Detroit Artists

[carriewalker]

Hey I am moving to Detroit in the next week, and I keep hearing about how the city is giving away space to artists. I've done a little research, but i wondered if anyone on here knew much about this topic.

Also, I'm wondering if there is any sort of Arts Alliance or Arts Council in Detroit?

[ironman]

No matter what you do, it's still Detroit.
You will never see me there, it's a dead city.
Jeff

[tonofelephant]

Carrie, only city I knew of helping artists was Pacucah, Kentucky. Contact Detroit's mayor directly to see what is available. He will know the terms of what is offered.

Detroit will be in for "interesting times" for the next few years. It has been plagued recently with metal thieves stripping houses of pipes & electrical wire to sell as scrap (even when the houses are occupied). So don't consider doing any metal sculpture there - it might disappear overnight.

If it were me & wanted a place, would wait until the poplation exodus stopped & began to turn around. Then think about going there.

Carl

[grommet]

there is a thriving arts community, and some grant opportunities for highly motivted & community oriented individuals. Emphasis on community. Some industrial buildings are being adopted by the arts community, as well as a couple neighborhoods. It is rugged, but folks are trying.
This is a good a place to start .: http://artxdetroit.com/press/quis-no...xercitationem/
http://www.culturalalliancesemi.org/cms/

[evaldart]

It IS within in us to choose where we would like to attempt our prosperity. I'd think twice about going someplace just because it was cheap or because there was a claim, a rumor or an advertising of a "burgeoning art community" (EVERY city says this).

An artist can create and improve anywhere...with or without support. But one's region will greatly impact an artists ability to "career" - you might find yourself traveling great distances for significant opportunities - the kind that pay bills. I know, I hate to bother with such thought also...but we DO occasionally have to leave the studio and participate. Think it through.

If I was in this stage of my art life right now I'd go to Brooklyn...the east vicinities. Theres fruit and plenty there if you've got the nerve to take it on. But the best fruit is the one that comes from making the work and continued creative improvement...and again, THAT can happen ANYWHERE - if you go hard at it.

[grommet]

another link.
http://ricdetroit.org/2010/?id=home
nobody said it would be a cakewalk, and you indicated you were already committed, so I won't second-guess your decision, but try to assist. And I am in Metro Detroit.

[obseq]

Originally Posted by ironman

No matter what you do, it's still Detroit.
You will never see me there, it's a dead city.
Jeff

Ehh, as much as I dig New Mexico, there are lots of places in that state you can call easily 'dead'.

If you're making the move either way, Carrie, blaze a trail, and best of luck to you!

[ironman]

Ha, ha!
Hey Obseq, you are quite right.
I live in what is supposed to be one of the "100 best small art towns in America" but it really wouldn't take much to get me to move.
Showed in Santa Fe for a few years but the gallery went out of business.
I just don't know where I'd go but it certainly wouldn't be Detroit or any other rust belt city. I might consider Chicago but at 64, I don't want winter.
Chattanooga had a program also, not as generous as Padukah but a nicer city and warmer.
I'd go back to NYC in a heartbeat but I can't afford it and at my age and dragon slaying isn't a hobby I want to pursue again.
A place like Detroit will swallow you up and destroy you.
If you want to be "community oriented" then you're not an artist!
Jeff