projection mapping takes music to a new visual level

Master of projection mapping Carlos Garcia plays a delicate game comprised of technology, light, sound and projection to create a stunning display of movement, dimension and optical illusion for a visual musical experience.
Click here to read full article

artisan-level audio mixes quality of look with quality of sound

The founders of The Leon Speakers Corporation believed music aficionados shouldn’t have to sacrifice aesthetic for superior sound, a principle that’s guided the business through nearly 20 years of success.
Click here to read full article

legendary instrument repair shop in flint

A staple of the Flint music scene for more than 30 years, Sherm’s Musical Instrument Repair embraces the artistry, as well as the mechanics, of an instrument to best understand the complexities of its repair.
Click here to read full article

rosie the riveter, meet laura the luthier

Law professor John Thomas was perplexed by an interesting quandary, which became the subject of his new book: if during WWII, men were fighting in the war, who made the holy grail of Gibson guitars from 1942-1945?
Click here to read full article

from factory line to literary fellowship

Though she made great strides in her more than 30 years in the automotive industry, moving from the assembly line to skilled trade, now-recognized-author Lolita Hernandez never sacrificed her penchant for writing for the factory.
Click here to read full article

applying creative principles to law and vice versa

For attorneys Tom Clinton and Diana Trivax-Levy creative outlets and analytical mentality go hand-in-hand to support their business and artistic objectives, whether through Clinton’s printmaking or Trivax-Levy’s dancing.
Click here to read full article

applying ER training to sculpture

Crediting his background in medicine, former ER doctor Dewey Blocksma of Northern Michigan, has found success in mixed media sculpture, leaving behind a family legacy of his scientific side to pursue a simplistic creative lifestyle.
Click here to read full article

fancy footwork in business and in dance

Rick Williams, owner of Burn Rubber in Royal Oak, Mich., has grown an enterprise known nationwide for its high-profile footwear retail collaborations, but Williams and his feet used to be known across the country for hoofing.
Click here to read full article

going off grid to inspire collaboration, creativity

Creatives from around the country and the globe meet in Grand Rapids to travel to Cabin-Time roaming residencies, where they meet new artists to collaborate on new works, while secluded from technology and the outside world. .
Click here to read full article

spontaneous live jazz, where you least expect it

Randomly filling the Detroit-area with live jazz, the Detroit Party Marching Band prides itself on its guerilla-style performances and collaborative, free-form band participation to create joyful moments in the oddest of places.
Click here to read full article

collection of skills + playful environment = brands built

For the collective members of Hamtramck’s The Art Direction, collaboration and teamwork create the foundation for helping start-ups in Detroit and companies across the nation build a brand and make a name for themselves.
Click here to read full article

ox-bow connects global artists to saugatuck community

On the ox-bow shaped bend of the Kalamazoo River, beginning, intermediate and advanced students from across the globe flock to Saugatucks’ Ox-Bow school to learn their craft and engage the community in their works.
Click here to read full article

lansing cultivates a creative industry growth spurt

With the high density of creatives in Lansing and the sector’s continued growth, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing has put in place programs to encourage further development and inspire a model that could expand statewide.
Click here to read full article

michigan a creative state: you can take that to the bank

The proven impact of the arts in Michigan arrived with resounding fanfare in 2012 with the first edition of Creative State Michigan. Now in its second year, the report reveals more good news for the Mitten.
Click here to read full article

aww shinola: upscale watches, made in Detroit

Drawn by Michigan’s history of innovation and manufacturing expertise, Shinola, originally known for its shoe polish, is enacting big plans for the production of upscale watches in the Motor City.
Click here to read full article

grand rapids art museum takes collaboration to a new level

Implementing an exceptional vision for collaboration among the state’s arts museums and with ambitious partners, GRAM’s Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen is taking the benefits of cooperation to national and international heights.
Click here to read full article

combining the artistry of making fresh food with community need

An artist/academic concerned with social issues, Leon Johnson provides Detroit’s underserved population with life skills and a quality food education to encourage nutritious eating in Market Studio Kitchen at Eastern Market.
Click here to read full article

craft beer invites enthusiasts around the world to michigan

Noted as “The Great Beer State,” Michigan’s breweries, like Founders Brewing Company and Bell’s Brewery, are finding fast success from a growing demand of people who have acquired a taste for craft beer.
Click here to read full article

northern michigan artisan foods gain national success online

Creating handcrafted foods with infused flavors and the highest quality ingredients, artisans from Northern Michigan comprise the “carefully curated Michigan gift baskets” of TraverseGourmet.com, making a splash across the country.
Click here to read full article

