City of Detroit arts and culture office to host performing arts summit this weekend
The 10 a.m. event is open to the public and will take place at Detroit School of Arts, 123 Selden St.
'While Detroit looks to New York, Austin, Berlin, and Miami for inspiration, those cities are looking right back at us – watching, learning, and admiring,' said Detroit ACE director Rochelle Riley. 'Twelve cities have reached out to Detroit's arts and culture office because they like what they're seeing in Detroit. Now, we need Detroit to love what is happening here.
'We see ourselves as the Motor City, but for over a century, we've been the Music City, too – driving sound, shaping culture, setting the pace. We don't just follow trends; we create them. It's time that Detroit embraces its full power – owning not just what we build, but the music, soul, and energy that move the world.'
The event will begin with the Detroit School of Arts Concert Choir's rendition of 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing' and feature remarks and presentations from Riley and Detroit arts leaders about the state of the arts in the region and the available future.
More: Detroit Public Theatre's 'Confederates' examines struggles of Black women in America
More: Detroit Opera's joyful 'Rinaldo' a whimsical, wonderful delight: Review
'Detroit – like other cities are doing – must create a more collaborative strategy to include our creative economy in every overall economy plan,' said Riley. 'No discussion about economic development should happen without the arts sector included, because art is business. Every musician is a small business. Every actor is a small business. Every dancer is a small business. Every filmmaker is a small business. They collaborate to be great.
'It's time that Detroit help our creatives put their businesses above the jobs they have to take to keep their businesses afloat. We want our government, our corporations, our supporters to have the courage to step up and treat our creative workforce like the powerful group of career creators they are. But we also need creators to step up. If we start treating our creative industry like the revenue generator it can be, oh, the places we'll go and the success we'll have.'
The summit is free and will be live-streamed on the City of Detroit's Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit arts and culture office to host performing arts summit
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