THIS WEEKEND: The 62nd Annual Detroit Autorama at Cobo Center (March 7-9)

Hot Rod Heaven

62nd Annual Meguiar's Detroit Autorama at

COBO CENTER

America’s Greatest Hot Rod Show

Friday, March 7 - Noon to 10 p.m.

Saturday, March 8 - 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday, March 9 - 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Featuring Nearly 1,000 of the Most Beautiful and Outrageous Hot Rods, Customs, Trucks and Motorcycles From Across America and the World

Featuring The King of NASCAR Richard Petty and His Son,

Racing Legend Kyle Petty and The Latest Vehicles From the Petty Garage

Show Begins With The Flame Throwing Jet Truck of Bob Motz

The 62^nd Annual Meguiar's Detroit Autorama is revved up and ready to roar into Cobo Hall on March 7 – 9. Billed as America’s greatest hot rod show, Detroit Autorama will feature not only 1,000 of the most amazing chopped, channeled and super painted hot rods and custom cars in the world, but the live appearance of the King of NASCAR, Richard Petty and his son, racing legend Kyle Petty.

This turbo charged Detroit tradition is the largest and oldest hot rod-custom car show in North America. It attracts visitors from across the U.S. and the globe. The calling card of this renowned show is the presentation of the Ridler Award, the most coveted award in hot rodding. For 51 years the auspicious award has been presented to the most outstanding new custom car, shown for the first time anywhere. Because of this distinction, the show attracts the finest custom car builders in North America to unveil their amazing vehicles for the first time at the famous show.

Adding excitement to this year’s Autorama is the thunderous opening, with a live outdoor fire up of Bob Motz’s Flame Throwing Semi Truck, on Friday, March 7, at the corner of Washington Blvd at Jefferson at 11:45 a.m. in front of Cobo Hall. All of downtown Detroit will know that Autorama has arrived when the sound of the flame throwing truck rumbles and reverberates through the streets, sidewalks and skyscrapers of the city.

Detroit Autorama is the annual winter ritual that brings the most devout gear heads and just plain curious folks, up close and personal, with the autos that appear in hot rod and custom car magazines. The cars, brought by backyard car jockeys as well as the top customizers in the country, compete for top awards in numerous classes. These auto gems vie for awards and prizes in the Summit Racing Equipment Show Car Series. The series competition culminates in the awarding of a check for $1,000 each to the Pirelli Great 8. Finally one of the great eight is named winner of the prestigious Ridler Award for the best vehicle first time shown, sponsored by Chevrolet Performance. The winner receives $10,000 in cash plus a custom trophy and jacket.

Autorama History

The first Detroit Autorama took place 62 years ago at the University of Detroit Field House as a fundraiser for Michigan Hot Rod Association's efforts to build the legendary Detroit Dragway. Over the years it moved to the Michigan State Fairground and the Detroit Artillery Armory before coming to Cobo Center as its first paid public show in 1961! In the years since, the show has grown and has earned a stellar reputation as the leading hot rod-custom car show in the nation.

Autorama, New Site for Industry Program

This year Autorama is honored to be the site for the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) Education Day on Thursday, March 6. HRIA is one of the national Specialty Equipment Market Assocation (SEMA) councils, whose mission is to ensure the future prosperity of the hot rod industy while advancing and promoting the hobby. “Detroit Autorama is the perfect backdrop to bring together many of the industry’s best and most influential aftermarket manufacturers to offer workshops on installations, new products, marketing and selling techniques,” said Peter A. Toundas, President of Championship Auto Shows Inc, producer of Autorama.  “It is a great opportunity for us to show off the Motor City to industry leaders and to bring even more people from across the country to Detroit Autorama.”

The Show is Full of Special Features

The highlight of this year’s Autorama will be the live appearance of the King of NASCAR, Richard Petty and his son, racing legend, Kyle Petty on Friday, March 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. The Pettys will be at Autorama along with a display of the latest vehicles from the Petty Garage. They will sign autographs for their thrilled fans in a once in a life time opportunity.

