Art

The East Lansing Art Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend

Steve Carmody — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Up to 70 thousand people are expected to attend this weekend’s East Lansing Art Festival.

The festival marks its 50th anniversary this year. The festival started back in the mid-1960’s, when a group of local artists simply wanted to hold a small show along Grand River Avenue. It’s grown a lot since then.

Corinn Van Wyck is the festival’s director. She says organizers try to focus on the quality of art, not just quantity.

ArtPod is supersized for Spring

Kate Wells — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:37:30 +0000

This week, ArtPod is inspired by the massive chocolate Easter bunnies we’ve been inhaling for days now.

So to welcome Spring (hey, it’s 50 degrees!) we’re doing a bigger edition of ArtPod, squeezing in two very different Michigan’s artists and culture-makers.

First, we start off with a full-cast radio performance of the play “RUST.”

Art, music, and gym teachers get the ax in Lansing

Kate Wells — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:17:19 +0000

Update 2:17 p.m.

“The Superintendent is receiving calls from arts groups all over the state saying, ‘Why are you cutting the arts?’” says district spokesman Bob Kolt. “But it’s just not true…we’re contracting out those services to community artists.”

Kolt says the district will bring in about 10-20 “contractors” to help elementary classroom teachers with art, music and gym instruction.

Author Charlie LeDuff talks about returning to his hometown of Detroit

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:50:01 +0000

Detroit native, Charlie LeDuff is an author, journalist, and filmmaker, as well as a reporter for Fox News Detroit and The Detroit News .

He is also a former journalist for the New York Times and a 2001 Pulitzer Prize for his work on the New York Times piece "How Race is Lived in America."

Currently LeDuff has been gaining press for his newly published autobiography titled Detroit: an American Autopsy.

Stateside: Artist Alec Soth on his Michigan travels

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:45:55 +0000

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

Alec Soth's exhibition, "From Here to There: Alec Soth's America," is on display at the Cranbrook Art Museum through March 30.

Soth spoke today with Cyndy about his time in Michigan and the various people he encountered.

Soth was unfamiliar with Michigan at the start of his trip.

Art world, meet East Lansing: could new museum change downtown?

Kate Wells — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:11:40 +0000

East Lansing is your classic college town: a laid-back mix of beer, bongs and bookstores.

But with the opening of a $45 million modern art museum, suddenly the international world is paying attention to "good 'ol Michigan State."

As Michigan Radio's Kate Wells reports, some locals like the attention more than others.

For something right across from a Taco Bell, the Broad art museum sure smells like money.

California art teacher and Detroit duo win top awards in ArtPrize 2012

Lindsey Smith — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:11:14 +0000

A part-time art teacher from Burbank, California won ArtPrize in Grand Rapids Friday night.

This was the first time Adonna Khare entered the art competition.

“I’m beyond grateful. I’m excited and completely surprised. But words cannot describe how happy I’m feeling right now,” Khare said.

Stateside: Dlectricity

Stateside Staff — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:02:16 +0000

Mark Schwartz is illuminating Detroit. An organizer of Dlectricity, a contemporary light art festival running Oct. 5-6 in Detroit, Schwartz helped create an event he hopes will engage and stimulate his audience.

Cynthia Canty recently spoke with Schwartz about Dlectricity’s function in both the City of Detroit and the art world at large.

“Part of it is art; part of it is the regeneration of Detroit,” said Schwartz. “I think this will be a way for people to really enjoy Detroit at night and start thinking of this city as a pedestrian village.”

ArtPrize founder Rick DeVos announces top ten for 2012 contest

Lindsey Smith — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:50:17 +0000

Voters in ArtPrize have narrowed more than 1,500 works of art down to the top ten. One of the top ten artists will take home the $200,000 top prize later this week.

This year more than 40,000 people voted (more than 400,000 votes in total so far) for their favorites. Thousands gathered Sunday afternoon to hear ArtPrize founder Rick DeVos list off the ten works of art that got the most votes.

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts facing financial problems

Lindsey Smith — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:23:00 +0000

The head of Michigan’s largest contemporary arts center has stepped down as part of a plan to stabilize the museum’s finances. The Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids is also cutting its hours.

The UICA’s board of directors voted on the restructuring plan this week to try to stabilize what they call a “declining financial situation”. But the board will not discuss details of the budget or the restructuring plan publicly.

Board President Kathryn Chaplow says the board has reached out to a small group of “major donors” to help with some immediate funding.

“It’s very rare for people to go through something like this. But with the way people step up its just overwhelming and its humbling. The UICA isn’t going anywhere,” Chaplow said.

The UICA’s executive director Jeff Meeuwsen has agreed to step down as part of the plan. He will stay on as a temporary consultant for up to 90 days.

Chaplow says she hopes the cut in hours will be temporary. And she says the board will be seeking a new director.

Calling all artists! ArtPrize registration begins today

Lindsey Smith — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Artists can start registering today to compete in ArtPrize this fall.

The winner of the yearly art competition is decided by the voting public who visit the event in September in downtown Grand Rapids.

More than a half a million dollars in prize money is at stake. The entry fee is just fifty bucks.

For the first time this year there’ll be $200,000 in prizes for juried awards in addition to those awarded by the popular vote.

ArtPrize spokesman Brian Burch says juried awards are what professional artists are used to.

Dexter kids turn to art to get their minds off the tornado

Jennifer Guerra — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:20:53 +0000

Dexter residents are still dealing with the aftermath of the tornado that through their town earlier this month. To help with the healing process, one woman has set up an outdoor art studio for kids in one of the hardest hit neighborhoods.

Christine Lux's makeshift studio consists of some tables, a tent, and a giant blue tarp to protect the children’s art work and art supplies.

U of M leads effort to integrate "arts practices" at research universities

Jennifer Guerra — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:50:12 +0000

The University of Michigan is leading an effort to get the arts to play a bigger role at research universities.

Reading, writing, and "making" are the skills Theresa Reid wants to see emphasized in higher education.

MSU Broad Art Museum pushes back opening, touts "virtual" museum experience

Jennifer Guerra — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:20:30 +0000

The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University will not open April 21st as scheduled due to construction problems. Instead, the contemporary art museum will open sometime this fall.

But for those who just can’t wait to see what the inside of the Zaha Hadid-designed museum looks like, the folks at the Broad have created a “virtual” museum that anyone from anywhere in the world can access:

Lansing gallery lets patrons lease original artwork

Jennifer Guerra — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:00:00 +0000

An art gallery in Lansing lets patrons lease original works of art, much like you would a car or a truck.

For nearly five decades, the Lansing Art Gallery has let folks lease select pieces of art from their gallery. Now with the gallery's new Lease/Purchase Exhibit people can lease any of the 43 original pieces of art on display for about ten percent of the sticker price: