Kresge Arts in Detroit and Sidewalk Detroit have partnered to present a public, 3-day, interactive summit that will explore existing opportunities and new possibilities related to alternative economies and community-based resource creation and sharing within Detroit’s artist community. Participants will engage with presenters and peers with knowledge and experience spanning mutual aid, intentional communities and land use. Attendees will have opportunities to define and share their vision, ideas, and experience, while connecting and learning from other artists who are interested in alternative economies. 

On June 15, 16 & 17, 2021, this interactive summit will explore existing opportunities and new possibilities related to alternative economies and community-based resource creation and sharing within Detroit’s artist community. Participants will engage with presenters and peers with knowledge and experience spanning mutual aid, examining and identifying your own power, intentional communities and land use. Attendees will have opportunities to define and share their vision, ideas, and experience, while connecting and learning from other artists who are interested in alternative economies.

The program is free, open to the public, and will be held entirely online. Participants must register to attend, and space is limited. 

Presenters will include prominent arts and culture leaders such as Tawana Petty, social justice organizer, youth advocate, poet, and author; Halima Cassels, founder and co-director of the Free Market of Detroit; Margo Dalal, co-founder and Executive Director of Detroit Community Wealth Fund; and Malik Kenyatta Yakini, co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN), among many others. Please see the attachment for a complete list of presenters. 

WHEN: June 15, 16 &17, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET 

REGISTER ONLINE: https://bit.ly/3vl1JUe Registration is required to attend. Space is limited.

LEARN MORE: https://www.sidewalkdetroit.com/nowfuture

The NOW:FUTURE ARTIST SUMMIT is the second half of the inaugural year of NOW:FUTURE, a multi-year initiative spearheaded by Sidewalk Detroit and Kresge Arts in Detroit. Developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project responds to the immediate needs of artists by creating opportunities for collective investigation, experimentation, and documentation. Part One, NOW:FUTURE 2020, was a socially-distanced performance series featuring Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award Recipients co-produced and curated by Sidewalk Detroit.

The global pandemic spotlighted existing and new vulnerabilities within Detroit’s arts and culture ecosystem as well as the abundance of community-based wisdom, skills, and resources that were both readily available and quickly activated. NOW:FUTURE, and this summit in particular, aim to provide a platform for Detroit artists to connect with and strengthen existing systems of mutual support. 

SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS INCLUDE:

POD + POWER MAPPING WORKSHOP

saylem celeste (they/them) is a Black, Queer, Trans non-binary Reparations Alchemist (Artist/Activist Hybrid) working in their hometown of waawiyatanong (Detroit, Michigan). They create images and objects that communicate the living relationship between the experiences of Queer, Black/Indigenous, Femme identifying folks and ideas of home and heritage. As a previous student of academic institutions such as risd, sfai, the university of michigan, and wayne state university, saylem has now turned away from traditional academic prospects to pursue direct community involvement, alternative learning experiences, and grassroots guerilla theory. saylem is currently practicing the Black folk tradition of quilting in tandem with a sustainable fibers practice to provide mutual aid- in order to cultivate a spirit of healing, restoration, and solace to those in need of immediate care and inspiration. 

Lauren Williams (she/her) is a Detroit-based designer, organizer, researcher, and educator. She works with visual and interactive media to understand, critique, and reimagine the ways social and economic systems distribute and exercise power. 

Her practice and research investigate Blackness, identity, bodiliness, and social fictions and examine how racism is felt, embodied, and embedded into institutions. Lauren’s work often engages people through collaborations and facilitated experiences in service of imagining and manifesting a more liberated present and future. Lauren has taught design at the College for Creative Studies, ArtCenter College of Design, and elsewhere. In the past, she has managed programs and policies aimed at cultivating economic justice at Prosperity Now in DC. Going forward, she’s finding ways to align her capacities with revolutionary movements that build toward a different economy entirely and usher in new dimensions of power and freedom all together.

ILLUMINATING MUTUAL AID SYSTEMS IN DETROIT: PANEL + DISCUSSION

Monique Becker is Co-Founder of Mona Lisa Development, a socially responsible real estate development firm with property management, consulting and general contracting capabilities. A Detroit-Based and Women-Owned business, Mona Lisa Development is committed to extending opportunities to other Detroiters and disadvantaged businesses. MLD is proud to work with over 90% minority-owned companies to rehabilitate homes and provide quality affordable housing to residents, who are creatives, community builders and entrepreneurs. Monique leads development management and overall strategy to ensure preservation of place and people in the creation of neighborhood masterpieces. Monique is the Manager of Program Implementation for Building Community Value (BCV) where she supports real estate development training for Detroiters. BCV just completed its 11th cohort and has reached over 300 Detroiters. Alongside community members in the Virginia Park neighborhood, Monique helps to lead the Black Detroiters Rebuild: Virginia Park Community (BDR) initiative. BDR is a diverse coalition of neighbors, businesses, activists and non-profits who believe that property ownership by Detroit’s Black residents is the first step in rejuvenating our neighborhoods. BDR works in collaboration with other organizations to develop equitable solutions for neighborhood rebuilding that prioritizes generational wealth building opportunities for Black Detroiters. 

Monique graduated from the University of Michigan Literature, Science and the Arts Honors College with a dual degree in International Studies and Spanish. 

Bryce Detroit is the Afrofuturist artist, griot, activist, and pioneer of Entertainment Justice. As a cultural designer, he is a national award-winning music producer, performer, and curator. Through his practice, Bryce Detroit demonstrates the power of using music entertainment arts and native legacies to design cultural infrastructure for preserving, producing, and promoting new Diasporic Afrikan narratives, cultural literacies, and cooperative neighborhood-based economies. 

Bryce Detroit is a 2019 New Museum Ideas Cities Fellow and a 2017 Knight Arts Challenge award winner. Bryce Detroit was also selected as music curator for the 10th St Etienne International Design Biennale, representing Detroit as a UNESCO City of Design.

KRESGE ARTS IN DETROIT is generously funded by The Kresge Foundation and administered by the College for Creative Studies. The goals of Kresge Arts in Detroit are to enrich the quality of life for metro Detroiters by helping artists provide a broad spectrum of cultural experiences; celebrate and reflect the richness and diversity of our community in all its aspects; heighten the profile of arts and artists in our community; and strengthen the artistic careers of local artists. Since 2008, Kresge Arts in Detroit has awarded $6.2 million through 13 Kresge Eminent Artist awards ($50,000 each), 218 Kresge Artist fellowships ($25,000 each), and 22 Gilda Awards ($5,000 each). kresgeartsindetroit.org & kresgeartsindetroitpresents.org 

SIDEWALK DETROIT 

Sidewalk Detroit practices an immersive approach to creative city building that combines the vision of residents, strategy, and innovative artistic ideation to create engaging spaces that celebrate life in communities across the city. sidewalkdetroit.com

The post NOW:FUTURE ARTIST SUMMIT: UNPACKING MUTUAL AID AND ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIES FOR DETROIT ARTISTS ON JUNE 15-17TH appeared first on PLAYGROUND DETROIT.