CULTURAL INITIATIVES & ARTS ADVOCACY
This year's Ford Arts, Beats & Eats presented by Citizens Bank has stepped up its focus on arts and culture to a whole new level. It is providing arts and cultural organizations in and around the metro Detroit area with expanded opportunities throughout the festival to showcase their unique programs in the community and their arts advocacy. Additionally, the festival is donating exhibit space and a portion of the admission fee to the organizations.
Most of the cultural organizations performing at Arts, Beats & Eats will appear on the Citizens Bank Cultural Stage, but the programming will also take place at various sites during the festival’s four days. Attendees will find them on the International Stage, the National Stage and in the Youth Area.
Local arts and community groups have voiced their support for this enhanced push.
Rick Sperling, founder and CEO of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, which will be performing on stage at the festival, said, “It is clear to me that Ford Arts, Beats & Eats is celebrating and highlighting the best in arts and culture in this region. We have so many wonderful cultural resources locally. Our group of young people in the Mosaic Youth Theatre is very excited to be involved in the festival this year and to have developed this partnership.”
The lineup of cultural programming offered at this year’s festival includes a symphony orchestra, chamber music ensembles, flamenco musicians, ethnic dancers, youth singers and performers. The nationally recognized juried fine arts fair, now in its 13th year, will attract nearly 150 top quality artists from 29 states across the country, as well as Canada and Mexico. There are waiting lists from members of the art community to be accepted for Arts, Beats & Eats.
Musicians from Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings (DCWS) will be performing. They represent some of the most talented musicians in the Detroit area and nearly all are with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) or the Michigan Opera Theater.
Maury Okun, executive director of DCWS, added, “Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings salutes Ford Arts, Beats & Eats as it continues to increase its profile in the area’s fine arts community. It provides an excellent vehicle for many of our area’s outstanding performing artists to reach a broad and diverse audience.”
Among those cultural organizations hired to perform at Arts, Beats & Eats is the Matrix Theatre Company, a cultural anchor of Southwest Detroit. Matrix uses the transformative power of theatre to change lives, build community and foster social justice. Incorporating a variety of genres and styles, it creates opportunities for children, youth, adults and elder of all abilities. Matrix will feature several, short, one-act vignettes celebrating the life of Justin Dart, known as the “father of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).”
Also taking to the stage is La Chispa and Company. Lead dancer and recipient of the 2010 Kresge Artist Fellows, Valeria Montes has emerged as the most talked-about flamenco performer in metro Detroit. She and her company have a loyal following that stretches from Ann Arbor to Birmingham, with the musicians of the Company a veritable Who's Who" of the Detroit flamenco scene. The dancer's refined interpretation of flamenco is mixed with complex, rhythmic footwork.
Other performers include:
Nadanta Dancers: This unique and dazzling cultural Indian dance troupe, led by Chaula Thacker, specializes in East Indian Dance. It mesmerizes audiences with the spectacular colors of the saris and the dancers’ movements as they swirl in intricate patterns on the stage.
Orquestra La Inspiracion: This sizzling hot, Latin, 10-piece band is led by long time Detroit community activist and musician, Ozzie Rivera. It brings together veterans of the salsa and jazz scenes in Detroit and a fresh approach to salsa, merengue and folkloric percussion.
Compas (Center of Music and Performing Arts Southwest): Compas’ goal is to inspire interested young people and adults to become exposed to Latin American and other cultures of the world. The group will perform top works of flamenco, mariachi guitar and bi-lingual theater.
Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit: An internationally acclaimed youth development program that concentrates on helping young artists excel on stage and in life, Mosaic’s mission is to empower young people to maximize their potential through professional performing arts training and the creation of first-rate theatrical and musical art.
InsideOut Literary Arts Project: Some of the top InsideOut students from the Citywide Poets program will present high-energy Poetry Slams, under the guidance of Terry Blackhawk. This nationally literary organization engages children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing. Professional writers are placed in schools to help students develop their self-expression and publish and perform their work.
Royal Oak Symphony: Formed specifically for area musicians who desire to continue making music a lifelong avocation, the Royal Oak Symphony’s purpose was broadened to offer its listeners opportunities to hear live performances of musical masterworks that have been appreciated by audiences for hundreds of years.
The art directors and management of Ford Arts, Beats & Eats are truly delighted about the enhanced direction and focus on arts advocacy and will continue to announce additional cultural partners over the next several weeks.
