Riverbank Arts is a community-centered space for creatives, community members, and academics to develop and find support for artistic and cultural production in Flint.
We welcome all creators and supporters of art and culture to connect and collaborate.
Riverbank Arts is an initiative of the Arts+Culture Research Cluster at The University of Michigan Flint, and is supported by the Office of Research and Economic Development, the Arts Initiative, and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
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Riverbank Arts is a community-centered space for creatives, community members, and academics to develop and find support for artistic and cultural production in Flint.
We welcome all creators and supporters of art and culture to connect and collaborate.
Riverbank Arts is an initiative of the Arts+Culture Research Cluster at The University of Michigan Flint, and is supported by the Office of Research and Economic Development.
Queer Resilience: Art as Liberation:
7 June - 12 July
Information
Queer Resilience: Art as Liberation:
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 14 June, 6-9pm
w/ DJ Techs-Mex Productionz & Catering from Local Grocer
Gallery hours Thursdays and Fridays from 12-4 pm, or by appointment.
Contact Wlangfor@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Queer Resilience: Art as Liberation is an exhibition that explores the LGBTQIA+ community’s journey through trials and tribulations, particularly focusing on experiences with addiction and the transformative power of art as a means of self-expression and healing. Through a variety of artistic mediums, it showcases the stories of individuals who have found solace, strength, and identity within the LGBTQIA+ community and the world of art.
Featured Artists
Carny Slang
Cassandra Hewitt
Danielle Björklund
Errin Rairden
Gabrielle Wyrick
Hava Liebowitz
James Friend Hays
Kelz
Roxy
Tashia Evans
Xzavier V. Simon
In partnership with
Arts Initiative
UM-Flint Arts and Culture Research Cluster
UM-Flint Center for Gender & Sexuality (CGS)
UM-Flint Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Flint CRIM-Mindfulness
Production Agency
Magic Wheel Creative
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 14 June, 6-9pm
w/ DJ Techs-Mex Productionz & Catering from Local Grocer
Gallery hours Thursdays and Fridays from 12-4 pm, or by appointment.
Contact Wlangfor@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Queer Resilience: Art as Liberation is an exhibition that explores the LGBTQIA+ community’s journey through trials and tribulations, particularly focusing on experiences with addiction and the transformative power of art as a means of self-expression and healing. Through a variety of artistic mediums, it showcases the stories of individuals who have found solace, strength, and identity within the LGBTQIA+ community and the world of art.
Featured Artists
Carny Slang
Cassandra Hewitt
Danielle Björklund
Errin Rairden
Gabrielle Wyrick
Hava Liebowitz
James Friend Hays
Kelz
Roxy
Tashia Evans
Xzavier V. Simon
In partnership with
Arts Initiative
UM-Flint Arts and Culture Research Cluster
UM-Flint Center for Gender & Sexuality (CGS)
UM-Flint Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Flint CRIM-Mindfulness
Production Agency
Magic Wheel Creative
12 April - 24 May
Information
Convergence
Featuring work by Rashaun Rucker, U of M Students, and Flint Artists
Rashuan Rucker creates photographs, prints, and drawings and has won numerous awards for his work. Rucker bacame the first African American to with Michigan Press Photographer of the Year. He won a national Emmy Award and two regional Emmys for documentary photography. He was awarded the Red Bull Arts Detroit microgrant, followed by a Sustainable Arts Foundation award and a Visual Arts Grant by the Harpo Foundation. Currently Richer is a Gilbert Fellow pursuing an MFA in print media at Craanbrook Academy of Art. His diverse work is represented in numerous public and private collections.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 12 April, 6-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Featuring work by Rashaun Rucker, U of M Students, and Flint Artists
Rashuan Rucker creates photographs, prints, and drawings and has won numerous awards for his work. Rucker bacame the first African American to with Michigan Press Photographer of the Year. He won a national Emmy Award and two regional Emmys for documentary photography. He was awarded the Red Bull Arts Detroit microgrant, followed by a Sustainable Arts Foundation award and a Visual Arts Grant by the Harpo Foundation. Currently Richer is a Gilbert Fellow pursuing an MFA in print media at Craanbrook Academy of Art. His diverse work is represented in numerous public and private collections.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 12 April, 6-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Rupture, Redaction, & Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities
EXTENDED THROUGH 16 February
10 November - 16 February
10 November - 16 February
Information
Rupture, Redaction, & Reclamations:
Black Feminist Possibilities
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 November, 6-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Rupture, Redaction, & Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities, a multi-modal collaborative initiative, brings together the individual creative practices of New Orleans-based feminist activist, sociologist, artist, and geographer Shana M. griffin and Detroit-based designer, researcher, and educator Lauren Williams.
This trans-disciplinary exhibition of new and old work by griffin and Williams features historical documents, printed materials, books, photographs, installations, sculptures, and text art.
The exhibition simultaneously explores themes of policing and surveillance; housing policies, confinement, and displacement; and infrastructures of control and exploitative industries —alongside movements of resistance and possibilities. The exhibit also encourages people to sit with the weight of these moments rather than beautifying or seeking quick fixes.
Presented as a conversational exhibition, this transformative project will showcase how generations of Black feminists are blurring the lines between organizing, creative practice, and academic inquiry to resist oppression and imagine a more equitable future for all.
Black Feminist Possibilities
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 November, 6-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Rupture, Redaction, & Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities, a multi-modal collaborative initiative, brings together the individual creative practices of New Orleans-based feminist activist, sociologist, artist, and geographer Shana M. griffin and Detroit-based designer, researcher, and educator Lauren Williams.
This trans-disciplinary exhibition of new and old work by griffin and Williams features historical documents, printed materials, books, photographs, installations, sculptures, and text art.
