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The People’s Arts Festival and An Announcement!

Perfect Laughter will be at The People’s Arts Festival all weekend! The PAF is pretty special and meaningful to us. Two years ago, it was our very first event, ever. It was the first time that Dennis debuted his paintings in public, and I was starstuck by the positive feedback that he got that day. A few paper goods were sitting on a table with no display, not even a tablecloth. And our business cards were made last minute on tea stained paper, screenprinted and cut by hand. It was a humble beginning to be sure.

Many of our faves will be there, including Audrey Pongracz, Sloe Gin Fizz, All Things Grow, Nerl Says Design, Emi Slade and Kill Taupe (who snagged this week’s cover of Real Detroit!) There are so many booths this year, I’m really looking forward to discovering new Michigan artists to blog about. Are you going to be there? Let us know in the comments!

An Announcement…Spoiler Alert

We’ve been working really hard behind the scenes, and I can safely say now that our new online shop will open for business by September 1st! We even got our prints and paper goods professionally photographed. No grainy iPhone photos like you’ve been seeing from us on Facebook and Twitter. Everything that we’ll have at the PAF will be in our online shop next week. In the meantime, here’s a crappy iPhone pic of our newest screen print, “Moonstruck”. Hope to see you this weekend!

The Beehive Project

I will forever associate Tom Waits’ song “What’s He Building In There?” with The Beehive Project. I stumbled across them on Tumblr and was really curious about what they were doing. Then, thankfully, they posted this video:

It turns out that they’re doing exactly what it sounds like: building a beehive. The life size structure will serve as an informal conversation space during this weekend’s Movement festival. It will be filled with comfortable seating structures, a conference table, and a small library of books about Detroit. The best part: it’s meant to serve as a metaphor for the city of Detroit by referencing the hive as a valuable model for community and collaborative, creative production. Watch them build it at The Beehive Project’s Tumblr, or nose around at the Russell Industrial Center.

Calls for Artists & Makers

We’re way behind on posting while we prepare for Craft Revival, but we have a couple of time-sensitive news items that we wanted to mention.

There are two events that need participants. One is Maker Faire Detroit, taking place at The Henry Ford on July 31st and August 1st. Organized by the staff of Make magazine, it showcases the amazing work of all kinds of makers – anyone who is embracing the DIY spirit and wants to share their accomplishments. Every discipline from science, art, craft, engineering and music can be a part of it. More information about applying for Maker Faire can be found here at makerfaire.com. The deadline to apply is May 31st.

The other event is the People’s Art Festival at the Russell Industrial Center. Via their Facebook page, they’ve put out a call for artists for their annual summer event, taking place on August 28th and 29th. The deadline for this one is May 30th. Dennis has done it before and we definitely recommend participating if you can. It’s a great way to get your name out there and meet other artists in the Detroit area. Their domain name seems to have expired, so consult their Facebook page for application info.

This Weekend

The coming weekend is a particularly busy one for Detroit artists and galleries. Here’s a quick rundown of everything that’s going on:

Lauren Rice‘s solo show “Vestiges” opens at Org Contemporary on Friday, December 11, 7-9 pm. The gallery is located on the 3rd floor of building 2 at the Russell Industrial Center. Check out our interview with Lauren.

 

Also on the same floor of the Russell Industrial Center, the Museum of New Art is showing The Prinzhorn Prize Exhibition for Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The exhibition will include reproductions of drawings, collages and photographs for most of the artists’ monumental public art projects. The opening is Friday, December 11, 6-10 pm. For more info, visit DetroitMONA.com.

 

Close out Friday night at Pure 11, a Pure Detroit sponsored art and music event at the Magic Stick. Quite a few of my favorite Detroit bands are part of this lineup: The Silent Years, Phat Kat Big Ban, Black Lodge, Prussia, Charlie Slick, Sisters Lucas, Ohtis, the Great Fiction, Catfish Mafia, The Juliets and Scarlet Oaks. Artists are Gwen Joy, Tony Roko, Tracey Nawrot, William Juice Singer, Michael Segal, Cedric Tai, Justin Ames, Jesse Jacobi, Kill Taupe and Marianne Audrey Burrows. $11 cover,  8 pm start time.

 

Finally, on Saturday, December 12th at 7 pm, LIFT Detroit has a show featuring local artists Audrey Pongracz and Marc Nischan entitled Circus Mobius. Original artwork, customized toys, and limited edition prints will be available, all with a circus theme. I swear I read somewhere that there would be circus peanuts and fire breathers, but now I can’t source it. Count us in!

Interview with Lauren Rice

We’re very excited about our interview with Detroit artist Lauren Rice. Lauren’s collages and installations will be shown at Org Contemporary in a solo show titled “Vestiges”. The opening is this Friday, December 11 from 7-9 pm.

Behind the cut, you’ll hear about why Lauren loves working in Detroit and what her creative process is like, plus you’ll see more preview images of her work for this show.

Read more…

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