DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — Midtown Art Fair in Detroit (111 East Kirby Street, close to the Detroit Institute of Art) is a free event which will be held on July 16 from 1-6 p.m. and is offered by Michigan Arts Access [miartsaccess.org] (MiAA) featuring artists and performers with mental illnesses and disabilities showcasing their talents. For the first time, there will be seven featured performers from Gesher Human Services’ Creative Expressions Program who currently attend Gesher’s Lois and Milton Y. Zussman Activity Center, known as Clubhouse.
There will be a solo piano performance, a group project using recorded background music from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra that participants helped compose, and there will be solo singing performances too. Clubhouse, located in Southfield, provides enrichment (including arts enrichment with the Creative Expressions program) and educational and employment opportunities for people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression. Creative Expressions offers everything from photography, painting, sculpture to music and singing classes and more. At the Midtown Art Fair, a number of talented artists who take part in Creative Expressions will be creating live portraiture and paintings and there will also be artwork displayed by artists with disabilities who have taken part in Gesher’s Choices and Skill Building programs. Motown legend and MiAA Ambassador Martha Reeves will be signing autographs from 3-6 p.m.
“The fair provides us with a wonderful opportunity to share the outstanding talents of our members,” said Craig Nowak, Program Manager of Creative Expressions. “For the artists, it is an extension of their professional practice to be able to sell their work and display it for a broader community. Many of the artists are very excited and have been working hard on their portfolios, whether that is animation-based, awe-inspiring photography, a beautiful painting or one of the many other forms of art.”
For each piece of art sold, 60 percent of the monies earned go to the artist and 40 percent will go back to supporting the Creative Expressions program. Gesher will have two tents at the event displaying its members’ artwork.
To learn more about the Creative Expressions Program go to shopcreativeexpressions.com. For more information on Gesher Human Services go to www.geshermi.org.