This year the Featured Hot Rod Builder of the Year will be Troy Trepanier owner of Rad Rides by Troy. From the Chicago area, Trepanier is one of the most recognized custom car builders of the last 25 years. His creations include a roster of famous customs that have won almost every possible award including the Ridler as well as continuous features in the top hot rod magazines. A display of dozens of Trepanier’s most famous cars will be on view at Autorama.

Did you ever wonder how they actually "chop" an automobile to create a new super sleek custom hot rod? At this year's Autorama, Gene Winfield's Chop Shop will be right on site with the legendary custom car builder, himself, Gene Winfield, in person. He'll supervise the demonstration of a live "chopping" of a car. The Chop Shop is sponsored by Genuine Hot Rod Hardware.

The entire lower level of Cobo Center features the popular Detroit Autorama Extreme featuring more than 200 traditional rods, customs and bobber bikes inspired by the 1950s. This successful addition to Autorama, now in its eighth year, is getting rave reviews. A show within a show, Autorama Extreme fills the entire 100,000 square feet of the lower level of Cobo's Michigan Hall. Autorama Extreme also features continuous entertainment by Rockabilly Bands and the Miss Autorama Retro Pin Up Girl Contest on Saturday, March 8 at 5 p.m.  presented by Vinsetta Garage.

Autorama will kick off with a stellar Friday night event called the “Ridler's Ball,” at Cobo Hall, presented by Chevrolet Performance. The first ball, last year, was such a rousing success that organizers responded by making it an annual event.The roster of more than 1,000 attendees include a who's who of the hot rod-custom car world across North America

Additional features of the 62nd Annual Detroit Autorama include the Cavalcade of Customs; a 10 car exhibit of specially invited 50's customs, The Fintastic Fins; a 10 car handpicked collection of beautiful super finned custom cars, the Autorama Preservation Award Winner –the Clarence “Slick” Patterson ’39 Ford Convertible Custom presented by Steele Rubber Products  

Returning this year is the extremely popular Autorama Student Career Day, introduced eight years ago. This year more than 3,000 high school and trade school automotive students from nearly 50 Michigan schools will converge on Autorama on Friday, March 8 for morning presentations by key hot rod builders and industry leaders to learn about career opportunities in this growing field. After hearing from industry leaders, students will have the opportunity to visit the show and view the millions of dollars worth of show cars.

In addition to the Autorama Student Career day, Chrysler Group LLC announces the second annual Autorama High School Design Competition 2014, to benefit the United Way of Southeastern Michigan and in cooperation with The College for Creative Studies. This special new program invites all students currently attending Detroit Public Schools to create their own design for a future luxury Chrylser brand vehicle, envisioned for the year 2030. A panel of judges from Chrysler, CCS and Detroit Autorama will select the winning entries from the Freshman-Junior Class and Senior Class and prizes will include a scholarship to The College for Creative Studies, summer design automotive classes at College for Creative Studies, I Pads, tours of the Chrysler Group's Product Design Office and free passes to Autorama.

The Motor City Mavens 2014 Auto Art Panel Jam and Charity Auction benefiting Leader Dogs for the Blind will be presented by WRIF. More than 200 of the most outrageous pinstripers from across the country will be in Detroit during all three days of Autorama to apply their artistry to items of every variety. They will demonstrate for the crowds and auction the items throughout the event with all proceeds going to Leader Dogs for the Blind. Demonstrations are ongoing. The auction times are Friday, March 7 at 5 and 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 8 at noon, 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Other features at this year's Autorama include the 20th Annual Toy-A-Rama and the Pedal Car Challenge presented by Genuine Hot Rod Hardware.

Appearances on the Celebrity Stages:

These special guest will meet and greet visitors and sign autographs:

King of NASCAR, Richard Petty and racing legend, Kyle Petty, Friday, March 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Shawn Michaels, WWE Superstar, Saturday, March 8 from noon to 3 p.m.

