Change is coming to a business that locals hope will help change the nature of the neighborhood in Freedom Acres in Battle Creek.
Urban Arts Enterprises, at 60 Calhoun Street, run by Remi Harrington, was formed to give a voice to the hip hop community and activate social change through the arts.
Its art gallery has been an extension of the youth development and social action consulting work Harrington has done for the past seven years. She currently is in the process of revamping the gallery into a resale boutique and launching a written publication called "SPIT."
Harrington says the publication will be a tangible example of her creativity. "I can show people better than I can tell them."
The gallery will continue to be available to rent for events and programming and workshops will be offered there in the spring. The next planned event will be a resident-led initiative focused on youth, social action, awareness and art called The Urban Art Reconstruction.
Harrington says she started the business because Battle Creek is in "desperate need of outlets for urban professionals, young adults and youth. I saw a need and I didn't talk about it. I put my money where my mouth is."
She took over the gallery in January of 2010, and has been working since then to build the for-profit business that she describes as dedicated to environmental, social and fiscal responsibility. She previously worked the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo. Since then, she says she has worked almost exclusively in youth development and the arts.
She also has another job and a 2-year-old daughter.
"I am just a young black woman in America," Harrington says, "trying to crawl out of survival mode and take those that want to go with me in the process."
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Remi Harrington, Urban Arts Enterprises
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.