Transform 1012 N. MainStreet

Thought it was time for a fresh intro, so hi, I’m Isla 👋🎨 I’m an almost 14 y/o visual arts student, President of my school’s National Junior Art Honor Society, and a Scholastic Gold Key recipient. I spend my time skateboarding, creating art, teaching free art lessons to kids who wouldn’t otherwise have access, and getting involved in my community as a member of the Arlington Museum of Art Teen Council, Transform 1012 Youth Council, and a Changemaker with Paper for Water. Thanks for being here and following along on my art journey. This is just the beginning and I hope you all stick around! 🫶✨🫶 #TeenArtist #ArtWithPurpose #YoungChangemaker #CreativeJourney #NextGenArtists

On this episode of Take This Down, Ty Stimpson sits down with Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime, Executive Director of Transform 1012, to explore a powerful story of identity, resilience, and community healing. Carlos shares what it was like growing up in Mexico as the only son among five sisters, navigating identity in a deeply traditional culture, and how his early life shaped his drive to create spaces of belonging. He reflects on a successful corporate career that ultimately gave way to a calling in nonprofit leadership—and how that journey led him to Fort Worth. The conversation dives deep into the mission behind Transform 1012: reimagining a former Klan auditorium into the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing. Carlos explains how community-led design, historical truth-telling, and inclusive collaboration are guiding the project toward its planned 2028 opening. This episode is a candid, thoughtful look at how confronting difficult history can create connection, understanding, and hope for the future.

WHAT A YEAR! From powerful conversations to meaningful action, this Youth Council showed up with heart, courage, and purpose. We raised our voices, built community, served others, celebrated milestones, and grew together. This year was about leadership in motion: learning, advocating, collaborating, and proving that young leaders don’t wait for change… they create it. We are so proud of each member for the passion you brought, the resilience you showed, and the impact you made. As this chapter closes, know this: your voices matter, your work matters, and your future is powerful. Here’s to the memories, the growth, and the leaders you are becoming. The best is still ahead.

At this year’s festival, our audience had the privilege of learning from SOL Ballet Folklórico @solfw as they shared about Transform 1012 @transform1012 , their inspiring future home. Transform 1012 is not just a project; it’s a vision to reclaim and reimagine space for the arts, justice, and community. Through this movement, culture and creativity will thrive in a place built for belonging and without borders. Sin Fronteras is very excited to see SOL Ballet Folklórico step into this new chapter, and we’re honored to celebrate their journey with you.

Join us this Saturday for an important talk by community activist Fred Rouse III. Rouse, whose story is explored in Sedrick Huckaby’s exhibition “Higher Ground,” will discuss his pivotal work with The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing, which honors the life and memory of Mr. Fred Rouse, a Black non-union butcher and father who was publicly lynched in Fort Worth, Texas in 1921. The Center, in an act of reparative justice, aims to return resources to historically marginalized communities in Fort Worth. - Sedrick Huckaby and Fred Rouse III connected through their research on Mr. Fred Rouse and the history of Fort Worth. With no known images of Mr. Rouse, Huckaby created Contemplating Fred Rouse (2021), a video work where Huckaby attempts to imagine not only what Mr. Fred Rouse might have looked like, but who he could have been. As research was done on Fred Rouse and his family, Mr. Rouse’s grandson, who had no knowledge of his grandfather’s story, was located in Fort Worth, Texas. After learning about his grandfather, Fred Rouse III met Sedrick Huckaby, who then created a second film, Portrait of Fred Rouse (2022-2023). Using the same technique from the first film, Huckaby combines portraits of Mr. Rouse’s son, grandson, and great grandson with the voice of Fred Rouse III singing Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” - Join us this weekend to learn more about Fred Rouse III and how he’s transforming the city of Fort Worth. #fredrouse #fredrousefoundation #transform1012 #sedrickhuckaby #socialpractice #talleydunngallery

We had a great time at the Creative Spaces Summit last week! Home to an extraordinary arts community and a deep commitment to historic preservation, Fort Worth provided the perfect backdrop for a summit focused on reimagining historic spaces as vibrant centers for creativity, culture, and community. A heartfelt thank you to our partners at MINDPOP for their leadership and collaboration in making this gathering possible!

