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The Year in Arts by Gina Myers A year of comings and goings, new arrivals on the scene and others closing their doors, 2009 seemed to be a transition year in many ways for the arts in the tri-cities. • With Michigan’s economic crisis, it is no surprise to see cultural institutions hurting, and in early 2009, the Saginaw Art Museum found itself facing foreclosure. Since then, the museum has made several strides to connect with the community, most recently with the Art in the Heart of the City fundraiser, which Deputy Director and Assistant Curator Ryan Kaltenbach saw as a huge success. “Attendance was good, we received a lot of good reviews from the community, and we saw new people become interested in the museum,” he explains. Reaching out to the community and creating interest among groups and individuals is vital to the museum’s sustainability. Kaltenbach hopes more collaboration with local artists, supporters, and organizations will draw more people in. “The fundraisers have certainly helped, but we’re by no means in the clear.” The museum is going to continue to focus on sustainability and collaboration. Events like the “Museum After Hours,” which features music, art, film, and lectures, is another way to bring more people together. • While the Saginaw Art Museum was in trouble, Bay City’s 1st Thursdays Gallery Walk, now in its fifth year, is becoming a vital institution for the visual arts in this area. On average, fifteen businesses participate in the event each month. Event Organizer and Owner of Golden Gallery, Avram Golden says, “2009 has been a good year for 1st Thursdays as we have continued partnerships with many of the organizations and artists that have been showcased over the last 4 ¾ years. I think 1st Thursdays has many opportunities to expand and showcase more of what this great area has to offer.” Each month has a theme, and highlights from this last year includes the “Chalk Walk” that the East Shoreline Chapter of the American Red Cross organized, and the maritime night where local boating enthusiasts showcased the boating history of this region by displaying rare boats along the walk. • Shamadere was one young gallery that participated in the monthly event and created a lot of buzz. The gallery took chances by showing work by young artists, and it drew a young, hip crowd. During 1st Thursdays, the gallery would be packed while experimental and indie rock bands played to the all ages crowd. Unfortunately, just as Shamadere’s reputation was growing, in April it suddenly closed due to lease problems. • Up until this year, there wasn’t much of a gallery scene at all in Saginaw. Not one, but two new galleries opened in Old Town. Court Street Gallery, located at 414 Court Street, opened its doors on June 18th to much fanfare. The gallery features work by both local and non-local artists, and it has drawn large crowds to its openings and other events. After the first six months in business, owners Paolo and Sarah Pedini are looking ahead to hosting many new events and community education courses in the new year. On the opposite side of the block, the Hancock Theatre Art Gallery, located at 417 Hancock Street, first opened in January but was shortly thereafter shut down for code violations. With new management, the theatre and gallery re-opened in September. The theatre’s performance space allows for live music, live theatre, and comedy and poetry nights, in addition to the gallery space. Manager Robert Rindhage does not see the Hancock as being in competition with the Court Street Gallery. “We can benefit from each other, and we are a sign that the arts are very much alive in Saginaw,” he says. • Although it is not as formal as an art gallery, the Magic Bean in Saginaw Township has also been a presence on the art scene this year. The combination of art, music, and poetry was found to be a successful one by the Full Spectrum Collective in 2008, and picking up where they left off was the new First Friday events at the Magic Bean in Saginaw Township. Taking place on the first Friday of each month, the events, lasting from 7 – 10pm, would feature new artwork, live music, and poetry readings. The series kicked off in February and is still going strong, regularly creating a standing room only crowd. • Waldenbooks may be closing and new media technology may be replacing the love of a good book, but that still hasn’t turned people away from writing, and this area is rich in writers hungry for places to share their work. SVSU Professor Charles Davenport has created another regular venue for poetry, Bay City’s Brewtopia, located at 810 Saginaw Street. His monthly series takes place on the third Friday of the month and features one writer, one musician or group, and an open mic. • 2009 marked the end of the Roethke Centennial Year. With a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Friends of Theodore Roethke were able to make a bigger celebration out of it than the usual annual event. Instead of celebrating just one day, they celebrated with events throughout the whole year, and they were also able to bring in David Wagoner, a student and friend of Roethke, who read his play about Roethke, First Class, taught a poetry workshop, read his own work, and also read two of Roethke’s poems during the bridge walk. • 2009 was also a good year for independent film in the tri-cities. In its third year, the Riverside Saginaw Film Festival expanded its short film competition and received entries from all over the world. In Bay City, Hell’s Half Mile Film and Music Festival also received more submissions than ever this year. The four-day festival brought in actors, directors, and producers from across the nation, and the music night featured Chicago’s Baby Teeth and Oh My God. Both festivals cite the lack of alternatives to the big box movie theatres as impetus for starting their own festivals. And with strong turnouts and community interest, they’re proving there is a hunger for independent film in this area. • Encouraged by Michigan’s Film Incentives, there has also been an increased interest in filmmaking. Delta College has added a digital filmmaking degree, and organizations like Mid-Michigan Movie Makers (4M) have formed. There were also a couple of red carpet openings, with Street Boss opening at the Temple Theatre in Saginaw, and Meltdown opening at Bay City’s State Theatre. Writer and director Gail Clarke also filled the theatre at the Quad for several sell-out screenings of her movie Merchant in the Valley, which depicts the effects of drugs on a family and a community, a story many in Saginaw relate to. • 2009 was an interesting year for the arts as there continued to be large events at established venues, like the recent Black & White fundraiser at Bay City’s Studio 23, but there also emerged a new group of people with fresh ideas who were willing to take risks and create the things they saw missing in this area. Regardless of the financial situation of this area, this state, this country, artists have always made their mark on the tri-cities, whether it is through converting empty buildings into performance spaces, claiming a part of the city for themselves through graffiti, or scribbling notes to a poem or a song on a napkin. A younger generation, committed to the arts, is being the change they want to see. If there is nowhere to show your and your friends’ art, create a space. If you’re story isn’t being told, tell it. Creativity continues to thrive, and the arts continue to be a vital part of the tri-cities. • Finally, on the cusp of celebrating its 15th anniversary, Midland’s Creative Spirit Center, located at 1517 Bayliss, adopted a new name, a new look, and a new energy in 2010, transforming itself into the Creative 360.
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