This story is part of a series about arts and culture in Washtenaw County. It is made possible by the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Destination Ann Arbor, Larry and Lucie Nisson, and the University Musical Society.

Since May 2023, Ypsilanti’s Riverside Arts Center (RAC) has hosted the Ypsilanti Fine Arts Club (YFAC), providing a space for local artists and art appreciators to connect and share their work on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Now, two years later, the club boasts 200 in-person members (and even more as part of the YFAC Facebook group), whose work was the focus of two recent exhibitions.

"From the beginning, the community didn’t hesitate [to embrace YFAC] – and the Riverside Arts Center said yes with full hearts," says YFAC co-founder and co-host Takeisha Jefferson. "That kind of belief in something new doesn’t happen every day, but it happened here."

Jefferson explains that she, her cousin Tywree Bailey, and Embracing Our Differences Michigan Art Director Lynne Settles had recognized a need for an open and supportive space for artists to connect in Ypsi. They wanted participants to be able to discuss their current creative endeavors, receive feedback, and even show and sell pieces to enthusiasts and collectors in attendance. Jefferson says the team at RAC "didn’t just offer a venue. They offered a home."

"When I started going to the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club, I saw what it meant to have a space that was open, communal, and creative," Jefferson says. "I knew Ypsi needed something just as intentional, just as accessible, and it needed to fit the rhythm of our city."
Doug CoombeTakeisha Jefferson at the inaugural meeting of the Ypsi Fine Arts Club.
Jefferson says the club has grown and evolved into its own entity, with pieces of Detroit’s club still built into YFAC’s framework – specifically its "show-and-tell" style of sharing art, as well as the opportunity for members of the audience to purchase works and pay artists directly. But she emphasizes that YFAC would not be possible without the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club’s model.

"What [Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club founders] Henry Harper and Harold Braggs created is essential," Jefferson emphasizes. "What they built is something I’m forever grateful for, and I carry that gratitude with me every time we meet in Ypsi."

Jefferson also highlights the RAC team's strong, immediate support of YFAC. She says their belief in bolstering the local arts community is integral to YFAC’s growth over the past two years. 

"[RAC Executive Director] Liz Warren is the reason this works. She doesn’t just open the doors, she opens opportunities," Jefferson says. "We’re not just borrowing a room. We’re building something with people who care, and Liz is at the heart of that."

RAC Communications Manager Grey Grant notes just how quickly YFAC fit into that specific rhythm, mentioning the club’s undefeated record of having at least one new attendee each meeting. They feel that this ongoing trend is a testament not only to the success of the club, but a direct reflection of both the center’s dedication to local artists, and local artists' dedication to each other.
Doug CoombeGrey Grant at "Share: An Ypsi Fine Arts Club Exhibition."
"YFAC has been vital in Riverside’s mission to serve and promote the arts in Ypsilanti, and we’re proud to be able to provide this necessary space to artists and art lovers alike," Grant says. "It is a continual delight seeing the club grow and grow. It remains my favorite RAC program to this day."

Jefferson says YFAC’s members are the ultimate core of the group. One aspect of Detroit’s club that carried over to Ypsi is that anyone who attends one YFAC meeting becomes a lifetime member of the group, even if they don’t return for another meeting. The meetings are also open to anyone, regardless of their artistic ability, whether art is a career or a hobby for them, or if they're even an artist at all.

"The artists here are gifted, committed, and community-minded," Jefferson says. "If you’re a curator, a collector, a gallery owner, a supporter of the arts, this is where you need to be."

Printmaker Theresa Moore has been a YFAC member since the group's inaugural meeting in May 2023, along with husband and fellow artist Terry Moore. She says that meeting occurred not long after the two of them had moved to east Ann Arbor. Theresa Moore was more familiar with Ypsi because she went to Eastern Michigan University. She and her husband were immediately drawn to YFAC as an opportunity to dive deeper into Ypsi’s community of artists, and she says they "never looked back." Moore describes her first YFAC meeting as "so completely welcoming," and says "the diversity of the art, the skill and passion, and the individual courage" of the artists who shared was "inspiring." 

"Like so many artists, I often feel that I am not good enough," Moore says. "At YFAC, even those of us who may not be as experienced get to share and even exhibit our work – and seeing what others create helps me."

Moore and her husband were avid YFAC members up until his death in October 2024. She knew she had to attend the next YFAC meeting after his passing because her husband "had always enjoyed being at Riverside." She says the support she received from the YFAC community was "wonderful."
Doug CoombeTheresa Moore at "Share: An Ypsi Fine Arts Club Exhibition."
"They [RAC staff] even made a special display of Terry’s art at the last group show," Moore says. "I could not have survived these past months without the love and encouragement I received from the staff at Riverside and the members of YFAC."

Artist Phil Huhn started attending YFAC meetings this past January, and has since brought another artist, Rachel Perazza, into the fold. While Huhn emphasizes the importance of a group like YFAC for artists to share and even sell their work, he’s also found opportunities in YFAC meetings to invite artists to teach at the Ann Arbor gallery he curates: Art on a Journey, which focuses on work by artists who are currently or formerly unhoused.
Doug CoombePhil Huhn at "Share: An Ypsi Fine Arts Club Exhibition."
"I wanted to leverage the talented folks here, and get contacts with various people," Huhn says. "Part of what I’ve been able to do is listen to where folks have shows, and reach out to those venues."

In addition to networking opportunities and the ability to share art in a supportive environment, Perazza has found another benefit to YFAC meetings.

"Coming to these meetings helps with my public speaking," she says. "I’ve always been very quiet, and I feel very appreciative when someone asks for me to speak up when I’m sharing. That experience felt like soul growth for me."

Perazza’s work was on display at YFAC’s most recent exhibition this past spring in RAC’s large gallery, showcasing her work in abstracts. Following the exhibition’s end on May 16, her piece is now on display at Ypsi’s Bridge Community Cafe. She says she's appreciative of the creative inspiration she draws from YFAC meetings, noting the many art styles and techniques that are shared in the group.

"It feels good to be in a community that takes art seriously and appreciates it," Perazza says. "I feel like I can really bloom as an artist."

Beyond being a space for artists to meet, share, and network, Moore and Jefferson also see potential for the club to become an institutional piece of Ypsi's artistic landscape, as Detroit’s club has in its home city. 

"I hope that YFAC continues to grow," Moore says. "It’s great knowing that there will always be a place for artists to share with other artists."
Attendees view art at "Share: An Ypsi Fine Arts Club Exhibition."
YFAC meets on the first and third Wednesday of every month, barring holidays. Meetings are free for anyone to attend.

"We’re not just creating art. We’re creating a culture of care and building something that lives beyond the walls," Jefferson says. "In Ypsilanti, we’re doing it together."