“[The convening was] A big opportunity for experience sharing, for learning from each other and for even healing from the things that we carry on a daily basis from working on such sensitive topics.” - Sandra Shenge Last week we shared a 26-page report from a convening of our partners working in public memory and memorialization. Today, we are sharing a short clip from our documentation of the three-day event – a process we used to compile the report’s findings, and now, to share the experience with broader audiences. Watch the full video overview and read the report on our website linked in our bio! Thanks again to our participating partner organizations: @right2democracy @purpose_over_pain @bc_sculptor @peaceinstitute @studiocaje @danakingart360 @peopleoflajunta @maratatevos @thetillinstitute @queeramericanmemorials @bklynlibrary @theconservationfund @negative_s_p_a_c_e @aegistrust @tsuruforsolidarity @nwankpadesign @bcstudiola @cityofpoughkeepsie @cityofmontgomery #publicmemory #memorials #monuments #spacemaking #manifesto #memorialdesign #collectivememory

Join us in Fort Worth July 24–25 for the Creative Spaces Summit, hosted by Preservation Texas + MINDPOP! T​his event explores how historic spaces across Texas are being reimagined as vibrant hubs for art, culture, and community. ​Hear inspiring stories of adaptive reuse, discover creative funding strategies, and connect with preservationists, artists, and changemakers​ from communities large and small. Highlights include: - Networking reception at Artspace111, a 1910 warehouse turned gallery and sculpture garden - Full-day summit at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth auditorium (includes a box lunch at Cafe Modern) - Optional Pre-Summit Tour of 3 reimagined historic Fort Worth sites (limited to 25 spots!) ​Visit preservationtexas.org/creativespaces (link in bio) to learn more and register!

How can we reclaim our public spaces through monuments and spaces of memory that unite us, foster healing, and advance collective liberation? In November 2024, a group of more than 90 participants, representing 50 organizations working to expand memorial narratives in the public realm, convened at the MASS office in Boston for a collaborative exchange of ideas and experiences. Spaces of memory — such as memorials, preserved sites, place names, and cultural institutions — help shape our collective imagination. This report is a manifesto for a ‘people’s public memory’ – a case for memorial design and space-making practices that center our shared humanity. By building spaces of collective memory TOGETHER, through diverse partnerships, we bravely center PEOPLE, embracing the complex truths of lived experience. “If justice is what love looks like in public, and the public realm is where we learn about our collective life, then we need not only monuments and memorials, but to activate, revitalize, and honor in ways that build new collective capacities.” With this report, produced by MASS’s Public Memory and Memorials Lab, our goal is to broadcast our shared learnings, strengthen our partners and partnerships, and invite new voices to build the field. Read the full report at the link in our bio, if you would like to learn more about getting involved with this work, email us at [email protected] The Public Memory and Memorials Lab is made possible thanks to the generous support from the @mellonfoundation . We would also like to acknowledge crucial contributions from the @hearthlandfoundation and the @wagnerfoundation . Many thanks to those who participated: @right2democracy @purpose_over_pain @bc_sculptor @peaceinstitute @studiocaje @danakingart360 @peopleoflajunta @maratatevos @thetillinstitute @queeramericanmemorials @bklynlibrary @theconservationfund @negative_s_p_a_c_e @aegistrust @tsuruforsolidarity @nwankpadesign @bcstudiola @cityofpoughkeepsie @cityofmontgomery #publicmemory #memorials #monuments #spacemaking #manifesto #memorialdesign #collectivememory

Super proud of our SOL Ballet Folklórico dancers/Transform 1012 Youth Council members for their dedication and leadership this past weekend. We participated in the JUNETEENTH Walk for Freedom and Volunteered at The LGBTQ SAVES Youth Pride Picnic. A big thank you to Roman, Jessica & Greg for guiding our young leaders. Also, a big thank you to Isaiah for your help and thank you to Lety & Emir for your hospitality! Thank you Dr. Opal Lee & Sharon Herrera for this opportunity! Please Visit Transform1012.org to find out how you can donate and/or participate. #ourfightcontinues #dreambig

We can't wait for another Juneteenth celebration with our @transform1012 coalition partner @therealopallee ! Don't miss Opal's Walk for Freedom, in person and virtual! Sign up at opalswalk.com and follow @juneteenth_strong for all the details. You have two chances to see the incredible @brandipacemusic on Juneteenth, performing at Opal's Walk in the morning, and again at 5 pm at the Juneteenth concert in @sundancesquare ! Juneteenth at the Rolla is a family festival all day on the 19th with museum tours, games, food, music and more! Visit @tarrantcountyblackhistory for details. And,the @juneteenthmsm has a full weekend planned with the Freedom Vibes Festival, including their speaker series, concerts, and a Saturday block party in Evans Plaza! Details and tickets at the link in their bio.

Soa was proud to volunteer at Sonidos del Summer this past Saturday at Marine Park! 🌞 Events like these remind us how powerful community can be when we come together to celebrate culture, music, and each other. Volunteering isn’t just about giving time—it’s about investing in the future we want to see. Photographed with Jessica Bonilla and Taylor Willis from Transform 1012. 🤝