Rendering of the Midtown loop looking SouthWhen I first saw this subject line in my inbox, I thought to myself, “Not another one.” With so much news of doom and gloom flying around this region lately, the one thing that helps to keep us feeling normal and sane are our festivals. They’re a chance for us to have some light-hearted fun despite the bad economy; a chance for us to forget all the bad and come together as a community. But because of the bad economy and lack of corporate (i.e., Big 3) sponsorship, we’ve outright lost the Detroit Grand Prix, the Motown Winter Blast and the North American International Auto Show were severely scaled back, the Michigan State Fair (the oldest in the country!) is in jeopardy, and now this. In the meantime, Detroit’s arts are also taking a hit, with the DIA laying off 20% of its employees and the Opera House cutting productions and talking also about cutting jobs. And now this!
But. After reading the announcement, I realized that it does not have anything to do with the bad economy or lack of sponsorship (at least not outwardly), but instead the Detroit Festival of the Arts is being cancelled this year to…get this…allow for construction of the Midtown Loop Greenway.
A greenway. A two-mile greenway that will follow existing street patterns and will be linked to greenway initiatives in surrounding areas. A greenway!!! (For more information on the Midtown Loop Greenway, click here.)
While news of the construction of this greenway project in the heart of the city’s university cultural district is indeed a positive and much-needed boost to Detroit’s greening initiatives and will no doubt be a great source of outdoor enjoyment for many for years to come, I must ask: right now? Or rather, right then? At a time when Detroit has taken so many hits to morale and when so much seems to be taken from us (including but not exclusive to our jobs), does this really need to happen right now?
Consider this: the Festival of the Arts typically occurs the first weekend in June. This would allow four more months of warm weather construction that could happen after the Festival. To hold off on this construction in order to allow this much-loved quirky little show to go on would provide exponentially more benefit to the city and its people than having this greenway constructed a month sooner. To take away this festival, especially if it isn’t for the same reasons as all the others, is akin to kicking us when we’re already down.
The Festival of the Arts is a source of entertainment and cultural enrichment, not to mention a much-needed release, that people will need now more than ever. Ironically, when I lost my full-time job two years ago it was this event that first got me out of my apartment and out of my funk. During times of economic crisis, it is the arts (as well as education) that people fall back on, and these times tend to offer the greatest output of artistic creativity. And now, to lose the festival that most supports such endeavors it because of some construction (not to mention the artists who depend on this festival to sell their work)…while I applaud the Midtown Alliance for its forward-thinkingness in the construction of this Midtown Loop, I do wish they would reconsider their construction start date and allow the citizens of Detroit the chance to enjoy this beloved annual festival, at a time when they need it the most. We’ve already lost so much else.
I agree 100%. It is a good project for midtown, however it should be postponed and allow the Detroit Festival of the Arts take place. It seems that with less than 2 months away something should be done quickly to remedy this. I wonder of a petition would help?
The Festival of the Arts is one of the greatest venues that Detroit has to offer. Since a decision has already been made and the excuse in place I think that an alternative creative event should be implemented. Like an art parade similar to the one done by the Detroit Artist Market a few years ago or distribute the funds to local artists (including myself) to create public art, street performance, music and dance, throughout the city during the summer. Don’t retreat, RECREATE!(at least for this year)
How easy it is to say, “Oh well. We’ll have to cancel it this year.”
This greenway project didn’t just appear on the radar. Why weren’t suggestions made to postpone construction, move the festival onto Anthony Wayne Drive (Third Ave.), or into the New Center area along West Grand Blvd. or into the Russell Industrial Center or along Woodward Ave. south of Mack or out Michigan Ave near the Michigan Central Train Station or out Gratiot in the Eastern Market area…or in the Market itself?
Why not give visitors a chance to see another part of the city and give those parts of the city a chance to show off?
Why not move it into a really blighted area of the city and give the residents who are living in the midst of decay a chance to rub elbows with artists and their audiences, give those kids a chance to meet artists and see art that is no longer part of their curriculum? Make the festival a part of the arts-in-the neighborhood project that is getting underway.
Come on Detroit, we can do better than flop down on the curb and say, “We have to cancel.”
Or is the greenway project just a bit of window dressing, a convenient excuse, that hides the lack of funds, fewer staff people, and perhaps lagging sales? Or is the committee burned out? It just doesn’t quite add up.
And if all the expense of tent rentals, security, stage set-up, utilitiy hook-ups for food vendors, and cost of bringing in out-of-state/out-of-country shows/artists is too expensive, why not make it an all-Michigan show? What about an auto trunk show? The Downriver Council for the Arts could give a few hints as to how they do it.
What has happened to Detroit’s collective imagination? Are the arts becoming too gentrified to take the risk of relocating into another neighborhood with an established event, or becoming a simpler sort of festival? What about an all-student festival pulling in students from the art, music, and theatre schools in the state? There is no lack of talent in this state. It seems that there is only a lack of creative, problem-solving imaginations on the Festival of the Arts Committee.
The green way is just a very good reason for a very strapped festival to pack it up for one year, or two, or three, or four, depending on the economy. We don’t get to feel impacted by these hard economic times. Let’s see what happens with TASTE FEST, ARTS BEATS and EATS, MOVEMENT and others that rely on corporate funding to survive.
Time to downsize…Fourth street (if they can unite) and the Dally…your time has come!
I really HATE that this is happening, I’ve been volunteering for the Detroit Festival of the Arts for a few years and I absolutely love it, the comraderie, the food, the drinks, the people, the art, the fun to be had. I really wish there was some other way. I love most of the ideas suggested here.
I was searching for info on the (I thought) upcoming Detroit Arts Festival when I came across your article. My wife and I, who have been attending the festival from the beginning, could not believe it, and especially for the reasons cited. If it really is about a street project, then Shame On Detroit. If it is really about economics, then have the honesty and courage to say so. Right now, the greening project cannot possibly justify the elimination of the festival for anyone who has been a patron in the past. If Detroit planners cannot do better than this, then, again, Shame on Detroit.
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