The great thing about artists is that they can bring beauty to anything for anyone to behold. This is precisely what Kresge Art Foundation and roofoftwo are doing as they bring Detroiters together through art, amid the pandemic.
Last week, Kresge and roofoftwo celebrated its well-received run of 22 commissioned Art X Detroit art projects entitled “Living X,” a collective exploration of Detroit’s ever-changing landscape and neighborhoods. The celebration took place virtually via zoom and featured an eclectic variety of talented artists and captivating performances. Amongst the featured artists was the dynamic storyteller and griot Marsha Music, who read an excerpt from her newest piece, “The Detroitist.” A tale of Detroit-based experiences, power-packed with inner-city imagery.
The program went on to Highlight the locations of the ‘Living X’ Exhibit that took place in various locations across Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck (the full map of locations can be found at (https://www.artxdetroit.com). Each artist in the exhibit was chosen by a distinguished panel of curators, writers, and filmmakers to receive a $7,000 grant to assist them in bringing their vision to fruition.
The goal of the ‘Living X’ was to “challenge artists to create exhibitions, performances, and events that reflect the significance, ambiguity, resilience, and uncertainty of this contemporary moment under the curatorial banner of Living X. The collective took place in June of 2019-February 2020. Three of the selected artist’s exhibits that were due to take place in spring and summer of 2020 were halted by COVID 19.
In addition to the celebration of its success, AXD, a successor to the biennial Art X Detroit festival, announced the launch of its Podcast. The “Living X Podcast” will be hosted by choreographer and curator Ryan Myers Johnson and will feature the many voices of AXD artists. This is a timely response to society’s restrictions as a direct result of COVID 19 that will satiate the need to provide an artistic expression for the artists.
“We’ve seen our partners at rootoftwo, reimagine Art X to connect the energy of Kresge Artist
Fellows and Gilda Award winners not only with audiences in Midtown but with neighborhoods
and residents across the city. Now there are further connections to be made through this volume and the AXD podcast” – Official statement from Kresge, AXD, and roofoftwo
For further information on theAXD Podcast, visit artxdetroit.com.
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