Lansing Art Works (LAW) is a community art collective that focuses on creating, exhibiting and promoting art. In short, LAW is basically a group of like minded people; students, professors, artists and more, building a community around music and the arts.
Board members Augusta Morrison and Caroline Caswell agree that the group is a reflection of the things they wanted to see and be involved in when they first came to the Capital region. For Augusta there weren’t that many venues or places to enjoy her passions (music and art). So she made a call out to others she thought might feel the same to see who was interested and from there an informal group grew. Now, the group focuses on how to best use the talents of the people they have, how to bring other people together, and how to enjoy those talents while sharing their own.
According to them, they are mostly just kids trying to work it out all out. So how does a group of kids bring a group like this to fruition and “work it all out?”
Relying on the Community
Lansing Art Works has hosted events such as
DIT Fest (Do it Together),
Sunday Soup, pizza parties, carnivals and more, bringing people together to allow them to share and showcase their talents, and meet others who share these interests and passions. Just recently, the group hosted a full moon bike ride, cycling through the streets adorned in glow sticks and lights of all sorts. But after the ride, the group convened for
an informal discussion on the difficulties of transportation, and particularly bicycling, between the two cities - Lansing and East Lansing. What an embodiment of edutainment.
While LAW believes that you shouldn’t have to charge people an arm and a leg to experience these things ("What does that bring to the community?") money is, most of the time, a necessary evil. To put these events together at a minimal price, LAW relies on the generosity and excitement of the community. "We wouldn’t be here without them," says Ethan Tate, a board member.
In order to offer events at a reasonable price, the group puts together fundraisers. One such fundraiser was a carnival at the Avenue Café. Admission was free but they sold tickets to booths that offered photos, henna art, a communal collage, poetry workshops and more. The artists and musicians involved all donate their time and talents to make events like this a success. When they put on smaller events such as pizza parties, they simply ask for donations to help provide the food.
LAW is less concerned with making money themselves than they are with helping others raise a little bit to get their projects off the ground. This was the point of Sunday Soup, an event that has been popular all over the country and that another board member, Luke Hackney, helped bring to the area. Sunday Soup charges five dollars for soup, salad, rolls and your chance to view various art projects and vote for whichever one you like the most. The project with the most votes gets all of the profits raised from the dinner to help bring their dream to life. Putting this event together, like many other things put on by the group, depends not only on the community, but on micro grants provided by the Sunday Soup project.
Snowballing and Future Plans
While the group is thrilled with their current progress and growth, according to Caroline, they want more. What does "more" include and what will it take to get it? In some ways, that remains up in the air for the group. "We don’t really have a long-term plan and I’m ok with that," says Ethan, the other group members echoing this sentiment. While there are no concrete plans in place, the group does have ideas about where they want the group to go. Some future dreams include a physical location and being able to have paid employees.
What will it take to achieve their future goals? Lansing Art Works will have to find fundraising sources such as grants, donations, more fundraising events and possibly a business attached to whatever location they decide on. In order to keep the events at the price level they desire they will have to stretch, but Ethan doesn’t see this as a problem. “We’ve been able to do a lot of really cool stuff with zero cash. “
While they may not be making a profit from their events, there are other ways in which they, and they hope others, are benefitting. LAW hopes they are at least making an economic impact on the area by bringing in people from out of town. Even if it’s just their families, they are coming from out of town and eating at local places and visiting Lansing.
They are also investing in their own future by making various contacts with local venues and businesses. According to the group, if someone wants to have an event that’s never happened before, the group goes in search of resources; once they make a new contact, they have it for the next time. Each contact they make is important, it’s one more person or business that knows their name, and it’s one more resource they have for the future. Building those relationships is very important to the growth and development of LAW.
Challenges
The LAW collective is currently visiting other groups like themselves in other cities such as Grand Rapids and Chicago in order to get ideas for their own future. While they do have dreams for the growth of the group, there are certain challenges they still face. Viewing the other groups may be helpful but what works for them may not work for LAW and the group faces finding the solutions that work for them.
They also face the ongoing challenge of getting their name out there and letting others know about the group. While they may have a certain fan base, to grow, they will need to reach outside of that and the problem becomes how to reach people outside of a certain group. According to Caroline, "It’s all about figuring out who your audience is and how to reach them."
To help with this particular challenge, the group urges anyone with an idea for an event, an art project, or a desire to connect with others and share your passions, to contact them. LAW looks forward to growth but so far they are satisfied with where they are right now, "It’s only been a year, I think we’re growing naturally,' Caroline adds.
Keep your eye out for future events put on by Lansing Art Works and join them in their quest to create a creative collective that benefits our region in more ways than one.
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Allison Monroe is a freelance writer for Capital Gains.
Photos ©
Dave Trumpie
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.