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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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‘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.
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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.
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(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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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tunde olaniran

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

hardcore detroit

Kresge artist fellow Haleem Rasul speaks with ArtServe Michigan about Hardcore Detroit, the dance crew and clothing label he founded and the long road travelled to reach their current success. Starting at the beginning, Haleem discusses those who have inspired him & takes us back to the birth of hip-hop and b-boy culture, breakin’ / breakdancing, and “the Jit”, a dance style rooted in Detroit which is now recognized across the globe.

the art and work of dreams

The West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT) houses a spirited and dedicated group of educators, administrators, and community partners and they are about the imperative business of ensuring that Grand Rapids and Kentwood high school students are provided the space within which to dream – and that these dreams are not deferred.

two of a kind

This is a story about two young men, teenagers still, that demonstrate their creative passion, drive to succeed and gritty determination to nurture their talents.

‘art coast of michigan’ leverages identity to promote tourism

What happens when 24 artists join together to create one painting? The art-laden cities of Douglas and Saugatuck know the answer. Read more about the recent effort from these two cities to spur tourism and economic development by leveraging the creativity of its residents…

a metamorphosis for theatre in michigan

A rising tide raises all ships. This is the mantra of the Michigan Equity Theatre Alliance (META), a newly formed group with exciting plans to elevate Professional Equity Theatre in Michigan.

artprize big dog artist speaks about life in the u.p.

After 20 years on the art fair and music festival circuit, Branstrom has finally found a way to make a living in the U.P. without the heavy traveling thanks to some old school networking skills and a new artists’ cooperative in Marquette, Michigan.

ooooh, shiny!

The enthusiasm and excitement for her new art gallery, has owner and artist, Jackie Gascho fairly jumping out of her bed every day to get to the gallery to discover what will be new in store for her that day. ” In the business world I used to have a real tight plan for my day, but here at the gallery each day is filled with surprises” …says this new owner.

sculptor streamlines public art process

Downtowns and artists are benefiting from this small-town, big-time sculptor, all from what he calls the “epicenter of the sculptural world of the Midwest” – tiny Blissfield, Michigan.

pcap: prison creative arts Project

Meet Phillip and AyLaina. While incarcerated in Michigan they found that artistic expression was more than just a basic human right. For them, and thousands of other inmates across the state, the Prison Creative Arts Project became a life raft in a sea of inhumanity and loneliness.

new zombie comedy film has michigan ‘brains’ behind it

It’s a buddy movie, it’s a road movie, it’s a romantic comedy, and it’s an action movie. What more could you ask for? Oh, and there is lots of gore, and the hero of the movie is an articulate zombie. Yeah… That’s what I thought, too.

catalogue of lesser saints

This Saginaw artist is drawing inspiration from his own neighborhood which includes a daily parade of characters that are struggling to live their lives against great odds. These “invisible” people are who he calls “lesser saints“.

love bomb

When Lansing artist, Sam deBourbon, isn’t chasing storms or playing bass in the Lansing Concert Band, you’re likely to find him working on a large-scale mural or “bomb” on the side of some building using his favorite medium … a can of spray paint.

pottery and paintbrushes bring healing to hospitalized kids

Healing and transformation is a regular occurrence at Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital. Who would have thought that it would come at the hands of artists from the world-famous and historic Pewabic Pottery?

music prodigy turns rogue

This West Michigan violinist was a child prodigy, but somewhere along the way she found a new musical voice and a deeper understanding of the artistic soul. Ritsu Katsumata has turned ‘rogue’ as she promotes musical events she calls ‘disturbances.’

fordson: faith, fasting, and football

Sports movies are seldom about the sport they depict. They’re about determination and perseverance. They’re about hope and overcoming adversity. In those ways, “Fordson: Faith, Fasting, and Football” keeps that promise. But what makes this movie really special is that it’s a powerfully inspirational true story about a high school football team from a Michigan community which is predominantly Arab-American.

art as a bridge

An experimental art space, artlab, at The Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Michigan is attracting interest from bold new artists across the Midwest while also helping to bridge a divide between two communities.

traverse city film festival

The effects of celebrity can be powerful. Michael Moore has used his, at times controversial, star power
to pull together his Traverse City community, putting on the last seven years of Traverse City Film Festivals. Now his sights
are set on a project that has the potential to renovate old movie houses into centerpieces for downtowns all across
Michigan.

warrior art

Artist and activist Hugo Claudin took a stand to protect a pocket park in Grand Rapids, located across the street from his live/work artist space in the Heartside District. His weapon of choice – art.

public art landing on detroit’s riverfront

At a time when many are focused upon the urban decay of Detroit, an impressive public art project spearheaded by Michigan artist John Sauvé, is using creativity to nurture hope and encouragement along the international Riverfront from inside Michigan’s first “urban” State Park.

molly and brian
and all that jazz

In 2010, The Michigan Jazz Trail Festival came to life when Molly McFadden began working with the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance to pull three cities together in a celebration of each area’s unique musical gifts. To uncover talent she asked this simple question: “Where’s your gold?”

detroit art incubator brings ideas to market

The DC3 arts incubator in Detroit is giving regional creatives a little business sense, connecting them to resources that will hopefully turn their ideas into profits and boosting the creative capital percolating in the state’s largest city.

endangered species

Repurposing old machinery parts and transforming them into a new line of one-of-a-kind furniture is just part of this artisan’s contribution to the northern Michigan arts community.

the hive in battle creek

Jeremy Andrews was mesmerized by a book called Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire. Reading this book provided Andrews valuable inspiration and insights on swarm mentality and how he might apply it to his work life: creative community building.

local talent. local sweat.

