LIVING ARTS BLOG

Community Partnerships, Living Arts Team, Programs, Community Events Brent Smith, In-School Arts Program Manager Community Partnerships, Living Arts Team, Programs, Community Events Brent Smith, In-School Arts Program Manager

Artists Strengthen and Heal Money Relationships

Work of Art is an annual event that addresses the real labor of working as an artist or creative in today's world. Living Arts invited Detroit-area teaching artists and 1099 contractors to attend the event.

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Living Arts Presented with Spirit of Detroit Award!

On Thursday, October 17, Council Member Raquel Casteneda-Lopez stopped by the Ford Resource and Engagement Center (FREC-Mercado) to spend some time with the Living Arts community. As members of District 6 (Casteneda-Lopez’s constituency) the Council Member gave an update on upcoming changes in Southwest and answered questions from our families.

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Community Events, DWT, Programs Sicily McRaven, Detroit Wolf Trap Program Manager Community Events, DWT, Programs Sicily McRaven, Detroit Wolf Trap Program Manager

Music, Play and Storytelling for Caregivers

On August 31, Living Arts hosted our second workshop for Southwest caregivers! Led by professional recording artist, musician, and Teaching Artist Alesha Brown, those who are involved in the very important work of taking care of our children were invited to learn storytelling through music. Participants were given a guitar to use during the workshop and learned how to match chords and notes with images to engage youth in a storytelling dance.

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Community Events, Cultural Production Miryam Johnson Community Events, Cultural Production Miryam Johnson

Reflections on Sofrito of Cultures

For three weeks, students of Living Arts' Youth Dance Ensemble studied under visionary master teachers Madame Penny Godboldo, Chi Amen Ra and Ozzie Rivera to understand the cultural connection between Black American and Afro Latinx communities (The African Diaspora). As the Living Arts Teaching Artist brought in on this project, I was honored to even be in the room with these incredibly decorated artists that I'd heard about for years. The importance of using dance as the catalyst to discuss these connections is a conversation I've had many times with various students, parents and fellow teachers. In Afrocentric and Indigenous culture dance is often used as an archive.

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