lake leelanau icon intermingles food, art, music and community

The Redheads, sisters Sarah and Christen Landry, combine their passion for food and artistry to express themselves while providing a place where the community can break bread with fresh food to get to know one another.
Click here to read full article

veterans wear their hearts on your sleeve

Launched by Michael Hyacinthe, who was inspired by a paralyzed Marine, Fashion Has Heart pairs wounded war veterans with designers to honor each hero’s story through art, then translated to t-shirts, to help veterans re-engage with life at home.
Click here to read full article

from navy to creative to academic: george brown

George Brown, an associate dean at WMU, knew two things at a young age: he wanted to join the navy and he loved the theater. He didn’t know how closely the two would interconnect.
Click here to read full article

repurposed combat uniforms liberate war heros

Through the Combat Paper Project, veterans reclaim their uniforms, transforming them into handmade paper for works of art, in a cathartic process of self-discovery, healing and even redemption.
Click here to read full article

competition motivates veteran creativity

The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival provides an outlet for veterans to share their experiences in the armed forces in a competitive environment that motivates their creative skill and interaction with others.
Click here to read full article

national arts and humanities month showcases who we are & why

October honors arts and humanities programs and workshops, large and small, that teach history and heritage to help understand where we came from, the world around us and who we want to be through creative outlets and experiences.
Click here to read full article

poetry out loud competition teaches heritage and confidence

Gaining in popularity across the country, students are building public speaking skills and their self confidence with poetry competitions that can earn them cash rewards and college scholarships.
Click here to read full article

great michigan read inspires state dialogue on tough issues

The Great Read Michigan program tackles important social topics, with a coordinated reading program, in communities throughout the state to inspire discussion about the current and historical contexts of diversity, equality and more.
Click here to read full article

families bond over reading during PRIME TIME

Libraries across Michigan are adopting the PRIME TIME program to motivate non-active library patrons but find it also opens the door for parents to have important, relatable life discussions with their children.
Click here to read full article

arts education in michigan: a glass half full

Students who have access to arts education are more successful in school, yet not all Michigan students receive state-required arts instruction. Research shows where the state ranks and what arts groups are doing to improve access.
Click here to read full article

aesthetic education program nurtures critical thinking

Annually, 4000 students in nine Kalamazoo County school districts participate in the Aesthetic Education Program, and parents and teachers are seeing clear improvements in language arts performance and scientific thinking.
Click here to read full article

new data illuminates needs to improve michigan arts education

For the first time, concrete data on the condition of art in Michigan schools is available through the Arts Education Survey. The results show room for improvement as schools make a median investment of $2.09 per student per year.
Click here to read full article

making visual arts a core competency

Metro Detroit school Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies uses a rigorous arts curriculum to foster creative problem solving and equip students for selective college programs.
Click here to read full article

arts & culture contributes major green to state economy

Arts and cultural activities attract attention, as cultural tourists impressively spend more than $2 billion in 2010 alone, investing in jobs, economic growth and quality of life for the State of Michigan.
Click here to read full article

state festivals celebrate assets uniquely michigan

When Michigan Festivals said Party at MI Place, people across the state responded, inspired by the creativity of Michigan, and festivals promoting arts, culture, heritage and agriculture continue to offer economic gain.
Click here to read full article

ann arbor is “doing life different”

Ann Arbor’s affinity for experimental ideas allows the city to develop attractive partnerships setting it apart to host nationally-recognized events engaging large, diverse audiences.
Click here to read full article

more and more visitors experience grand rapids

To attract more tourism, Grand Rapids embraced visitor requests for experiences, not just places to see, and continues to build on that momentum through ArtPrize and the Culture Pass GR.
Click here to read full article

flint draws in artists from around the country

The Flint Public Art Project invites visionary and celebrated practitioners of contemporary art, design, architecture and urbanism from around the world to transform and activate the public space of Flint.
Click here to read full article

three vacant detroit houses transformed for community use

Artists and collaborators reclaim three vacant houses in Detroit to move forward a vision of activity, urban gardening and performance space.
Click here to read full article

