 2019 when we welcomed the choral mastery of Soulful Noise for an AGO All Hours performance.  

On December 4, Randell Adjei, the founder of RISE, and Marcus Jackman, the leader of Soulful Noise, spoke with Bojana Stancic, AGO Assistant Curator, Live Projects & Performance,  about the history of RISE and its unique community vision. Adjei, based in Scarborough, stressed the importance of engaging young people “on the periphery” of the downtown core—a task that many large-scale, youth-serving institutions and arts organizations in Toronto have struggled with over the years.  In his view, “It’s the people on the periphery who end up coming to the centre to create the culture,” so it’s crucial they build their own platforms to foster talent and community. Check out the video below and stay tuned for more AGO Live events in the future.