Flint Public Art Project Launches Series of Urban Actions Thanks to ArtPlace Grant
ArtPlace releases 47 grants supporting creative placemaking initiatives in 33 communities nationwide
(Flint, MI, June 12, 2012) Flint Public Art Project (FPAP) will soon be launching a series of spectacular and practical actions in the city, featuring inflatable structures, building-scale video projections, urban research programs, and conceptual performances in the street – thanks to a substantial grant from ArtPlace announced today.
FPAP’s ongoing events will be produced in
collaboration with visiting artists from Detroit, Toledo, Buffalo,
Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Japan, and China, bringing the
vitality and expertise of the global art and architecture scene to the city. In
the fall, the project is organizing a Congress for Urban Engagement that will
combine public discussions with programs by urban planners that use innovative tools
to involve residents of all ages in designing the city’s future. These programs
are being organized in close partnership with Mayor Dayne Walling and chief
planner Megan Hunter. Among the visiting
architects and organizations expected to participate are Interboro Partners, James
Rojas, Damon Rich, Center for Urban Pedagogy, Public Workshop, Dland Studios,
and Srdjan Jovanovic-Weiss.
"This project will shine a positive light on Flint and show
off the creative work that is taking place here to turn our community around,”
Mayor Walling said. “The timing of this project could not be better—it will
illustrate new ideas and strategies that can be incorporated into the master
planning process.”
In addition to planning, Flint Public Art
Project will promote a series of art provocations, architectural form-making experiments,
and spectacular video projections, culminating in a May 1- 4, 2013 public art
festival. Entries will be open to local, regional, and international participants,
inviting proposals for light-and-projection art, performances, and installations
to transform a disused former factory site into a temporary public space and
demonstrate its potential future use. “We want to encourage residents to feel
free to transform the city through their own creative energy and actions,” said
Flint Public Art Project director Stephen Zacks. “Every vacant lot is an
opportunity to experiment, play, and reimagine.”
Flint Public Art Project will receive a $250,000
grant from ArtPlace, a new national collaboration
of 11 major national and regional foundations, six of the nation’s largest
banks, and eight federal agencies, including the National Endowment for the
Arts, to accelerate creative placemaking across the U.S. To date, ArtPlace has
raised almost $50 million to work alongside federal and local governments to
transform communities with strategic investments in the arts.
"Across the country, cities and towns
are using the arts to help shape their social, physical, and economic
characters," said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. "The arts are a part
of everyday life, and I am thrilled to see yet another example of an arts
organization working with city, state, and federal offices to help strengthen
and revitalize their communities through the arts. It is wonderful that
ArtPlace and its funders have recognized this work and invested in it so
generously."
Flint Public Art Project is one of three Southeast
Michigan organizations funded by ArtPlace in 2012 and among the 47 creative
placemaking initiatives nationwide supported by the collaboration this year. Power
House Productions and the Detroit Institute of Arts are also receiving ArtPlace
support.
“The Detroit and Flint projects receiving
ArtPlace funding exemplify the best in creative placemaking,” explained
ArtPlace’s Carol Coletta. “They demonstrate a deep understanding of how smart
investments in art, design and culture as part of a larger portfolio of
revitalization strategies can change the trajectory of communities and increase
economic opportunities for people.”
ArtPlace received almost 2200 letters of
inquiry from organizations seeking a portion of the $15.4 million available for
grants in this cycle. Inquiries came
from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, U.S.
Virgin Islands.
In September, ArtPlace will release a new set
of metrics to measure changes over time in the people, activity and real estate
value in the communities where ArtPlace has invested with its grants.
Participating foundations include Bloomberg
Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S.
and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation,
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation,
The Robina Foundation, The William Penn Foundation and an anonymous donor. In
addition to the NEA, federal partners are the departments of Housing and Urban
Development, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education and
Transportation, along with leadership from the White House Office of Management
and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council. ArtPlace is also supported by a $12
million loan fund capitalized by six major financial institutions and managed
by the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Participating institutions are Bank of America,
Citi, Deutsche Bank, Chase, MetLife and Morgan Stanley.
A complete list of this year’s ArtPlace
awards can be found at artplaceamerica.org.
