DETROIT, MI – February 10, 2011 – The Kresge Foundation announced it will sponsor Art X Detroit, a free, five-day series of exhibitions, presentations, readings, discussions, concerts and dance performances for the Detroit community. Art X will showcase newly commissioned works by the Kresge Artist Fellowship awardees and the two Kresge Eminent Artists, renowned visual artist Charles McGee and iconic jazz musician Marcus Belgrave.
In 2008, the Foundation established a new program that has provided more than $1 million to Metro Detroit-based individual artists working in the visual, literary and performing arts through its Eminent Artist Award and Kresge Artist Fellowships. This first-ever public celebration of the 2008-2010 Kresge Artists will take place from April 6-10, 2011, in many cultural organizations located in Midtown Detroit, the City of Detroit’s cultural center.
“Arts and culture animate the Detroit community, opening our eyes to new and different ways of viewing ourselves and our place in the future,” says Rip Rapson, president of The Kresge Foundation. “The festival promises to feature the kind of reflection and creativity that nurture individual development, draw communities into closer relationships, and strengthen the fabric of daily life.”
Art X Detroit is being presented by several institutions – the Midtown-based University Cultural Center Association (UCCA), College for Creative Studies, and Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), in addition to ArtServe Michigan. Art X is produced by the UCCA.
“This is an exciting collaborative effort to showcase great talent as well as familiarize more people with the Midtown area,” said UCCA president Sue Mosey. “Midtown is home to Detroit’s Cultural Center where creativity is greatly valued and encouraged. Thanks to the Kresge Foundation, we can offer the entire event as a special gift free to the public.”
Art X begins on April 6 with the unveiling of a new major public art installation by Charles McGee, to be followed by an evening reception at MOCAD. Marcus Belgrave will also perform at the Art X opening.
Residents and visitors will be invited to attend Art X experiences throughout Detroit’s Midtown area. Venues include, but aren’t limited to, MOCAD, College for Creative Studies, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Scarab Club, Detroit Science Center, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Leopold’s Books, the Magic Stick, N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Orchestra Hall, the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center and Wayne State University. While Art X officially ends on April 10, a special exhibition of new works created by the Kresge Visual Artist Fellows will continue on at MOCAD through April 24, 2011.
A complete schedule of Art X events will be available soon. To learn more about Art X Detroit, visit www.ArtXDetroit.com.
About the Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation is a $3.1 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations by creating access and opportunity in underserved communities, improving the health of low-income people, supporting artistic expression, increasing college achievement, assisting in the revitalization of Detroit, and advancing methods for dealing with global climate change. The foundation works in six program areas: arts and culture, community development, education, the environment, health, and human services.
Kresge Arts in Detroit represents one facet of the foundation’s Detroit Program, a comprehensive community-development framework to strengthen the long-term economic, social and cultural fabric of the city and surrounding area. In 2010, the Board of Trustees approved 481 awards totaling $158 million; $134 million was paid out to grantees over the course of the year. For more information, visit www.kresge.org.