Laura Marano, “Ally Dawson” from Disney Channel’s “ Austin and Ally”, Saturday, March 8, from 1 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m.

Chris Jericho, WWE Superstar, will appear Sunday, March 9 from noon to 3 p.m

Spongebob Squarepants will appear Friday, March 7, from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday, March 8 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 9 from noon to 5 p.m.

AUTORAMA AT COBO CENTER HOURS

Friday, March 7, Noon to 10 p.m.

Saturday, March 8, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday, March 9, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

ADMISSION

At Gate: Adults - $19

Children 6 to 12 years - $5

Children 5 and under free

DISCOUNT TICKETS are available at O'REILLY AUTO PARTS

Discount tickets are: General Admission - $17, Children 6 - 12 - $4

Group tickets are also available

For more information call 248-373-1700

Go to www.autorama.com for up to the minute information and last minute changes.

Autorama is produced by Championship Auto Shows, Inc.

and by Michigan Hot Rod Association

SHOW REVIEW: CHAPPO and Royal Teeth at The Pike Room on March 3, 2014

Brooklyn based psychedelic rockers, CHAPPO, rocked out at The Pike Room at Pontiac’s The Crofoot on Monday night along with Parade of Lights and Royal Teeth. CHAPPO are currently on the road in support of their brilliant soon to be released sophomore effort, Former Future Self, which is slated for a May release. Lead singer, the eccentric Alex Chappo, has a larger than life on-stage persona, which meshes together perfectly with their style of genre-defying rock and roll. CHAPPO’s music is a cosmic blend of psych, indie, and electronic music. CHAPPO delivered one of my favorite live performances that i’ve recently seen from an on-the-rise band. During much of his time on stage, Alex Chappo hides in the fog from fog machine which he controls, sometimes even walking around with the fog machine. CHAPPO was also joined on stage by a trippy, psychedelic LED moon, confetti sticks and psychedelic lighting. Their live performance was somewhat reminiscent of The Flaming Lips most recent performances or an even weirder David Bowie.

The band received the biggest response during “Come Home”, best known for the iPod commercial that it was featured in and their recent single, “I Don’t Need The Sun”. Music from their new album, Former Future Self, also seemed to receive a very warm response from the audience. Their instrumental arrangements sounded quite sharp on Monday evening, even with plenty of exhilarating changes from their recorded versions. CHAPPO may be playing tiny theaters now as they hone their craft and perfect their live show, but I imagine they’ll be playing much larger venues within a few years’ time.

Royal Teeth, hailing from New Orleans, seemed to have had quite a large fan base in the house on Monday night due to non-stop touring in the Detroit market. They played songs off of their recent album, Glow, and even threw in a cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats”. During the performance of their hit single “Wild”, the audience went just that. In the course of their set they performed several new tracks which they've been working on including the radio-ready song "Rich". Royal Teeth's vocalists, Nora Patterson and Gary Larson, seem to share vocal duties on every song, while still playing other instruments.  Royal Teeth are sure to gain more and more momentum with their non-stop work ethic

CALL FOR ART: The Z-Show 2014

Art submissions must be received by midnight on Sunday March 23rd to be considered for the show. Artists will be notified by March 30th. Drop off will be April 14-16th.

What we are looking for is zombie themed artwork in all medium. With the success of last year's closed group Z-show, we have decided to open up the field to other artists. Please submit up to 5 images to Phoenixcafeart@gmail.com. Include the following information with your submission: Artist Name, Title of Artwork, Size/Dimensions, Medium and Price. 

There is no submission or entry fee. The Phoenix Cafe will take a 25% commission on any pieces sold during the show. Space is also available in our store for prints and small pieces on consignment, as well as vendor spaces available. If you are interested in any of those, please let us know. 

