Knight Foundation

This month, five Detroit arts groups are vying for the Knight Arts Challenge People’s Choice Award, a $20,000 prize the winner can use for a project of their choice. The award is one of the ways Knight aims to bring attention to small arts organizations and their impact on the city. Here, KnightArts.org has a quick word with Maria Luis Carrillo of nominee Ballet Folklorico Moyocoyani Izel, which wants to bring the traditional dances of Mexico’s La Huasteca region to Detroit. To vote for the dance troupe, text Detroit4 to 22333 and learn about the other nominees at knightarts.org/peopleschoice. Q. What do you love most about your arts group? A. Performing and expressing through dance the rich culture and history of Mexico. Q. What would you do with the $20,000 People’s Choice award? A. Our goal is to increase our dance knowledge and in turn amplify our dance program and continue to take it to all pockets of the community and beyond.  This would be attained by inviting professional dance instructors from Mexico to come to Detroit and collaborating with our extensive folklore network.

This month, five Detroit arts groups are vying for the Knight Arts Challenge People’s Choice Award, a $20,000 prize the winner can use for a project of their choice. The award is one of the ways Knight aims to bring attention to small arts organizations and their impact on the city. Here, KnightArts.org has a quick word with  Joori Jung of nominee ARTLAB J, a troupe working to strengthen the city’s dance community. Vote for the museum by texting Detroit3 to 22333 and learn about the other nominees at knightarts.org/peopleschoice. Q. What do you love most about your arts group? A. ARTLAB J has an array of unique artists from various backgrounds whether it’s different dance styles, or the places that we come from. We gather together collectively with our different ideas and make them assemble right here in the City of Detroit whether it’s marketing, advertising, managing or dancing. Q. What would you do with the $20,000 People’s Choice award? A. ARTLAB J would further develop the organization in order to support the community and to support the local Detroit dancer. This is a community effort with the hopes of reaching also a national and international level. ARTLAB J studio at Saint John and Saint Luke United Church of Christ. Q. Three words or phrases your fans would use to describe your work? A. Wholesome,  Energetic, Sprouting. Q. Who, or what, inspires you as an artist? A. Pina Bausch inspires me. Her choreography is not just dance and it’s fulfilling because I can feel the humanism from her choreography. She makes me think about my life and at the end she brings more topic to me.

On Saturday, August 30th, Ocelot Print Shop will paste up a poster in support of climate change awareness, part of a nationwide campaign to spread the message about the People’s Climate March, which will take place in New York City on September 21st, 2014. Information about...

  This month, five Detroit arts groups are vying for the Knight Arts Challenge People’s Choice Award, a $20,000 prize the winner can use for a project of their choice. The award is one of the ways Knight aims to bring attention to small arts organizations and their impact on the city. Here, KnightArts.org has a quick word with  Sherrine Azab and Jake Hooker  of nominee A Host of People, a theater group celebrating the DIY movement in food and the arts. Vote for the group by texting Detroit1 to 22333, and learn about the other nominees at knightarts.org/peopleschoice. Q. What do you love most about your arts group? A. We love the experimentation.  When we begin, we don’t know where we’re going to end.  We love collaboration.  Everybody in our process -- performers, designers, musicians and especially the audience -- are part of the generation of the work.  We’re all making it together.  And because of all of that creative combustion, what we make, is big, bold, visually arresting, thought provoking and fun. Q. What would you do with the $20,000 People’s Choice award? A. Part of the funds will go directly towards our upcoming production The Harrowing; part will go towards renovating our attic into a rehearsal space/chamber theater where we can develop this and future works; and part will go towards establishing a mobile bike cafe that we can take to events and other neighborhoods in order to get the word out about our own work as well as that of other artists in Detroit. Q. Three words or phrases your fans would use to describe your work? A. Welcoming, transportive, captivating