So, even though seasonal influenza has pretty much decimated the brain bank at
Concentrate, we were still able to weed through the many many entertainment offerings to arrive at six worthy of your attention. Along with luminaries like
Anthony Bourdain (does anyone other than me think he kinda looks like Tony Bennett?) and
Jonathan Lethem dropping by to provide scintillating anecdotes about their celebrity-style life experiences, magician
Jamy Ian Swiss will wow you with sleight of hand while offering up his thoughts on skeptical thinking. And though the week is filled to the brim with musical attractions, filterD singles out legendary tropicália diva
Gal Costa and giddy rock popsters
OK Go as your shows to notice.
Still, there was an uncommon amount of quality events to choose from this week. At the Blind Pig you'll find reggae wannabe rockers
State Radio (who are handing out CDs with each admission) and former Wu-Tang Clan rapper
Ghostface Killah. For those looking for some local representation, The Michigan Theater is showing that most excellent rock documentary
It Might Get Loud, which features ex-Detroiter Jack White having a meeting of the minds (and guitars) with Jimmy Page and The Edge. Meanwhile, a benefit for Avalon Housing brings another vocal legend to town -
Mavis Staples.
And yet, with all this star wattage on display, my top pick is a gaggle of homegrown geeks giving a slide show that spotlights their interests, fetishes, and ideas. After all, we're a community known for its ability to innovative... at least from a tech business POV. It's
Ann Arbor Ignite, a periodic event that throws together 15 local speakers who have five minutes and 20 slides to enlighten you. It's part of a national creative ideas movement (like Pecha Kucha or MOTH), bringing local creatives together to experience someone else's skewed ideas, passions, or whimsy. Best of all, it's free.
The first A2 Ignite event was a big success, drawing several hundred people. But it also illustrated a problem that Ann Arbor's creative and artistic community constantly struggles with... a lack of accessible space. When the organizers sought a venue for their event they were forced to cram attendees into the Neutral Zone. Expecting even greater attendance this time around, they are on U-M's campus at the Ross School.
Compare that with
Detroit's Pecha Kucha nights, which have put on similar shows at the DIA, in large brewpub side rooms and other hip locales. More than just a show, they've created an event that allows socializing and mixing afterward. Try to find a place like that here in Ann Arbor. Especially one where admission can be negligible to free.
These events are exactly what this community needs to forge its own creative community identity... and we're being thwarted by real estate. In my opinion, when it comes to arts and culture in Ann Arbor a lack of common ground has made us a community more interested in watching than doing.
Yes, yes, yes, there are individuals doing things. But as a community,
we have very few venues where creatives can reliably and regularly
interact. Friday's Ignite event, no matter how great it is, will mostly keep us in the role of passive spectators. We'll sit in the dark, laugh-roll our eyes, sigh in reaction to what we hear, say hello to people we already know during the break, then head home. Not exactly an effective way to build community.
A lack of spaceWe simply don't have venues --performance or otherwise-- that provide local arts and culture groups with the opportunity to connect with local audiences ...or even other creatives. Yes, there are venues in this town... they just tend to be on the university's campus or owned by a single organization that isn't inclined to share (The Ark, Performance Network).
I currently sit on a local nonprofit board and we are struggling with this very issue now. We have a great idea for an event that we believe will attract a healthy audience (200+) but cannot find an affordable, accessible space.
Think about that. In order for a nonprofit to survive it must either solicit donations or put together events that bring in revenue. Many try to do both. But in Ann Arbor the few venues that are available are quite expensive to rent. And so said organization will invest great efforts and energy into a show that will yield the venue almost as much money as they make themselves. Unless, of course, they inflate the ticket price. Which, in turn, limits who will be able to attend. It's a vicious catch-22 that undermines our community's ability to seed the ground with new and innovative arts groups.
So, what to do? Well, years ago when Portland, OR discovered it had a similar problem, arts leaders connected with both the city government, commercial realtors, and property owners to find solutions. Municipal centers that typically had a single orientation (Ie. a senior center or community center) were opened to arts and culture groups during off hours. This not only yielded some interesting performance venues, it provided groups with much-needed rehearsal and meeting space.
Similarly, realtors and property owners were encouraged to open vacant, undeveloped, and/or unrented spaces as temporary venues (for a modest fee and some insurance coverage). I saw plays in empty warehouses, arts installations in developing condo lobbies, and performance art in a closed tire shop. I even rehearsed a play in a carton services building.
When I asked a local commercial realtor if something like that could be arranged in Ann Arbor I was told, "[That will] never happen. People have tried and property owners aren't interested."
In Seattle, the city did an inventory of all municipal buildings and ended up finding underutilized spaces all over the place in basements, schools, civic centers, etc. Many of these were opened up to nonprofits. The Seattle Center even went on to develop a dozen rehearsal rooms, open to any and all groups for rental (back in 2003, the fee was $7 an hour). They also provided a 300-seat theater that could be reserved all but three months out of the year (Seattle Shakespeare Company had it for three shows) by any groups with a 501(c)3 designation and residence in the city.
In Ann Arbor there has been
recent news of the Burns Park Senior Center struggling to keep its doors open. I live down the street from the center. Every night it stands in darkness. As does the former warming hut in Burns Park proper (summers excluded). I can't help but wonder why local arts and culture groups aren't invited to use these spaces when they're empty? Why are we so willing to afford spaces to children and seniors but leave the rest of the population --possibly those who can most positively impact the creative fabric of our community-- to fend for themselves?
I would think that Ann Arbor should be a little embarrassed that it doesn't provide an open and affordable arts and cultural center for its citizens. Even Ypsilanti, which is one-fifth our size, has managed to create the
Riverside Arts Center, which has both a gallery and theater for public use.
Maybe we could implement some of the strategies I mentioned to provide our community's creatives --the lifeblood of innovation-- with greater opportunity to thrive and grow. After all, instead of constantly importing culture to our landlocked shores, wouldn't it be nice if we created some world class events of our own? Even better, wouldn't it be great if the filterDs in other cities were filled with art exported from Ann Arbor?
Got some ideas of your own? Email me
here.
Until next time, consume your entertainment locally.
Jeff Meyers
-Editor
Want your event in FilterD? We only pick six each week!
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