As I prepare for my presentation on Wednesday, I find myself thinking about the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio, TX. San Antonio has a wonderful arts community and in college, a group of us used to visit their First Friday celebrations every month. On these occasions, the Southtown arts district hosts hundreds (thousands?) of people coming to see the latest art exhibits at neighborhood galleries, shop in stores and visit street vendors, eat, drink, see live entertainment (buskers abound), and generally experience the grassroots culture that their city has to offer. Blue Star is at the epicenter of this movement.
Subconsiously, I think that they are the inspiration for my grant proposal. Some of the art being exhibited isn't all that professional or "good," but at least the artists have a chance to make art and show it to the world... this is especially true for the kids who go to schools where art classes have been cut. One gallery in particular always displayed art made by school children. These kids participated in studio workshops at Blue Star and prepared "professional" shows for the First Friday crowds. Family and friends always seemed pleased, but nothing compared to the pride of the children. This is the kind of program I'd like to see in Detroit. Heck, I'm already thinking beyond the one show and trying to figure out how to launch our own First Friday!
I know that something like this already exists in Detroit's Cultural Center, but it's no match for San Antonio... and keep in mind, the South Alamo area wasn't always the cities best. The arts community has successfully revitalized this neighborhood. I have more ideas about how Detroit could work toward this goal, but that's a whole new blog entry. For now...
Visit the Blue Star website here:
http://www.bluestarart.org/
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