What's Update! Rhizome House 2022 Roundup
Published on December 22, 2022 by TheRhizomeHouse
The Rhizome House has finally opened! We were fortunate enough to find a space that is central to a lot of social and cultural activity, is affordable for us with work-trade, and is owned by two wonderful and supportive members of the community who, themselves, have long histories in activist and radical circles in Cleveland. The Rhizome House is part of a tradition of spaces in this city, which includes the Community House Movement, a network of mutual aid community houses in the early 20th Century, as well as the DIY community and the history of radical DIY spaces that began in the late 1990s.
On September 10th we opened our doors, during a community music festival, to dozens of people who attended the opening. Since that time we have played host to a number of well attended political talks and events, many of which have become important group discussions. The Rhizome House is already starting to serve its role, as a place for the local and radical communities to gather, encounter one another, and plan action. There are a number of groups meeting at the space consistently, ranging from reading groups and emotional support groups, to organizations lilke the IWW. It has also been able to be a core support structure for our community during times of recent tragedies, and has been able to be a space where people feel safe and supported when grieving together.
Each month our expenses average out to the following:
Rent: $300 (going up to $600 with new lease)
Gas: $75
Electric: $125
Wifi: $73
Insurance: $44
Mailchimp: $14
This comes to a total of around $631 a month, with that cost increasing by $300 a month in the middle of 2023. Currently we are raising money to cover those costs through recurring donations. We would like to thank everyone that has donated so far!
The Rhizome House has really taken on a sense of empowerment, creativity, and community building. As more events occur in the space we are starting to see more people from outside of the collective booking time for events, and the space is beginning to be a fundamentally important venue for a number of different groups and communities. All this has happened in the past 3 months! It has been a whirlwind of construction, cleaning, painting, and learning to run a space together on a tight timeline. The future looks exciting, and this space is going to be critical to that future!
On September 10th we opened our doors, during a community music festival, to dozens of people who attended the opening. Since that time we have played host to a number of well attended political talks and events, many of which have become important group discussions. The Rhizome House is already starting to serve its role, as a place for the local and radical communities to gather, encounter one another, and plan action. There are a number of groups meeting at the space consistently, ranging from reading groups and emotional support groups, to organizations lilke the IWW. It has also been able to be a core support structure for our community during times of recent tragedies, and has been able to be a space where people feel safe and supported when grieving together.
Each month our expenses average out to the following:
Rent: $300 (going up to $600 with new lease)
Gas: $75
Electric: $125
Wifi: $73
Insurance: $44
Mailchimp: $14
This comes to a total of around $631 a month, with that cost increasing by $300 a month in the middle of 2023. Currently we are raising money to cover those costs through recurring donations. We would like to thank everyone that has donated so far!
The Rhizome House has really taken on a sense of empowerment, creativity, and community building. As more events occur in the space we are starting to see more people from outside of the collective booking time for events, and the space is beginning to be a fundamentally important venue for a number of different groups and communities. All this has happened in the past 3 months! It has been a whirlwind of construction, cleaning, painting, and learning to run a space together on a tight timeline. The future looks exciting, and this space is going to be critical to that future!