The packed crowd at the Art X opening ceremonies at MOCAD.

The art grants offered by the Kresge Foundation have supported the careers of some of Detroit’s most dynamic artists, helping to bring them to prominence and thus shape the landscape of arts in the city. Art X 2013 is a retrospective of the previous Kresge grantees and celebration in anticipation of the summer announcement of the 2013 grant recipients in the fields of visual and literary arts.

2011 Visual Arts Fellow Olayami Dabls poses with his daughter in front of his installation of a new work, “Unidentified Standing Objects” at the MOCAD.

The opening night festivities at MOCAD (a Knight Arts grantee) were pitch-perfect, with many of the artists on hand and the crowd ranging enthusiastically through the exhibits, which included photography, ceramics, video installations, paintings and multimedia sculptural pieces.

“Big S Man” by Mark Newport, who balances out the masculine form of the superhero with knitted renderings.

An installation by Scott Hocking.

Art patrons of all kinds came decked out to the event.

Besides live jazz and later a DJ on-site, the festivities went on tour, following behind the Detroit Party Marching Band through alleyways to the nearby First Congregational Church on Woodward, where My Brightest Diamond, fronted by Detroit resident Shara Worden, put on a riveting show.

The Detroit Party Marching Band on the move.

My Brightest Diamond filled the house at the First Congregational Church.

Frontwoman Shara Worden, engaging as always.

Adjacent locations hosted tandem openings, including the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art and Wayne State.

A lighter crowd at the N’Namdi gallery, which had a range of artists on display, including Benny Andrews.

Live jazz and great food, post-parade at the MOCAD.

Overall, it was a joyous and exciting night for art lovers in Detroit. For this blogger, one can hardly imagine a better reality than to encounter art at every turn. Be sure to check in at artxdetroit.com for the full schedule of completely free events that continue to showcase Kresge fellows and eminent artists through the weekend.

The installation at the MOCAD must be seen (and revisited!) to take in.

Thanks to the Kresge Foundation, the MOCAD, and all contributing artists for an enchanting evening!

MOCAD: 4454 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-6622; www.mocadetroit.org