DIA to introduce cultural living room

Landmark of creativity, the Detroit Institute of Arts to create the Cultural Living Room, an attractive day-to-day center of activity, by renovating its own space to generate a more vibrant midtown experience.
Click here to read full article

creative placemaking revitalizes neighborhoods

Arts organizations are investing in communities around the state via placemaking to capitalize on creative ways for redevelopment and growth of the places where people want to live and work.
Click here to read full article

traverse city makers market brings indie crafts center stage

The annual Traverse City Makers Market, a free juried art market launched in 2010, builds awareness for indie artists and their diverse Michigan-made crafts in Northern Michigan.
Click here to read full article

the geek group’s take on hacker spaces

Grand Rapids’ The Geek Group hosts largest hands-on hackerspace in the world for technology-curious members across the globe.
Click here to read full article

maker movement gains speed in detroit

Invention and creativity collide as hundreds of local and regional makers bring inspiration to The Henry Ford.
Click here to read full article

3d printing & other new technologies take shape in kalamazoo

The Kalamazoo Makers Guild embraces 3D printing and other technologies presenting new possibilities for future conveniences and less waste.
Click here to read full article

connecting the dots for detroit’s arts scene

Forward Arts founder Dominic Arellano is creating a structural grid to support musicians, artists, arts groups and independent art projects in Detroit.
Click here to read full article

passionate business

EMU’s Arts Management program is training business professionals to preserve and advance the arts. Marissa Kurtzhals is a senior who is combining her passion for theatre with new media tools, a great example of today’s emerging arts professional.
Click here to read full article

developing with heart

A change of heart led this Lansing developer to creative solutions in urban development. Pat Gillespie’s latest project, the Marshall Street Armory, is racking up awards for historic preservation and earning points for the community.
Click here to read full article

cartoonist sees himself in pictures

When a kid who loves to draw makes friends with a kid who loves to tell stories, they grow up to create a comic strip called “The Revolutionary Times” which is piquing international interest.
Click here to read full article

allied media projects

Allied Media Projects (AMP) uses all forms of media to foster “a more just and creative world.” Operating with the philosophy that every problem can be solved with creativity, AMP’s work is empowering the people of Detroit to take charge of their own future through media training, arts and activism.
Click here to view a larger video

30 acre legacy

43 sculptures created from many media, including dirt, grace Michigan Legacy Art Park’s 30 acres, located near Crystal Mountain in Northern Michigan’s Benzie County.
Click here to read full article

comedy troupe ‘nobody gets us’ hopes everybody does

This West Michigan troupe believes there is a ‘serious overload of seriousness’ spreading through the community. Thankfully, this small group of brave people is facing the problem head on in local clubs and events like Grand Rapids’ LaughFest.
Click here to read full article

iwbc: we can do it

These pioneering ‘women of brass’, members of the International Women’s Brass Conference, show the passion and commitment it takes to perform in a man’s world – the brass section of symphony orchestras. These women say, ‘We Can Do It.’ The IWBC is convening next month at Western Michigan University and includes an all Michigan-based women of brass performance open to the public.
Click here to read full article

techshop detroit:
‘makers’ of dreams

The ultimate DIY workshop has been designed for ‘makers’ of all skill levels and it is now open for business in Allen Park thanks to a little help from Ford.
Click here to read full article

reaching and teaching at-risk youth

Reaching at-risk young people through the art programs of Lansing’s REACH Studio Art Center gives Jeana-Dee Allen Rogers hope for the kids and the Capital region.
Click here to read full article

triple threat:
erin wilson

After years in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen, East Village and Williamsburg, Erin Wilson chose Grand Rapids as home base for his own creative pursuits and a burgeoning career as an artist, advocate and activist.
Click here to read full article

jso and the fine art
of development

Development means more than raising money, according to Mary Spring of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra (JSO) after their recent $4.2M capital campaign.
Click here to read full article

michigan youth arts festival

Michigan Youth Arts is a nonprofit that has been showcasing the work of our state’s top young creative minds for the past 50 years. As the annual festival approaches, executive director Kim Dabbs talks about the impact of the event on the students themselves as well as the importance of all Michigan students having access to quality arts education.
Click here to view a larger video

these ‘con’ artists are real pros

Carving a space for emerging artists to shine in Grand Rapids, two recent college grads have created a collaborative exhibit/studio space of their own.
Click here to read full article

bottle caps in battle creek

Battle Creek’s Trash2Art project is using interactive sculpture, made by school kids using more than 5,000 bottle caps, to raise awareness of area recycling programs.
Click here to read full article

the sweet rhythm of clave

Lisa Luevanos is a Southwest Detroit photographer and community organizer whose art was inspired by her mother, a fellow activist and educator.
Click here to read full article

arts in healthcare

Nearly half of all US hospitals utilize the arts to calm worried patients and family members, reduce the stress of medical treatment and even escalate healing. Detroit celebrates the Arts in Healthcare this May by welcoming an international conference on the topic.
Click here to read full article

