Get set for a five-day multidisciplinary celebration that presents works created by the 2011-2012 Kresge Eminent Artists and Artist Fellows. Free and open to the public, Art X Detroit is filled with dance and musical performances, literary readings, workshops and panel discussions that are distinguished in depth and quality.
Artists include Detroit Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett and playwright Bill Harris, as well as a host of visual and performing artists who represent established and cutting edge parts of the spectrum. For the complete Who’s Who, What’s What and the schedule, click here.
From Art X Detroit:
Art X Detroit: Kresge Arts Experience is a five-day multidisciplinary celebration, from April 10-14, 2013, that will exclusively present works created by the 2011-2012 Kresge Eminent Artists and Artist Fellows, along with a special visual arts exhibition at MOCAD that runs through April 28, 2013.
An exciting program of dance and musical performances, literary readings, workshops, panel discussions, public art and special exhibitions, Art X Detroit will be hosted at more than a dozen venues located throughout Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center and is free to the public. Art X Detroit is supported by The Kresge Foundation.
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Midway
I’ve come this far to freedom and I won’t turn back
I’m climbing to the highway from my old dirt track
I’m coming and I’m going
And I’m stretching and I’m growing
And I’ll reap what I’ve been sowing or my skin’s not black
I’ve prayed and slaved and waited and I’ve sung my song
You’ve bled me and you’ve starved me but I’ve still grown strong
You’ve lashed me and you’ve treed me
And you’ve everything but freed me
But in time you’ll know you need me and it won’t be long.
I’ve seen the daylight breaking high above the bough
I’ve found my destination and I’ve made my vow;
So whether you abhor me
Or deride me or ignore me
Mighty mountains loom before me and I won’t stop now.
– Naomi Long Madgett (1959)
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Madgett’s note:
(“Midway was first published in Freedomways in 1959, but I think I wrote it in 1958. The poem grew out of a discussion with a friend that acknowledged that the Supreme Court desegregation ruling, which legalized racial justice for the first time, led to the determination of Black people to move forward and never again accept the status quo.”)
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The image above:
“A People’s Vision” is a work of public art located at Warren and Woodward Avenues in Detroit Michigan. Created by Hubert Massey, a Kresge Fellow and visual artist whose work is featured in Art X Detroit, the mural reflects images of Detroit’s past and future, including historic events, cultural traditions and symbolic figures associated with the city. The work is a result of collaborative feedback between the artist and community. Learn more here.
