Comments on: In Search of Ann Arbor Artists: A Sojourn

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:54:33 +0000

YEs. ANN ARBOR needs something like Artprize. But we need to be more diverse and step outside of the little box!

By: Kristin Hermanson

Kristin Hermanson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:38:35 +0000

When I first heard about Art Prize I really didn’t know what to think! The money wasn’t the reason I applied. I didn’t expect to win. I thought why not? It’s a risk but at least someone is doing SOMETHING for art. This has created a lot of dialog about art. The event has been dismissed and praised but TALKED about and that’s good for everyone on many levels. It reminded me a lot of the “happenings” in the 60′s. The freedom and energy was amazing. Did I personally like all the art? Not all of it. I liked much of it and couldn’t believe the range of approaches. Yes, it’s good for the city….they did a brilliant job hosting and planning. They made a ton of money. I don’t think Grand Rapids will be the same after this. I was a little nervous because of the city’s rep. for being ultra conservative. It may still be on some level but i think what they achieved is remarkable. I would encourage Ann Arbor to follow suit if possible. I love my city and making art in my city. An Art Prize Ann Arbor would be fantastic for everyone.

By: Dave Burhenn

Dave Burhenn — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:17:31 +0000

It was nice to see the Chronicle venture over to my home town to see ArtPrize. Grand Rapids is a remarkable place, due in no small part to some very generous local business people (the number of buildings and cultural sites named for DeVos, VanAndel and Meijer is quite incredible) and an openness to both the visual and performing arts that stems from the installation of the Calder stabile in 1969.

By the way, there was substantial opposition to the Calder in those days. One County commissioner wanted to put a fountain on the spot where the stabile stands today. Like Ann Arbor’s water garden, perhaps?

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:21:22 +0000

Well said.

By: Gary Salton

Gary Salton — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:21:04 +0000

Dug–Amen

By: Dug Song

Dug Song — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:38:36 +0000

I spent the entire weekend at ArtPrize with my family, and had an amazing time. This event was brilliantly conceived and executed - not just by its "strategic visionary" benefactor, but by the entire GR community, who invited the world to join in their city-wide celebration. I have no idea if Grand Rapids is normally this awesome, but it left a great impression. I'm headed to Boulder, CO this weekend for another locally-scoped, but nationally-branded Tech/Food/Music conference that would be right at home here in Ann Arbor: Link. I'm hoping our next Ignite Ann Arbor event is a step in this direction: Link. These other cities are much more effective in marketing cultural values that are creative, fun, and community-oriented, versus bureaucratic, staid, and institutional - not to pick on anyone, but compare groups in Grand Rapids and Boulder to Ann Arbor DDA and Ann Arbor SPARK for some idea of this. And to drive change, we have Ann Arbor Region Success to rally around. Hrm.

By: Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:52:08 +0000

As of Saturday (Sept. 26), five Ann Arbor artists are among the top 100 ArtPrize vote-getters. They are Diane Austin, Michael Flynn, Matt Kelsey, Heidi Kumao and Matthew Shlian. See the full list at ArtPrize.org.

By: Tamara Real

Tamara Real — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:51:01 +0000

It could be a workable idea. In August, the Arts Alliance applied to the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) to establish a Washtenaw County Cultural Small Grants program to provide cultural groups with small grants, with an emphasis on showcasing the cultural diversity found in our county (as part of the research for the cultural plan, we’ve learned that 91 different nationalities are represented just in our county alone). We applied for this grant to replace the MCACA (Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs) minigrant program that we currently manage and that we figure will be chopped from the state budget. Anything that can help pay for the arts, I’m in favor of. If we get the NEA grant, I’m going to work on expanding it to make artists eligible to apply as well as organizations. But first steps first…

By: Gary Salton

Gary Salton — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:25:43 +0000

Tamara–Okay, I got an idea. You know I’m interested in furthering the economic well-being of Ann Arbor and the State of Michigan. I see Art as a vehicle. You probably see Art as an end purpose. But maybe the twain does meet.

How about issuing the Arts Alliance a mini-grant? Hey, its a non-profit. Use the grant to drum up funding for some kind of theme event. Say something like “Systems in Ann Arbor” or the like. Use the money to solicit sponsorship from Google, the UofM, Systems in Motion and the like. If you want to stretch it, even smaller companies like mine might be seduced for a few bucks.

You might consider having Artists visit participating companies to get ideas for their original celebratory work. They get to make some contacts with the economic side of Ann Arbor and may even sell a work or two when the event is over.

It seems to me that this kind of win-win-win idea is what might work to everyone’s benefit. Artists get a venue and some contacts. Companies get their work celebrated in Art. The City gets some PR that works into its innovative image. The Arts Alliance gets new friends.

Okay, its a bit “off the wall.” But its a try at a positive step. It sure seems more fun than chasing around trying to reverse past decisions.

By: Alan Goldmith

Alan Goldmith — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:01:19 +0000

Susan is right. The Herbert Dreiseitl work and funding for it have NOT been approved yet, just the design costs. So it isn’t too late to vote it down and come up with another use for the funds.