Kunstparade

So...yesterday my housemate and I went to the first meeting of the Events Committee at the Detroit Artists Market. We have a friend who works there, and asked us if we wanted to get involved. Being artistically minded, and feeling some sort of need to get involved with community service, we said yes. So, the committee's goal is to bring together the local art community (in Detroit) and to make it more visible to the public. Not for marketing, but purely to get the general community more involved in art because of it's many positive aspects. The committee is made up of nine people from various artistic backgrounds. Aaron and I, and our friend Alissa who's also involved don't specifically identify ourselves as artists, but we do have appreciation. At some point in the meeting, after a brief discussion on something, one of the members who is an artist, and teaches art asked what the non-artists felt about what we had just discussed. Everyone in the room turned to look at Aaron, Alissa, and myself. That felt odd. The point of this committee is to bring the local art scene together, thus recognizing the very broad facets that the scene is comprised of. During introductions, I identified myself as a DJ, musician, and writer. Aaron identified himself as a photographer, and Alissa is a network administrator at a gallery. So, maybe we don't paint or draw or sculpt, but what we do is certainly art. Yes, I believe that working with computers, even in a seemingly non-creative sense is very artistic in it's complexity of patterns. Anyway, the fact that this committee member who IS an artist chose to identify us as "non-artists," really bothered me. We were there with the intent of bringing artists together, and she's already dividing us.

So, now that's off my chest. Next topic. One of the things we discussed was an Art Parade. This would hopefully go up Woodward, probably starting at C-Pop in Midtown and ending in Ferndale or Royal Oak. Highland Park will definitely be interesting. The idea is that people who take part in the parade can make their own costumes if they want, they can build a float, do whatever as long as it's artistic. Local organizations, clubs, bars, concert venues, and restaurants could get involved if they wanted to, but they won't be asked to take part as a group. Corporate sponsorship of any kind is something that will be avoided. What do you think of that idea? Sounds a little cheesy, but I think it could be really fun.

Got art?