Visual 2D and 3D art will add to the re-imagination of Lansing's downtown this summer as the Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center launches the second year of pop up art displays and artful activities.
Pop Up Art: Special Edition II will redefine inactive public spaces through the creative reuse of newspaper kiosks. Executive Director Barb Whitney says the repurposed spaces will showcase Michigan artists, provide arts information, serve as demonstration sites, and offer the chance to purchase prints and reproductions.
Art displays and activities begin in June and run through August. Twelve artist will be featured through the kiosks, with five hosting demonstrations or interactive activities throughout the summer. Artists work in a variety of media, with some staging demonstrations that invite audience participation.
"This is another way we are making the arts accessible externally," says Whitney. "It's a way everyone can know the arts are for them and not just for an elite population. We believe the arts are for everyone."
Whitney says this year's pop up sites will feature a more robust print piece or "newspaper" that provides information on the artists as well as broad-based content on downtown events. Volunteers will be enlisted to distribute the print pieces as well as to help out during events and demonstrations.
Pop Up Art: Special Edition II is among various placemaking projects supported through funds raised through the Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity with support from Lansing's Sense of Place in the Arts Grant. Supporting partners include Downtown Lansing, Inc., Lansing State Journal, ASAP Printing, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"We know that the arts enhance the quality of life for all people," says Whitney. "Public art projects like these are a way we can grow our programming for everyone."
The campaign launched May 17 with the goal of raising $5,000 by June 8. Funds raised will support artist demonstrations, events, and activities throughout the summer, as well as free newspapers within the 12 kiosks in 2017 and into 2018. A kick-off party and community reception will be held at the Lansing Art Gallery on June 8 from 5 to 7 p.m., and will include refreshments and walking tour of the kiosks with gallery staff and volunteers.
Source: Barb Whitney, Executive Director, Lansing Art Gallery
Writer: Ann Kammerer, News Editor
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