May 26, 2023
Michigan Chronicle
Andrea Plaid
May 18, 2023
Detroit ACE (Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship) will award nine fellowships to stewards who will partner with community stakeholders for one year on curating art and programming events in the city’s new Arts Alleys. The $10,000 fellowships reflect ACE’s continued effort to use arts and culture as catalysts for neighborhood growth and beautification.
The Fellows will be instrumental in the success of the Arts Alley Initiative, which has four objectives:
1) to spur neighborhood revitalization
2) to mitigate localized flooding through low-cost stormwater management strategies
3) to create opportunities for the creative workforce
4) to highlight neighborhood creativity
The nine Arts Alleys will be constructed in two phases. Phase I will create transformed alleys in the Old Redford, Schulze, Jefferson Chalmers, Northwest Goldberg and Southwest Detroit neighborhoods. Phase II will create transformed new alleys in the North End, Jefferson Chalmers, Alkebu-lan Village and McDougall-Hunt neighborhoods. Phase I construction is expected to begin this summer, while the Phase II design process will begin this spring.
“For decades alleys were forgotten places in our city that became havens for illegal dumping and overgrowth,” Mayor Mike Duggan said in announcing the program last year. “But now we are transitioning from blight to a city of beauty. In addition to the 2,000 alleys we are clearing, these Arts Alleys will turn several of them into beautiful and unique gathering places for neighbors for years to come.”
The nine Fellows will be problem-solvers who will help community stakeholders select art, program events, enlist and organize volunteers, attend neighborhood association meetings, schedule maintenance, report emergencies, and voice stakeholder concerns to the city. Fellows will be expected to have basic communication and organizational skills to interface with residents as well as city employees.
The organization opened its application process yesterday. Those interested in applying for the fellowship should complete the application by midnight May 26.
“The Covid-19 pandemic showed us the importance of safe, accessible green spaces in our neighborhoods,” said Rochelle Riley, Director of Arts and Culture for the City. “We want to help communities create their own spaces for activities and enjoyment.”