Artists will be notified by March 30th. Drop off will be April 14-16th. The show will run from April 18th through May 19th, with the opening reception being held on Good Friday, April 18th. This will involve live bands, zombie costumes, face/body painting, massage, dance, a fashion show, the whole works.

CALL FOR ART: 7th Annual Detroit Erotica Ball

Deadline is midnight, Sunday April 6th. 

Artists will be notified by Friday April 11th.

We are looking for artwork in all mediums to be showcased at the 2014 Detroit Erotica Ball.

Erotica (from the Greek ἔρως, eros "desire") is any artistic work that deals substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing subject matter. Erotica has high-art aspirations, differentiating it from commercial pornography.

Keep in mind we are looking for sexual, sensual, beautiful, emotionally stimulating work, not dirty, nasty, offensive material.

Please send a maximum of five submissions to eroticaballart@gmail.com and name the files as "artistnametitle.jpg." Include the title, medium, size and price of each piece with your submissions. Deadline is midnight, Sunday April 6th. Artists will be notified by Friday April 11th.

There is no entry fee for this show but the Detroit Erotica Ball will take a 20% commission on any works sold. Accepted artists will be included in all promotions of the show.

Detroit Erotica Ball, Fetish Awards Night - May 17th.

Fetish Awards, Stage Acts, Rope Play, Vendors, Dungeon, Music and much More.

Berts Warehouse. Doors at 8pm.

Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog






Wild At Heart


Well the Oscars are done with and so few real surprises except the fact that I have seen 21 of the 24 winners. I just need to catch "Frozen" and "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life" to have seen every one. The awards went pretty much as expected. I mainly was following online as I watched "Fruitville Station", a very good film (that won an award at the Independent Movie Award for best first film) though I did catch McConaughey and Blanchett's speeches. I think I was more amazed the neither got rushed by the damn band as they have it the past. I was really glad the "Her" got the original screenplay and "Helium" got best live action short film. These were two of my favorite films of last year. I would have liked to see William Butler and Owen Pallett get the Oscar for original score. It was an amazing and innovation score so I am actually impressed it even got nominated. I am also a big fan of "Broken Circle Breakdown" and enjoyed it a bit more than the sometimes scattered, but beautifully shot, "The Great Beauty". The film looks at the downward spiral of a couple when their child is dying of cancer and really is an emotional piece.

I was really impressed by the quality of the films nominated this year over all categories. The only best picture nominee I wasn't really fond of was "The Wolf Of Wall Street" which never really captured me. It had it's moments and Leo was fun to watch but the movie was too long and I just got tired of all that bad behavior seems been there/done that after films like "Boiler Room" (remember that one when Vin Diesel looked like he could do no wrong) and Leo's own "The Great Gatsby". I hope next year is as exciting and wonderful for movies.

For those tired of the Oscar buzz, there are some good concerts this week for you to take in:

Tuesday (3/04) - Richard Thompson @ the Ark, Polka Floyd @ Smalls

Thursday (3/06) - Buckwheat Zydeco @ Magic Bag, Flogging Molly @ The Fillmore, Mayer Hawthorne @ Winter Garden Theatre, Bayside @ Crofoot

Friday (3/07) - Blood Sweat and Tears @ Ceasars Windsor, Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor and Rouge Satellites @ New Dodge Lounge, Duende! @ PLAV Post #10

Saturday (3/08) - Young The Giant @ The Fillmore, La Lac Belle @ Lo And Behold, Amino Acids and Oscillating Fanclub @ Smalls, Citizen Smile @ Painted Lady Lounge, Jesus Chainsaw Massacre @ Baker Streetcar Bar, Frustrations @ PLAV Post #10

Monday (3/10) - Pat Metheny Unity Group @ the Fillmore

March 7th and 8th have a lot of bands playing multiple venues in Hamtramck for First Annual Hamtramck Music Festival. I just highlighted some of my favorite local bands in my recommended concert section but the best things about these events is finding new bands in the area. Detroit is blessed with some great and talented bands and this is another chance to get out and find a few.

