Our Studios
Where Freedom Finds Its Sound
Radical Reversal installs and operates Interactive Creative Studios inside detention centers and in historically disinvested neighborhoods. These are not “art programs.” They are fully resourced creative spaces designed with and for justice-impacted communities.
Each ICS is a zone of neutrality—a site of relationship, resistance, and reclamation. Inside these studios, participants learn sound design, music production, poetry, podcasting, and digital storytelling. Every track, lyric, and recording that emerges becomes proof of what’s possible when creativity meets freedom.
Our Installations
Jefferson County Youth Detention Center
- Birmingham, AL
- Built in 2021
How This Studio
Came to Be:
Radical Reversal started with a brownstone basement in Soho, New York City. Co-founders Randall Horton and Devin Brajha Waldman wanted a new, justice-oriented project after touring with their jazz ensemble. Their first album, “NORMF,” became the impetus for applying for the Creative Capital grant—and that “impossible” dream was installing studios inside the carceral state , starting with our pilot studio at the JCYDA, with arts and audio recording programming.
Suffolk County House of Corrections
- Boston, MA
- Built in 2022
How This Studio
Came to Be:
This site began as a collaboration between Radical Reversal and Writers Without Margins. The studio sits inside SCHC’s Peace Unit, which houses young men aged 18–23. From 2022 to 2024, Radical Reversal’s workshops at SCHC counted as a 3-credit course at Merrimack College. To date, they’ve hosted two Poets-in-Residence to run workshops at SCHC.
Minnesota-Faribault
- Faribault, MN
- Built in 2023
How This Studio
Came to Be:
The largest Radical Reversal studio to date, Minnesota-Faribault has enough space to host musical performances, as well as a dedicated recording booth designed especially for podcasts. This installation came through a collaboration with Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, which remains an active partner.
Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility
- Albany, OR
- Built in 2023
How This Studio
Came to Be:
This was a pilot program at the only facility for young women in Oregon, as well as trans and nonbinary youth, under the writing program structure. The young women at Oak Creek OYA have created a poetry EP slated for release in 2025. Oak Creek’s Producer-in-Residence is now leading a new pilot at Donald E. Long Youth Detention Center in Portland, as we expand our educational partnerships.
The Work is Radical. So is the Reversal.
Stand with us in creating spaces of freedom, healing, and leadership.