A Cultural Center

On opening night of the Anton Art Center's 34^th Annual statewide juried exhibition, art enthusiasts who braved the bitter January cold were rewarded with a feast of graceful eclecticism, in more ways then one.

The cheerful, milling crowd at the Mount Clemens locale boasted as much diversity as the works on display, which ranged from serene watercolors to a slaughtered cardboard bird to a mechanical sculpture of an automaton sprouting a deformed baby from its navel. In the mezzanine gallery, for example, a graying gentleman with long hair and a professorial air was so inspired by a pair of digital prints that he gave an impromptu lesson on apertures to a young woman in six-inch silver heels. Motley couplings and organic chat were ubiquitous.

Throughout southeast Michigan, art-centered events like this are taking place on a weekly basis at rich and largely underutilized community art centers. Funded primarily through private donations, membership dues and tuition fees, these cultural centers have two objectives: to educate the public through classes and exhibits and to provide a venue for artists to display and sell their work.

According to the Cultural Alliance for SE Michigan, which was established last year to promote collaboration and resource-sharing between these entities, there are some 450 arts and cultural non-profit organizations in the seven counties of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Monroe.

Each organization varies considerably in size, service area and programming, according to Executive Director Maude Lyon, who says some operate on less than $1 million a year while others have an annual budget of up to $5 million or more. But all of them, she says, are "a terrific amenity for quality of life for a community."

"Community art centers are important because they're a point of access," Lyon explains. "They provide a whole continuum for how people can get exposed to art and try it out themselves. They're a lot closer to the community than a major museum."

This intimacy results in part from the accessibility. Community art centers allow individuals to experience a manageable number of works in a relatively small space rather than being overwhelmed by the vast wings of masterworks that dot museum walls. (Think tapas versus a ten-course meal.) The gallery-like atmosphere permits patrons to interface with both staff and, quite frequently, the artists themselves, who tend to be local.

Nurturing local talent

The Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC), which recently celebrated its 50^th anniversary, is widely considered the gold standard for community art centers in metropolitan Detroit.

Located in a woody enclave on S. Cranbrook Road, the 25,000-square-foot facility is equipped with large, well-outfitted studios and copious exhibit space. More than 100 local artists teach youth and adult classes in ceramics, design, drawing, painting, fashion illustration, calligraphy, glass, jewelry, metalworking, papermaking, weaving, photography and printmaking, and more.

Classes cost about $6.50 an hour, which is not bad considering many BBAC instructors teach the same content at schools where tuition can be three times as much. Walk through the whirl of activity on any given weeknight and you will see teenagers caked with clay, women weaving complicated textiles on looms, and stampedes of little ballerinas, pure confection in their pink tights.

BBAC President and CEO Jane Linn says the center has made itself a renewable resource for the community by keeping its exhibits novel. "We want to make sure we're fresh, that we're not coming up with programs or ideas already being produced," Linn says.

A perfect example of the BBAC's innovation is its current exhibit, "Un-Shelved," for which it teamed up with the Bloomfield Township Public Library and students at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. The show, which runs through Feb. 29, boasts retired library books that have been cut, colored, glued, chewed and otherwise modified by artists and amateurs, adults and children.

Todd Mitchell, a fine arts professor at Macomb Community College whose pastel and charcoal creation, "Focus," was at Anton's Michigan Annual, says community art centers' ability to display art throughout a region makes them "a really important tool for bridging the cultural gap between a city and its suburbs." At the same time, their exhibits provide critical exposure for young artists, says Mitchell, who credits community art centers with helping him get established.

Showing at Anton while an undergraduate at Detroit's Center for Creative Studies "really helped me get into the gallery scene," recalls Mitchell, "because the people that run galleries come to these shows to find up-and-coming artists." A conduit into the gallery world is important, he says, because their elaborate jury systems and high commissions (the percentage of the sale price they keep) make it hard for young artists to break in.

"It also boosted my confidence," adds Mitchell. "It validated me, because it wasn't just me and my teachers saying I was a good artist. Here were people discovering and buying my work."

Diamonds in the rough

Community art centers are in fact hot spots of affordable art for those who want edgy, one-of-a-kind pieces but have limited funds. At the BBAC's gift shop, which expanded at Christmas to fill two galleries, shoppers could find Chihuly-style vases, handmade jewelry, even vibrant, mosaic-encrusted pedestals that hold dog food dishes.

But some of the best values can be found at centers' juried exhibits. Al Hebert, another fine arts professor at Macomb whose cedar and metal sculpture "On Prairie" can be found on the Paint Creek Trail just north of Gallagher Road, explains that "community art centers attract younger, less experienced artists who want to get their work before the public." As a result, they may sell their pieces for less than more established artists would. But the quality of the work is still good.

"In general, the level of art submitted to community art centers' juried shows is both higher and more diverse than it was in years past," says Hebert, who was part of Detroit's thriving Cass Corridor artists community in the late 1960s and early 1970s and exhibited at juried shows at Anton (then the Mount Clemens Art Center) and other community arts centers early in his career. "Such shows had been much more conservative. But the number of people getting art education in colleges --and the nature of that education-- have blossomed since I was in art school."

At the BBAC's current student art show, for example, a savvy shopper would pounce on a silver Japanese chainmaille bracelet by Michelle Corsich for $200 or a "folded" copper cuff, almost liquid in appearance, by Janice Degan for $140. Then there's "Spring Shadows" by Anita Damiani, a highly controlled watercolor that through layering gives the effect of decoupage, for just $100, or "23 Across" for $600, which is Edward Baranski's cityscape of inked-over crossword puzzles. In another gallery devoted to the works of local artist Gary Van Gorp, a number of funky and humorous bird paintings regale viewers and cost just a few hundred dollars.

Community inspiration

But not every community recognizes the value of community art centers. Most lack public awareness and many are starved for resources. The Cultural Alliance for SE Michigan is working to rectify this. According to Lyon, the group has prioritized marketing and program collaborations and has already brought metro Detroit the wildly successful "Museum Adventure Pass," which provides patrons of more than 160 area libraries with free tickets to 25 museums, historic properties and art centers.

Public support is vital to the continued availability of these community jewels, says Anton's Executive Director Jennifer Callans, who says no contribution is too small.

"Whatever their local art center is, people should feel free to visit it and do what they can to support it," Callans says. "These centers make people realize that art adds depth and richness to life, and is really an essential part of a full life."

Photographs by Marvin Shaouni