The Destination: 1111 event in Grand Rapids has grown over the past seven years to feature the work of over one hundred visual, musical, and literary artists from across the country. Michael Pavona, an artist and innovator, is its co-founder and developer, and a strong believer in the power of balance. In 2010, Destination: 1111 received support and sponsorship from local businesses, as well as attracting more than a thousand visitors to the area.

artprize

As the largest art contest on earth, ArtPrize has given ordinary people a chance to have their voice heard, and unknown artists the chance of a lifetime. In an interview with ArtServe Michigan, ArtPrize Executive Director Catherine Creamer offers insight into the how and why and inspiration for becoming a part of the homegrown phenomena that is ArtPrize…

outside the wire

“I wasn’t prepared for that kind of poverty. Even so, in this war-torn country with mud huts and a lack of sanitary conditions, where there’s always the chance you can step on an explosive device left by a terrorist — children smile and play just like all kids around the world.” – Anthony Hornus, producer of “Outside the Wire”

rabbit island

For physician and Michigan native Rob Gorski buying an island on Craigslist was the ultimate way to reconnect to his Upper Peninsula memories, keep the developers from destroying the natural habitat and combine his love of conservation and creativity.

sculpting objects,
shaping artists

“If we artists work together as a community, not as competitors, our work will be better appreciated by the general public and our value will be established,” says Gage.

arts and activism

Her commitment to social change runs deep. That’s why hip hop and spoken word artist Natasha Thomas-Jackson is out to RAISE IT UP! and change the story of Flint, one child at a time.

putting art first

Sculptor, Artist and Ex-Automotive Designer TJ Aitken on his art…
“The automotive industry, especially the American automotive industry, has reached a pinnacle and now is experiencing the downhill side of the pinnacle. It is that rise and descent that fascinates me, and I find myself building compositions that will tell the story of the impact of the automobile on our society.”

bringing art to every child

While a large majority of the students come from Spanish-speaking families, Gaynor says that language really isn’t a barrier when it comes to art. “In art you teach by demonstration – a lot of it is visual,” she explains. “You don’t even need language, and that’s the really cool part. Even the kids that struggle with language skills can just relax when they are working on projects. They can just focus on being creative.”

one in a million

On October 16, 1995, African-American men from across the country converged on Washington, D.C to participate in the historic event called The Million Man March. A young artist and educator from Detroit named Khalid el-Hakim was there. The experience changed the course of his life, and provided the impetus for the creation of The Black History 101 Mobile Museum.

old town lansing

Winner of the 2011 Great American Main Street Award, Old Town Lansing is a community that has been transformed by artists and creative visionaries. Once blighted and full of abandoned buildings, it is now a thriving, vibrant hot spot for galleries, cafés, boutiques, and some of Michigan’s largest music festivals. ArtServe Michigan recently caught up with Terry Terry of MessageMakers and Brittney Hoszkiw…

a love song:
in three-part harmony

Music’s healing properties, a gift as old as creation, evolved into a 20th Century healthcare innovation called Music Therapy. This is the story of Louie Morand, a board-certified musical therapist’s work with adolescents at the Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home. The facility is funded in part by the Gilmore Foundation, the legacy gift of Kalamazoo arts and community patron Irving S. Gilmore.

coming of age in the neutral zone

Read how an Ann Arbor teen center empowers teens to explore themselves through art and artistic creation, almost makes you want to be a teen again! The Neutral Zone is a diverse youth-driven teen center dedicated to promoting personal growth through artistic expression, community leadership and the exchange of ideas.

small college, big ideas:
breaking world records in michigan’s upper peninsula

Creativity takes on many forms. For Computer- Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) students, at Bay College in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it is putting their minds together to design and build something that would put them in the Guinness Book of World Records for the World’s Largest Yo-Yo. Yup, we said yo-yo.

eric schantz & saginaw love

Eric Schantz is a mural artist born and living in Saginaw, a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute and at work to change the perception of his beloved city one boarded-up window, door, and wall at a time. His art and activism serve as a model for the artist as community leader and cultural hero. He advocates for personal and artistic empowerment and its positive outcome: personal and cultural enrichment.

aiga detroit
this organization is committed to great design

Over 475 members strong, AIGA Detroit is empowering designers to change their community, empowering the community to find its voice and igniting the creative passion of its hometown.

music with a message

Grammy-nominee, King Isaac is thankful for the exposure the nomination has granted him, but he aims to continue to use his music to shed light on tough social issues. “The glory isn’t my goal, my goal is to lift people up.”

unlikely collaboration
good for jackson music scene

While passing by a neglected power station in the city of Jackson, a sign caught Aaron Wilson’s attention; “Powering our Future,” it read. Wilson noticed the overgrown weeds and untended lot on which the sign rested. The irony didn’t escape him as he thought about the art and music culture of Jackson.

invincible

Detroit based hip-hop artist, Invincible, is a living example that art and everyday life can and should coexist in seamless cooperation. Beyond just producing and performing her music, she is a dedicated community organizer and record label entrepreneur. Still, that didn’t stop her from taking the time to give Creative Impact Michigan an inside look at how the arts are impacting the social discussion in Detroit.

the fog rolled in on the water

The people and natural beauty of Muskegon have inspired and supported a worldwide showcase for the Arts. Muskegon native Ben Evans is the founder and Executive Editor of Fogged Clarity, an online literary and musical journal featuring the work of authors, artists, and musicians from across the world.

where art meets earth:
the island of northwest michigan

On a ten acre plot of land just outside of Bellaire, Michigan an ISLAND has risen. An ISLAND shaped by the winds of recognition that community is created by arts and ecology.

the dewitt creativity group:
asking all the right questions

The group has no budget, no board of directors. There are no members – just supporters – and no appointed leaders. How is it that a group of high school students, under the guidance and encouragement of two teachers, has created such a stir?