Ypsilanti’s Riverside Arts Center (RAC) is celebrating 30 years of promoting visual and performing arts with an exhibition that will run until April 11 at RAC's North Gallery, 76 N. Huron St. The exhibition, titled "Riverside’s 30th Anniversary Invitational," showcases the work of 11 different artists and one organization. Curator Maggie Spencer says the spotlighted work represents "the talent and impact that have shaped Riverside’s history."

”I wanted to focus on folks that have spent a lot of time volunteering and working with RAC as an institution,” Spencer says. “Most of these people were here before I started. This was my first time meeting them. Seeing them come back out for Riverside is so exciting.” 

Featured artist and Washtenaw County resident Peter Sparling was a RAC resident artist throughout 2022, and has seen firsthand how the center has supported the local arts community. He describes RAC as a place where independent artists can live, create, and grow without the pressures of commercial constraints.

”I like the feel of Ypsi because it reminds me of the Ann Arbor I remember in the '80s and '90s, where the arts community supported local artists and dancers, and things were affordable and people showed up to support,” Sparling says. “Maybe that’s naive of me, but I look at Ypsilanti as a place where independent artists can live and work and not be squeezed out of a deal.”

Sparling emphasizes the importance of offering a supportive, affordable environment where artists can collaborate across disciplines. He envisions RAC continuing to serve as a cornerstone for the Ypsilanti arts scene.

”I hope Riverside can become a leader in developing civic pride in Ypsi for its own arts,” he says. “I hope that it can keep the streams of visual arts, dance, theater, [and] music all moving together forward, and it doesn’t have to favor one over the other.”

Spencer says she has worked to honor both the legacy and the future of RAC, striving to foster connections between artists and the community.

“We offer a lot of opportunities to local artists, which I think is important. Not a lot of galleries do that without you being a member or paying a lot in application fees,” she says. “We hope to continue our robust gallery offerings for the next 30 years.”

For gallery hours and more information on the exhibit, visit riversidearts.org/gallery.

Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.

Photo by Rylee Barnsdale.