THIS WEEKEND: Purgatory IV @ Tangent Gallery

On March 7th & 8th 2014 at the Detroit's Tangent Gallery, DAMNED proudly presents the fourth exhibition of powerful cinema called: Purgatory IV - A Cinematic Exploration of the Soul Purgatory will feature approximately 90 minutes of short films of deeply introspective, occasionally disturbing, yet often enlightened subject matters from filmmakers local and worldwide. This is not an industry-focused horror film festival, but a tributary showcase of the often redemptive films from the filmmaker's personal collection. ALSO FEATURING: THE PURGATORY BAZAAR - Come in early before the show and visit the bazaar featuring over a dozen local DAMNED artists selling their own merchandise, prints and original art. Help support local artists! Admission is $10 and $5 for students with valid ID.  This event is 18+ due to mature content.  A cash bar is also present for alcoholic (and non) pleasures...and FREE POPCORN! Purgatory IV - A Cinematic Exploration of the Soul Fri March 07 - Bazaar 6p-midnight, Showtimes 7p & 9p Sat March 08 - Bazaar 4p-midnight, Showtimes 5p, 7p & 9p Tangent Gallery/Hastings Ballroom, 715 E Milwaukee, Detroit For further details, film schedules and bazaar merchant listing, please visit: http://www.thatdamnedshow.com/purgatory http://www.facebook.com/PurgatoryFilmExhibition http://www.facebook.com/events/482648978521194/

Also on the horizon are these upcoming DAMNED events!  Be sure to click the web links for further details on the events and calls for art. www.corpusilluminata.org --- August 08/09 2014 --- www.thatdamnedshow.com --- October 30-November 01 2014 ---

TOMORROW: How about a free show @ the Garden Bowl?

Due North

The Gallery

Nick Ciolino

TUESDAY

MARCH 4

at Garden Bowl @ the Majestic

4140 Woodward | Detroit

9:00 PM   |   18+   |   Tickets: Free Show

UPCOMING: Paganfest America featuring Korpiklaani 17 May 2014

I'm not especially a fan of metal, but for all things, there are glorious exceptions. In this case, it's Scandinavian folk metal, and in particular, Finnish forest people/accordion-shredders, Korpiklaani. They are also one of the few bands left in the world that I'd actually go to Harpo's to see. Maybe they'll have stocked up on Jager by May.

Paganfest America part V

featuring

Korpiklaani

Turisas

Chthonic

Varg

Winterhymn

04/25/14 Springfield, VA


04/26/14 Baltimore, MD


04/27/14 Philadelphia, PA


04/28/14 New York, NY


04/29/14 Quebec City, QC


04/30/14 Montreal, QC


05/01/14 Toronto, ON


05/02/14 Columbus, OH


05/03/14 Joliet, IL


05/04/14 Minneapolis, MN


05/05/14 Winnipeg, MB


05/07/14 Calgary, AB


05/08/14 Vancouver, BC


05/09/14 Seattle, WA


05/10/14 Portland, OR


05/11/14 San Francisco, CA


05/12/14 Ramona, CA


05/13/14 West Hollywood, CA


05/15/14 Denver, CO


05/16/14 Kansas City, MO


05/17/14 Detroit, MI Harpo's


05/18/14 Worcester, MA

FREE TICKETS: A'Merkin Show - Tangent Gallery Detroit - hosted by Grace Detroit - March 28th & 29th 2014

email motorcityblog@earthlink.net for your chance to win a ticket to the show

A'MERKIN SHOW will feature a 2 day showcase of over one hundred female pubic wigs - runway style. 
Original designs by Stein McGee. 
Hosted by the one and only Grace Detroit!
Produced by THE LABORATORY.

If that's not interesting enough,
the show will also include
the LIVE SOUNDS of Bride Stripped Bare
and the VISUAL CANDY of Hair Lab Detroit to keep your eyes and minds as stimulated as the heart can handle.

