A scene from the value-making ceremony organized by Kate Daughdrill and Phreddy Wischusen (artists not pictured here). Photo by Ali Lapetina. Art X Detroit 2015, the biennial celebration honoring the most recent cycle of Kresge Fellows, drew to a close on Sunday, April 26, following nearly three weeks of free events and exhibits put together by the Visual, Literary, Dance/Music and Film/Theatre Fellows, in partnership with Midtown Detroit Inc., Kresge Arts in Detroit (KAID) and the MOCAD (a Knight Arts grantee). Mallika Roy of Midtown Detroit Inc. had this to say about the festival: “Fifteen thousand individuals will visit nearly 20 cultural venues hosting works from 38 artists living and working in Detroit during AXD. I think these numbers really attest to the festival’s ability to bring together people from the metro region and beyond in engaging with diverse artistic spaces, experiences, and communities that are at the core of Detroit’s arts and culture.” Animation station by 2013 Visual Arts Fellow Clinton Snider. The MOCAD acted as a central hub for a far-reaching program, such as displays by the 2013 Visual Arts Fellows—which included “Escape from Weed Mountain” by Knight Arts grantee Jon Brumit. The phonic tent-city captured a dystopian festival energy, and was just one of several projects to effectively shape spaces through aesthetic and audial interventions. “The thing that really stuck out was how well it worked together without being repetitive,” observed MOCAD Exhibitions Manager Zeb Smith of the 2015 Art X Detroit program. “I feel like the artists really wanted to work together to make a great show, not to overwhelm each other selfishly, but really in way that was careful of the other people in the exhibition. There is always that feel working with artists in Detroit, that we’re all in it together. I guess that’s the spirit I’ve found in this city the whole time I’ve been here–the people who belong here are the ones who try to allow for everyone to be heard.” From “Escape from Weed Mountain” by Jon Brumit. A wide range of voices were heard around the MOCAD, including from participants in 2013 Visual Arts Fellow Kate Daughdrill’s piece, “From Here to There.” The work included a installation (created with the help of Patrick Costello) and a series of activities, the biggest of which was a ‘value-making ceremony.’ “We are living at a profound time in history. As industrialism comes to an end and something else begins, we have the opportunity to cultivate a new way of living that is more sustainable, harmonious and human,” Daughdrill said, reflecting on the ceremony. “We have the opportunity to heal our relationships with one another, with ourselves, and with the earth. One meal, one discussion, one ceremony at a time, we are cultivating the city we want to live in.” Kate Daughdrill and Patrick Costello’s installation–an aesthetically impressive and a massive feat of human effort. At the intersection of soundscape and bringing forward the vocal presence of participants was 2014 Dance/Music Fellow Ben Hall’s performance piece, “Windbag for Thirty-Six Sets of Lungs,” which engaged 35 volunteers (the eponymous number was reduced due to layout constraints) in a 20-minute performance piece that took place twice during the run of Art X Detroit. Participants lay on felt mats, channeling their breathing through pitch pipes in various keys. The result was a symphony of natural breathing, beneath a canopy of ferns and disco balls. Says Hall, on working with sound as a medium, “There’s definitely a paucity of sound work in museums often because it bleeds, so it ends up being performance rather than durational, so if you have somebody who’s working solely in sound, like Jason Lescalleet, he’s not using all of these tropes that we recognize. I’m suspicious of calling that type of work pure or authentic, but it definitely responds to rules differently and sometimes not at all. I appreciate it defying of convention, but I also like the fact that sound can’t be contained.” Ben Hall, with participants during the first iteration of his performance piece. These were just a sampling of the profound, beautiful, affecting and entertaining events of Art X Detroit 2015. Kudos to KAID, the MOCAD, Midtown Detroit Inc., and especially all the Kresge Fellows for their contributions to a wonderful festival.