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Although the former La Pilita Museum site, located at 420 S. Main Ave., has been closed since Feb. 1, the grounds still feel active. A vibrant mural adorns its facade, inviting anyone within eyeshot to walk the grounds.

Co-founders Logan Phillips and Sarah Gonzales both live in Barrio Viejo and said they felt something was missing from the near-downtown neighborhood when La Pilita closed.

Phillips explained that the interest and need from the community continues to grow and that it was time for Spoken Futures to expand.

“We wanted to think about how we could deepen the conversation about what’s happening in the community,� Phillips said, “and contextualize some of the writings and feelings of the young people involved.�

Since 2010, Spoken Futures Inc. has developed three core programs for young people between the ages of 9 and 19 — the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Youth Poetry Slam, Liberation Lyrics and Poetry & Healing.

The poetry slam was the first to launch and holds its monthly competition at Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea, 1730 E. Speedway.

Araceli Montaño, a Spoken Futures staff member, began her affiliation with the group as a junior at Sunnyside High School and is now a junior at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

After aging-out of the program, Montaño stayed involved with Spoken Futures as a volunteer and became the official coordinator for the poetry slam.

Montaño began attending and performing at the spoken-word showcases as a creative outlet for coping with the loss of her brother, she said. Montaño says she feels as though she’s grown alongside the organization itself and to finally have a physical space is wonderful.

“And to know it’s right here in the center of our little universe, where everything happens in our community, it’s hard to take-in sometimes,� Montaño said.

Although the main artistic outlet for Spoken Futures’ students is writing, young participants also develop self-confidence, public-speaking skills and their work helps prepare them for college, Gonzales said.

Gonzales said Spoken Futures has been able to thrive with limited resources because of generous community support and they’ve remained conscious of not expanding too quickly.

Although taking on La Pilita’s historic site feels a little daunting it’s the best choice, she said.

“This feels good; this feel right,� Gonzales said.

On Oct. 31, Spoken Futures will hold an open house featuring live performances, general information about the organization and its first project in residence — a collaboration with Borderlands Theater called “Barrio Stories Project.�

Borderlands’ site-specific project will feature oral histories, food-sharing and communal memory that recreates the neighborhoods demolished when the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Convention Center was erected.

The rehearsals for the project will take place at Spoken Futures’ new home before the play runs in March 2016.

Phillips said reclaiming La Pilita fits Spoken Futures’ mission perfectly and they will strive to further ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s rich cultural narrative.

“In the space we feel it’s important not only to celebrate the past, and to actively remember, but also to dream the future that we want and that the young people are interested in having,� Phillips said.