RGAP: Refugee Garden Art Program

Refugee Garden Art Program (RGAP)

RGAP is a joyful, welcoming outdoor space where creative expression fosters refugees’ resilience and identity as they integrate into the Tucson community.

This weekly program takes place every Wednesday between 8 and 11 am in our garden space at 3736 E. 2nd St. Our resident artist, Katrina Kerstetter, guides the creative aspects of RGAP, placing refugee knowledge and experience at the core of activities. Katrina hosts a safe space that encourages creativity, voice, agency and pride in heritage. We use visual arts, music, movement, and food to foster refugee resilience and identity on their path to integration.

One of our guiding practices for RGAP is creating belonging without othering. We learn how to connect with people who are different from ourselves.

“The goal is for all to be comfortable engaging with others, engaging with their creativity – sharing culture and heritage – and we’re all learning from one another”

-Resident Artist Katrina Kerstetter

The garden itself serves as a safe space and natural backdrop for mindful time and engagement with others, and with nature. There are opportunities to learn about global plants, herbs and foods, and to reconnect with plants from refugees’ cultures. 

“ Recognizing someone’s culture shows respect, empathy and a sense of caring”

-Chef Alex, Community partner

RGAP also hosts a weekly food distribution to refugee families, providing over 500 lbs of our harvested food, along with rescued and donated produce from our community partners.

Monthly Schedule

1st Wednesdays: African Drum Circle with Denise Bey, a prominent West-African dance and drum master, active in the Tucson community since 1988. She leads West African drum and dance classes. Her work includes collaborations with Iskashitaa Refugee Network and hosting annual dance/drum festivals.

2nd Wednesdays: Refugee-led and refugee-focused sessions, giving voice to our participants who want to share their culture through crafts, activities, games, cooking demonstrations, or anything else they'd like to share. Refugees rebuild identity and strengthen self-esteem, an essential part of their integration journey.

3rd Wednesdays: Mind Body Art led by University of Arizona Professor Aurelia Mouzet. This creative workshop combines movement, body, and emotion expression with improv theatre and meditation. Mind Body Art fosters well-being through collective multisensory experience.

4th Wednesdays: Art and books with Katrina Kerstetter from Koru Library. These workshops are about exploring cultural identities, regulating emotions, building confidence, and building resilience through creative expression. Drawing on our daily lives, working alongside others in the garden, and sharing books, participants are free to create in any medium as they find and develop their voices in a safe, welcoming space.

5th Wednesdays: Chef Alex, from The Tie Kitchen, collaborates with Iskashitaa Refugee Network to create food-focused, community-building workshops. She has held cooking demonstrations for volunteers and refugees and hosted exclusive collaborative dining experiences featuring local, gleaned produce. 

Volunteering at RGAP

All volunteers are encouraged to join in the garden tasks and educational activities as we build community with refugees/asylum seekers. Volunteers garden as they are able, volunteers help with set up/ break down, and staff the food distribution tables.

We meet every Wednesday from 8-11 am at the Iskashitaa garden at 3736 E. 2nd St. The entrance to our garden/orchard is located on the north side of St. Mark’s Presbyterian Campus, west end of the parking lot with solar panels. One must walk through the “Fruit Cage” where we store all our harvested fruit and vegetables to enter the garden. Expect to be met by volunteers staffing the welcome table where they will ask you to sign in and, if you have not filled the volunteer waiver/photo release form online (see link below), you will be instructed to do so. For refugees, we have a separate Intake Form to collect contact information to better serve you. 

We communicate using an RGAP WhatsApp Chat group, so your telephone number will be added to that chat, which you can always leave/opt out of if you choose.  

Please fill out the Volunteer Waiver here before attending. Thank You!