• Article

    Inside the Twin Cities’ Public Art Scrambler

    Published March 24, 2014 by

    By Stacey Holland, Forecast Public Art In 2013 The Public Art Scrambler began convening self-defined public art professionals connect with their peers in the Twin Cities. The meetings focus on issues and ideas related to public art creation – temporary and permanent – and are determined collectively at an annual...
  • Article

    The Ulysses Festival

    Published March 24, 2014 by

    Opera Carolina's "The Flying Dutchman." Photo by jonsilla.com The Ulysses Festival kicked off this past weekend, starting more than a month of arts events celebrating the 50 year legacy of the 1964 Civil Rights Act with the 2014 theme: “A Beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood.” The Festival...
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    A new space for exchanging great ideas for the arts & communities

    Published March 24, 2014 by

    Above: Artify, St. Paul. Photo credit: Bill Kelley. At Springboard for the Arts, we just launched a new national home for creative ideas. We’re calling it the Creative Exchange. What exactly is it? The short answer is, that it’s up to you. It’s a place for exchange: of stories, practical resources and conversation. It’s a place for artists and community members to come together to share and build connections. Creative Exchange will be built by all of us that use and contribute to it. That said, I want to share some of the thinking and people that led us to this exciting place. At Springboard for the Arts, we believe that artists are vital contributors to their communities. We are all artists on our staff, and we’ve been doing the work of connecting artists to resources to make a living and a life for the past 23 years from our offices in Saint Paul and Fergus Falls, Minn. We’ve been able to create programs around artist entrepreneurial development, artists’ access to healthcare, community supported art and artist-driven community development.
  • Article

    Evocative still life imagery of empty space

    Published March 22, 2014 by

    Installation of "Noonday" from Jenny Brillhart. Photo Frank Casale/Emerson Dorsch The paintings of Jenny Brillhart have always been somewhat deceptive. While she incorporates collage and generally works within what could be called an architectural landscape, her works really are still life pieces. Quiet, contemplative places that...
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    Enthralling Detroit documentaries at Freep Film Festival

    Published March 21, 2014 by

    Through Sunday, March 23rd, the Freep Film Festival will be screening films at both the Fillmore Detroit and the Detroit Film Theatre (located at the Detroit Institute of Arts). The festival, sponsored by Detroit’s hometown newspaper, the Detroit Free Press, began with a Thursday night showing of Packard: The Last...
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    A new performing arts venue

    Published March 20, 2014 by

    Libraries are often quite and studious spaces; sometimes they are venues for community engagement, and certainly they are conduits of information. But rarely do they become spaces for the performing arts, and yet this is exactly what Charlotte-Mecklenburg residents have been experiencing this March in their community libraries through the...
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    Motivational Edge motivates Miami youth through the arts

    Published March 20, 2014 by

    Photo credit: Maicol Diaz of Unique Photography and Design. Rudy Sablon is director of programs for The Motivational Edge, a nonprofit that uses the arts to inspire youth towards academic achievement, increased self-confidence and building essential life skills. Below, he writes about a lyrical expression and audio recording program, which is receiving $50,000 in new support from Knight Foundation. Most kids can’t wait for their summer and spring breaks; they’re itching to get out of school and into the world. But when that world lacks basic resources—such as food, shelter and safety—these breaks can be the scariest time of year. Research has shown that if at-risk teenagers are going to find trouble it will be in the hours after school, when they’re trying to find ways to occupy their time. In addition to delinquency, aggressive or violent behavior and substance abuse, teenagers living in low-income, diverse areas wrestle with the additional factors of living with families dealing with poverty, hunger and language and cultural barriers. In specific, the Allapattah region of Miami-Dade County has the sad distinction of having rates of crime and poverty that are higher than the community average. “A lot of these youth have nothing to do after school,” said CEO Ian Welsch, founder of The Motivational Edge, which uses the arts to promote high-quality instruction and learning for students in all disciplines. “Having meaningful, engaging activities are imperative in order to keep kids off the streets and safe.” Through many constructive programs and services offered by The Motivational Edge, a good number of those teens can have not only a safe haven when school’s out, but something meaningful to do once they get there. This spring break, March 24-28, The Motivational Edge will do just that by keeping their doors open for youths ages 5-18 in the Allapattah, Brownsville and Liberty City areas of Miami.
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    Detroit steps into spring with the Marche du Nain Rouge

    Published March 20, 2014 by

    Photo credit: Dante Stella.  Francis Grunow is the organizer of Marche du Nain Rouge, an annual festival and parade supported by Knight Foundation, planned for Sunday, March 23, in Detroit. Imagine more than 4,000 revelers coming together on the streets of Detroit, dressed in the spirit of raw, creative energy to shake off the long winter’s doldrums and celebrate the renewal of spring. Kids come as dragons riding in wagons. There are pirates, priests, fairies, devils, steampunks and assorted monsters. Couples come matching, as two sides of a piece of surreal artwork. Troupes come coordinated, as monopoly pieces and animal crackers, and on decorated bikes and themed chariots. Fife and drum corps intersperse among the crowd along with New Orleans-inspired bands.  All sorts of folks come out in anticipation of the Nain Rouge, and the opportunity to join in the Marche du Nain Rouge, a growing tradition in the heart of Midtown Detroit. Based on a tale of folklore from Detroit’s earliest days as a French settlement, the Marche is a playful and participatory art parade that calls on Detroiters to come together to stand up to the Nain Rouge (red dwarf), a malevolent mythological creature that represents all things holding the city back. Each year on the Sunday following the vernal equinox, the cycle repeats: The Nain Rouge appears in one location to taunt Detroit. Then costumed participants follow the Nain on a one-mile march, and are finally victorious with a catharsis ceremony in Cass Park. Like similar events encouraging people to experience a neighborhood or city, the Marche du Nain Rouge creates a positive sense of place in Detroit, by connecting people through art and the city’s history to a historic neighborhood, the Cass Corridor. The district’s assets, public spaces, small businesses, shops, restaurants and bars are also featured as a way of further building community. Many local businesses host events and have special offers this week, from offering exclusive themed T-shirt designs, to food and drink specials in honor of the Marche, such as the “El Diablito” pizza, the “Sangre Del Nain” drink, Creole beans and rice, and an annual crawfish boil.