‘hacktivist’ evan roth returns to michigan

Internationally acclaimed artist and ‘hacktivist’ is challenging EMU students to embrace their own brand of activism combining online technologies and art.
Click here to read full article

grammy nominee redefining education in grand rapids

Gospel singer Marvin Sapp is breaking records on the Billboard charts while also charting a new course for kids in his hometown of Grand Rapids.
Click here to read full article

(scene) metrospace a kaleidoscope of creativity

East Lansing funds this downtown art gallery to draw visitors. For all the roles (SCENE) Metrospace plays, its most important is creative incubator.
Click here to read full article

art + science = innovation

Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein, international creativity experts and co-authors of Sparks of Genius: The 13 Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People, talk with ArtServe Michigan about their research and how innovation, scientific creativity and the arts intersect. Their homebase is Michigan State University but their findings are piquing interest all over the globe!
Click here to view a larger video

vision for the future

Wesley Taylor describes his creative life as a bit schizophrenic. He balances teaching graphic design at Lawrence Tech with his own artistic pursuits: a studio collective and a media company focused on creating change. There is symmetry in his life that converges into a positive future through community building.
Click here to read full article

a lasting legacy

The Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids is closing its doors after over forty years of service.Executive Director Caroline Older talks about what it was like making the tough decision and how it affects the future of the state’s arts and cultural sector.
Click here to read full article

collaborators, bootstrappers & fools

With meager budgets, huge service areas, and unsuspecting participants, arts organizers in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula may be some of the region’s most creative individuals. Area arts instigator Mary Wright credits her ‘sisu,’ the Finnish term for guts and determination.
Click here to read full article

acclaimed writer, thomas lynch, also funeral director

So what’s an internationally renowned writer doing as a funeral director in Milford, MI? The answer to that question sheds light on poet and essayist Thomas Lynch, a man whose commitment to community, the dead, the bereaved, and his Irish roots fuel his writing.
Click here to read full article

bringing cultures together through hip-hop activism

Amer Ahmed, an Indian American Muslim, could not have predicted the pivotal role hip-hop would play in his career in academia. Now his spoken-word poetry and event organizing are helping others to find their voice. Click here to read full article

this place makes you smile

Ferndale is a hip urban scene in Metro Detroit, it is fun, funky and unpretentious – a perfect place for an artists’ market, The Rust Belt Market created by Chris and Tiffany Best.
Click here to read full article

flint handmade and a city in renaissance

As the founder of Flint Handmade, an urban crafts movement, and as a proud urban homesteader, Crystal Pepperdine is very adamant that Flint’s very best days are ahead. Her story is about a renaissance woman assisting a city in a renaissance of its own.
Click here to read full article

aaron dworkin: changing the face of classical music

Violinist Aaron Dworkin grew up one of very few classical musicians of color. In response, he founded The Sphinx Organization 15 years ago to help overcome the cultural stereotype of classical music and to encourage the participation of Blacks and Latinos in the field. Thanks to efforts like his, orchestra halls across the country and even the world have begun to diversify.
Click here to view a larger video

photo project captures images, stories of combat veterans

Great photographic artists choreograph the dance between light and shadow of subject and environment. Rob Miller of Canton is a globally recognized expert in both and his art has been reawakened with the discovery of his father’s WWII POW diary.
Click here to read full article

flores design studio: a powerful combination

These Ann Arbor-to-Lansing transplants are building their business on artistic talent and family values. Meet high school sweethearts, Miguel and Corina Ferreyra-Flores.
Click here to read full article

finding art and soul in michigan

Susan Van Sant traveled many miles to find herself and to find “home.” What Grand Rapids nurtured Grand Rapids now applauds in her nationally recognized works of art.
Click here to read full article

old friends, new idea: great lakes collective

Old friends Nick Berry, Adam Klein, and Rich Whitman have a passion for music. Together they make beautiful music by supporting the efforts of Mid-Michigan musicians.

start the presses! alynn guerra has found her voice

Are artists born or created? When do they own their artistic gift and how does an artist discover the gift’s best means of expression? In truth, the answers to these questions vary with every artist’s formation. Alynn Guerra’s non-traditional journey as an emerging presence in the printmaking world powerfully demonstrates how very unique an artist’s journey can be.

living and working in detroit’s new economy

Noah Levy is the poster child for new economy talent that’s reshaping how people think about Detroit. He’s smart, he’s creative and he’s enterprising. He also has that love/hate relationship with the city that’s inspired many young artists and entrepreneurs to standout in Detroit rather than blend into Chicago or New York.