GET IT TOGETHER! DON'T MISS OUT ON THE MOST FEARLESS AND CREATIVE WORKS THAT DETROIT HAS TO OFFER!

Gated parking available.
Tangent Gallery / Hastings Street Ballroom

Have questions about A'MERKIN show FRIDAY? Contact Stein McGee

PHOTOS: Jana Kramer live at The Crofoot Pontiac - 2/27/14 by Thom Seling / Words by Erik Heemsoth

Michigan born Jana Rae Kramer graduated from Rochester Adams High School in 2002 before she went on to chase both her Hollywood and her Nashville dreams.

She made her acting debut in the low-budget independent horror film Dead/Undead (2002). She also played a bartender at Alvin’s in The Passage (2003) and had a role in Blood Games (2003) shortly before moving to New York where she landed a bit part on the soap opera All My Children (2003). Jana then followed her dream to Los Angeles, California. Jana trained in “Scene Study” courses in acting with Stephen Black of The Talent Group.

Slowly, Jana landed parts in movies; Blue Demon (2004), Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005), Click (2006), Boxboarders! (2007), Bar Starz (2008), Prom Night (2008), The Poker Club (2008), Spring Breakdown (2009) and Laid To Rest (2009) while also making appearances on TV shows; CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2006), CSI: NY (2006), Friday Night Lights (2007-2008), Grey’s Anatomy (2006), 90210 (2008-2009), Private Practice (2009), Entourage (2009) and One Tree Hill (2009-2012).

Jana always had a love for country music. Collaborating with a friend, Deanna Dozier, Jana formed a country side project called Moonshine. Production shut down on Friday Night Lights during the 2007 Hollywood writers’ strike. Moonshine received a call from the show Can You Duet (2008) whom was interested in casting them on their first season. Can You Duet is a duet-themed music competition reality based TV show in which contestants compete as part of a duo. She made the cut however Deanna did not. Not wanting to do the show without her friend, Jana left during the next episode.

Musically, her first big break came with One Tree Hill. The show’s producers wrote her musical talents into her character, Alex Dupre. Jana moved to Nashville, Tennessee to be closer to the filming of One Tree Hill and to help her in pursuing a career in country music. Jana released four songs on the show; Whiskey, I Won’t Give Up, Why Ya’ Wanna and What I Love About Your Love. Jana would end up releasing these songs later on her debut album. She set up showcases with all of the labels in town and garnered the attention of John Esposito, the head of Warner Nashville.

In February 2011, Jana signed a recording contract with Elektra Records. Scott Hendricks (famed producer for Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Trace Adkins, Faith Hill, John Michael Montgomery and Blake Shelton, as well as many others) produced the majority of the album. Jana released I Won’t Give Up and Whiskey as singles through iTunes while working on her debut album. Both of these songs placed in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on digital sales alone. Jana was also asked to record her version of the Deniece Williams classic Let’s Hear It For The Boy to be included on the soundtrack for the Footloose (2011) remake.

On January 16^th, 2012 Jana released her official debut single, Why Ya’ Wanna. The song peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with sales of more than 730,000. She released her debut Self-Titled album through Elektra Nashville on June 5^th, 2012. The album hit number 4 on the Country Albums chart and 19 on the US Billboard 200.

Why Ya’ Wanna became a Top 5, gold-certified hit selling over one million to date and went on to break Taylor Swift’s record on the MEDIABASE Country singles chart in October 2012. Whiskey, her second single, has also had strong sales selling over 150,000 digital copies to date. Including a third single, I Hope It Rains, Jana has had over 1.4 million tracks sold to date making her the most digital singles sold from a debut female in the past 5 years!

Jana received three ACM (American Country Award) nominations last year, and won the 2013 ACM for New Female Vocalist of the year. She is the highest charting female debut in Country Aircheck History which was previously held by Taylor Swift. She was the only female selected for CRS (Country Radio Seminar) New Faces 2013.

