Riverside Arts Center wrapped up a special 30th anniversary invitational exhibit in celebration of the center's mission to help build the community and foster the love and support for the arts in Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County.
Out of that work, the city's fine arts club was launched.
The leaders of those organizations said that together the two programs create a foundation for supporting local art and artists.
Riverside hosts a variety of programs including theater productions, dance and workout classes, and introductory art classes. The center also partners with local and state-wide organizations for community events.
From March 7 to April 11 the center hosted a show aimed at its own history and all the people within the community who helped build up the center to what it is today. Ypsi Fine Arts Club members were a big part of the show.
Maggie Spencer, the center's manager of operations and head curator, said the team was able to focus on the artists during the event. Spencer worked to share the center's history through the people who impacted the arts through not only their work but their dedication to the center as a community hub.
“I've always been really drawn to [exhibits] that are more about community, and more people can kind of come together and congregate,” Spencer said.
The Ypsilanti Fine Arts Club is part of that community.
Elizabeth Warren, the club's executive director, was among the club's founders. Warren said artwork of all shapes and sizes, complete or incomplete is encouraged to be shown and discussed.
“We use our space to meet in and so people come, and we get everybody from professional artists who have been selling and making for a really long time as their true business and how they make their living, to people who started making during the pandemic and have never shown art," Warren said.
The club's origins date to 2009 when the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast club was created by co-founders Henry Harper and Harold Braggs. The Detroit club meets weekly and was created to connect artists and art collectors.
Lynn Settles and Takeisha Jefferson, members of the Breakfast Club, saw what was being done in Detroit and said they wanted to bring the same community connection to Ypsilanti. So, Settles and Jefferson took the idea to Warren, and the three of them attended a show.
Together Warren and Spencer then organized a yearly show just for the Fine Arts Club. Any person who attended at least one meeting from the following year can submit their work to be in the show. At least one piece is automatically accepted and are put on display.
“It's an automatic way to support the Fine Arts Club through our gallery program,” Warren said. “Because outside of just that show and the Fine Arts Club, those members show up here for all of our other openings, you know, a lot of other workshops. They really become part of the fabric of Riverside through that one show-and-tell program, which is really nice."
Spencer, alongside the program committee, determines the gallery schedule a year in advance. The group discusses the number of shows and aims to create a diverse selection considering both community and partnered exhibitions. Spencer said the work comes naturally.
“I grew up with my mom working in museums and galleries. I grew up in art spaces, and I just kind of always envisioned myself working in an art space,” Spencer said. “I've always loved curating and been really interested in why people would pick certain pieces to be together, why you would choose a certain order for things.”
Past themed shows at Riverside included Anything But. The show was a community event with an open call for artists to think outside the creative box.
The majority of the community-based shows that Riverside hosts are free open art calls where themes are announced and sent to the community, allowing artists to submit their work for review. The council then determines the pieces that are going to be in the show.
Warren said the process is supportive of local artists.
“There have been times where things have been happening socially that have been really heavy, and we remained open as we kept the meeting going that week, we didn't cancel or anything, and we had people coming saying I was seeking community,” Warren said. “So, I found this as a place for me to come, to be around other people, to be inspired that there's good in the world.”
The center boasts a variety of ways to include the community apart from the galleries and shows. This summer Riverside is offering a summer camp for children ages 7 to 11, free swing dance classes every Friday, and educational opportunities for kids all the way up through adults.
“The big part of having this 30,000-square-foot facility is that we have space,” Warren said. “Rentals are available for an artist who wants to do their own workshop or their own class or their own gathering, to just be able to rent for a couple of hours and come create for people that they want to create for.”
The center is changing and adapting to the community as needed, organizers said.
Warren said she encourages adaptability by prioritizing community feedback. Board members reported that they want to adapt to the community's interests.
Those wanting to share their thoughts can send messages by email to info@riversidearts.org.
