Rust Belt to Artist Belt: Detroit

An all-star cast of artists, community activists and organizers, journalists and social media gurus from Grand Rapids packed into a bus and headed to Michigan's largest metropolis for a jam packed day of events. The Rust Belt to Artist Belt conference in Detroit brought together creative practitioners and artists of all trades to the table to discuss the revitalization of Detroit, and other Rust Belt cities, by the hands of the arts community.

With the idea to experience more than just the conference itself, our first stop was at Cliff Bells, a work-in-progress neighborhood bar, jazz lounge and theatre.

Walking into the jazz lounge was like stepping into a portal that took you back to the age before MP3 players and music downloads, before iTunes and beat machines; when music lifted you higher that any artificial substance could and left you experiencing a euphoria unable to be duplicated. It's called jazz.

The owners talked about what it is like for them in the "wild west" of the city that has more abandoned building than tenants to fill them. However, instead of viewing this issue as an obstacle some have turned it into an opportunity for innovation, creativity and ultimately change.

Lunch took us to Slow's and after a pit stop at Avalon bakery we were put in the path of Dell Pryor's Spiral Collective, a black-owned and operated art gallery by 3 generations of women.

Urban farming done well was what we saw next at a local soup kitchen partnered with Gleaners in the heart of the community.

The Rust Belt conference workshops opened discussions on how cities can create think tanks spearheaded by artists to answer social issues and energize the economy. Shifting the perspective from art being entertainment for the elite to art as a functional answer to issues such as transportation, hunger, and communication.

 

Our time in Detroit was capped off with an artists reception at MOCAD that featured the works of some of Detroit's emerging artists.

One could gather many things from this experience. Something that seemed to be a shared sentiment was the necessity to continue the conversation from Detroit with our Grand Rapids constituents and to, as Ghandi put it, "Be the change you want to see". As artists we have the capacity to invoke this change within our communities through a collaborative effort with local businesses, government, and our neighbors next door. The question is not if art can change the world but how artists can mobilize to create a sustainable and practical impact on a society that so desperately needs to see the beauty within itself.

Revolutionary Art