troubled childhood turned around by art

Large steel sculptures that, in spite of the hard lines and shadows, communicate a very human, soulful, and sometimes playful demeanor, is the distinctive signature work of Ann Arbor area sculptor, John Merigian. Learn how a difficult childhood brought him to a successful career as a sculptor.

detroit’s mosaic youth theatre – proof positive

Proving that an investment in the arts yields positive, measurable results is a hard thing to do. A multi-year research project from UofM followed the lives of young people involved in Mosaic Youth Theatre has done just that. Watch this video for proof straight from the kids involved who are achieving “excellence on stage and in life.”
Click here to view a larger video

4th culture studios brainchild of painter/ professional

New to Michigan, painter Benjamin Duke landed a teaching job at MSU. Unable to find the artist’s community that was right for him, he created 4th Culture Studios, now taking on a life of its own inside an old warehouse in Lansing.
Click here to read full article

rap veteran uses hip-hop for youth positivity

After a career of touring alongside legendary rap artists and being advised by Sean “Diddy” Combs, a Grand Rapids native comes home to make sure hip-hop music and culture are used for good.
Click here to read full article

northern michigan strings program nourishes young minds

Baby food and violins? The success of Gerber Baby Foods, a Michigan based company, is being leveraged in Northern Michigan to benefit hundreds of school children every year through the Gerber Strings Program.
Click here to read full article

the power to choose

Concert violinist and Flint native Martha Curtis shares her incredible story with ArtServe Michigan about the role her craft has played in overcoming epilepsy and the lessons on choice we all can take from her experiences.

making a creative scene, dj olympics in lansing

Spinning, scratching, reggae, house … violins. You never know what to expect at Lansing’s Capital City DJ Olympics. Co-Founder Marcus McKissic shares how the competition and its deejays are affecting the social arts scene in Michigan’s capital.

grand rapids’ rob bliss and his crazy (smart) ideas

What happens when you gather over 5,000 people together, some with musical ability, some without, block traffic by walking through town broadcasting a pre-recorded song, and record the whole thing? If you do it right, you get “the greatest music video ever made.”

$50m ‘bell tower’ project a lesson in the power of architecture

A Michigan architecture firm and its leader, Jim Pappas, are using the aesthetic power of architecture to rehab one of Detroit’s coolest buildings. By this time next year, the former Michigan Bell Telephone Company building will have been artfully redesigned to house the Neighborhood Service Organization (NSO) and an estimated 155 homeless men and women.

inside out poetry

With the gifts of poetry and creative writing, the InsideOut Literary Arts Project is challenging Detroit students to reach inside and share what they find with the outside world. By placing live poets and writers into the classroom, Terry Blackhawk and the InsideOut Team inspires and educates city youth in more ways than one and her methods are getting attention from the highest office in the land – The White House
Click here to view a larger video

how a great idea grows

I.D.E.A. was formed to provide Kalamazoo artists and visionaries the seed funding and practical direction needed to give substance to their own ideas. Matthew Lechel and the co-founders of I.D.E.A. believe art and culture unify people and that all lasting change happen at the grassroots level.
Click here to read the full article

linking artists to business

Two Grand Rapids artists have their sights set on success with the help of a new business incubator program through LINC Community Revitalization, Inc.
Click here to read the full article

tunde olaniran

Flint-based artist, organizer and teen health advocate – Tunde Olaniran’s life pays homage to the city he calls home.
Click here to read the full article

kinetic affect – they will move you

Kinetic Affect, is a compelling team of two spoken word artists with something to say about living in Michigan. The Michigan Poem calls us to show our pride in this great state. Read how these two have created a business from their hearts and out of spoken word, and started a national phenomenon with The Michigan Poem.

successful emcee mentors young musicians

Jamall Bufford helped put his hometown of Ann Arbor on the map with a solo rap career as Buff1, garnering critical acclaim and miles of international touring under his belt. Now, as he takes a break from making music, he helps young musicians reach to achieve their own dreams.

double latte with a doodle on the side

The next time you are slurping down your coffee and accidentally slosh whipped cream onto your shirt, don’t grab the nearest napkin and blot without looking at the napkin first. If you’re at a Biggby location in Lansing, you might be about to ruin a Dennis Preston original!

graffiti art serves as outlet

Young Nation is developing creative outlets for kids in southwest Detroit by getting them to participate in things they love — street art and ‘lowriding’ — while promoting positive social change.