Jana continues to act and has recently starred in two movies; Approaching Midnight (2013) and Heart of the Country (2013). She also filmed a commercial for Nationwide Insurance and sings the jingle: “Nationwide is on your side”.

In September 2013, Jana started work on her second album. She is currently on the road headlining the “Country Deep Tour presented by AT&T U-verse”, which made a pit stop at the Crofoot in Pontiac, Michigan on February 27^th, 2014.

Contributing photographer Thom Seling was on hand at the Crofoot to catch her act in front of a near sold-out crowd.

More photos can be seen at Thom’s Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seling-The-Moment-Photographs/109803795724007?ref=hl

Knight Arts Challenge seeks best ideas for the arts in Detroit Applications open March 10 for a share of up to $3 million

Knight Arts Challenge seeks best ideas for the arts in Detroit

Applications open March 10 for a share of up to $3 million


Knight Arts Challenge Detroit 2014 from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

Beginning March 10, Detroiters will once again have an opportunity to win funding for their arts projects through the Knight Arts Challenge, offering a share of $3 million for arts and culture projects that engage and enrich the city. The deadline for the contest, now in its second year, is April 7. 

“The depth and diversity of ideas submitted last year thrilled us—and are a testament to the artists who are helping to push the city forward,” said Dennis Scholl, vice president of arts for Knight Foundation. “We can’t wait to see what the community pitches us this year.”

The challenge is open to everyone—artists and artist collectives of all types, businesses, established arts institutions, and any individual who has a great idea for the arts. The application, which will be available at KnightArts.org, consists of just one question and is deliberately designed to be simple to encourage nontraditional applicants.

There are only three rules for the challenge:
1) The idea must be about the arts.
2) The project must take place in or benefit Detroit.
3) Grant recipients must find funds to match Knight’s commitment (within a year).
“This contest is about ideas—innovative ideas, authentically Detroit ideas. Dream big and give us your best ideas for our community,” said Katy Locker, Detroit program director for Knight Foundation.
Knight Foundation representatives will answer questions about the challenge during five town hall meetings throughout the city in March. A full schedule is below.
Last year, Detroiters submitted more than 1,400 applicants—the largest number per capita in the contest’s three-city, six-year history. The 56 winners received $2.1 million in funding to help shape Detroit’s future through their arts projects.
First year winners included Mosaic Youth Theatre, which will  launch a program that integrates the arts into every element of elementary school curriculum; PuppetART Theater, which will challenge modern perceptions of puppetry by bringing together art groups for a mini-festival; and Maison LaFleur, an artist who will use the contemporary art movement Afrofuturism as a vehicle for social change. For a full list of winners from last year’s Knight Arts Challenge Detroit, visit Knight Foundation’s website.

The challenge is part of a $19.25 million investment in the Detroit arts that includes support for the three-year challenge, providing funding, exposure and momentum to smaller arts efforts, and $10.25 million to some of the city’s premiere cultural institutions: the Arab American National Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit School of Arts, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre and the Sphinx Organization. 

Below is the schedule of community Q&A sessions. All events begin at 6 p.m.:

Hamtramck
Date: Monday, March 24
Location: Hamtramck Public Library
Address: 2360 Caniff St., Hamtramck
Co-host: HATCH Detroit

Southwest Detroit
Date: Tuesday, March 25
Location: 555 Gallery
Address: 2801 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit
Co-host: 555 Gallery and Southwest Solutions

Midtown
Date: Wednesday, March 26
Location: The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
Address: 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit
Co-host: The Charles H. Wright Museum and several partners, including Wayne State University

Downtown
Date: Thursday, March 27
Location: The Virgil A. Carr Center
Address: 311 E. Grand River Ave., Detroit
Co-host: Arts League of Michigan

Northwest
Date: Friday, March 28
Location: Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp.
Address: 19800 Grand River Ave., Detroit
Co-hosts: Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.