The exhibition simultaneously explores themes of policing and surveillance; housing policies, confinement, and displacement; and infrastructures of control and exploitative industries —alongside movements of resistance and possibilities. The exhibit also encourages people to sit with the weight of these moments rather than beautifying or seeking quick fixes.
Presented as a conversational exhibition, this transformative project will showcase how generations of Black feminists are blurring the lines between organizing, creative practice, and academic inquiry to resist oppression and imagine a more equitable future for all.
Respond/ Resist/ Rethink
10 November - 8 December
Information
Respond / Resist / Rethink
A Student Exhibition for Change
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 November, 6-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
In conjunction with the Fall 2023 Theme Semester: Arts & Resistance, Stamps Gallery is partnering with the U‑M Arts Initiative to expand the 4th annual Respond/Resist/Rethink student art exhibition. All undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, or Flint U‑M campuses in Fall 2023 are invited to apply to this juried exhibition that explores what can be done to create more just and equitable futures in the 21st Century and beyond.
The arts play a central role in shaping cultural and political narratives. Artists, designers and creatives of diverse backgrounds have been at the forefront of social change by offering alternate models and ways of thinking, making and creating that do not perpetuate dominant regimes. Creative processes have been used time and again to reveal under-told stories and to resist simple narratives. Regardless of one’s personal politics, an artwork’s potential to change hearts and minds is urgent and necessary. Respond/Resist/Rethink invites students to leverage their creativity to (re)imagine what they can do to create a more just and equitable community in the spaces that they inhabit.
Respond/Resist/Rethink: An Exhibition of Student Art for Change is co-presented by Stamps Gallery and Arts Initiative in partnership with the Duderstadt Center Gallery, Riverbank Arts, and Stamelos Gallery.
A Student Exhibition for Change
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 November, 6-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
In conjunction with the Fall 2023 Theme Semester: Arts & Resistance, Stamps Gallery is partnering with the U‑M Arts Initiative to expand the 4th annual Respond/Resist/Rethink student art exhibition. All undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, or Flint U‑M campuses in Fall 2023 are invited to apply to this juried exhibition that explores what can be done to create more just and equitable futures in the 21st Century and beyond.
The arts play a central role in shaping cultural and political narratives. Artists, designers and creatives of diverse backgrounds have been at the forefront of social change by offering alternate models and ways of thinking, making and creating that do not perpetuate dominant regimes. Creative processes have been used time and again to reveal under-told stories and to resist simple narratives. Regardless of one’s personal politics, an artwork’s potential to change hearts and minds is urgent and necessary. Respond/Resist/Rethink invites students to leverage their creativity to (re)imagine what they can do to create a more just and equitable community in the spaces that they inhabit.
Respond/Resist/Rethink: An Exhibition of Student Art for Change is co-presented by Stamps Gallery and Arts Initiative in partnership with the Duderstadt Center Gallery, Riverbank Arts, and Stamelos Gallery.
Riverbank x Flint Public Art Project
8 September - 13 October
Information
Riverbank x Flint Public Art Project
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 8 September, 5-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Featured Artists:
Charlie Boike Errin Whitaker Kevin Burdick Krystal Cooke Zach Curtis
Riverbank Arts fosters artistic and cultural innovation in Flint through public events, workshops, and installations. Flint Public Art Project (FPAP) inspires residents to transform the city by revitalizing neighborhoods through art and design by way of permanent and temporary installations. Riverbank Arts and FPAP now join together in artistic collaboration for the first time, further propelling Flint's participation in the worldwide movement to rejuvenate communities and urban landscapes, all while nurturing creativity and supporting cultural endeavors between community members, scholars, and creatives."
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 8 September, 5-9pm
Gallery hours Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Featured Artists:
Charlie Boike Errin Whitaker Kevin Burdick Krystal Cooke Zach Curtis
Riverbank Arts fosters artistic and cultural innovation in Flint through public events, workshops, and installations. Flint Public Art Project (FPAP) inspires residents to transform the city by revitalizing neighborhoods through art and design by way of permanent and temporary installations. Riverbank Arts and FPAP now join together in artistic collaboration for the first time, further propelling Flint's participation in the worldwide movement to rejuvenate communities and urban landscapes, all while nurturing creativity and supporting cultural endeavors between community members, scholars, and creatives."
Timelines: The Art of the Calendar Exhibition
14 April - 31 July
Information
Timelines: The Art of the Calendar Exhibition
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 March, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
The calendar is a popular form that unites art and functionality, and it also addresses time and the future. While calendars occupy many graphical genres today, from collages of family photos to promotional swag, this exhibition shines a light primarily on the work of creatives who produce calendars as an extension of their studio practice, independent of institutional sponsors and large-run commercial distribution. By gathering together the works of ‘calendar artists’ this show invites audiences to take a closer look at this ‘indy’ subculture. What do these ephemeral documents mean to users, and how do they differ from digital calendar apps that have begun to supplant the printed calendar?
The artists included in this exhibition are as local as U of M-Flint’s Art faculty, and as international as Sweden, Panama, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. An additional roster of US nationals and Michiganders round out this group of calendar artists who use the calendar form in diverse ways – helping us to understand the mysterious arrow of time, appreciate the beauty around us, comment on environmental change, and combat gender stereotypes.
This project is the inaugural exhibition of a new Print Art and Design series at Flint’s Riverbank Arts gallery. The focus of the series is contemporary art and design that explores the medium of print, from a variety of perspectives. Riverbank Arts is an initiative of the Arts+Culture Research Cluster at The University of Michigan - Flint, and is supported by the Office of Research and Economic Development.
Join us! The public is invited to a calendar-making participatory event on the 14th of April (5:30-7:30pm) during the exhibition opening reception. Several of the artists included in the exhibition will be present and participating in this live, interactive, art-making event.
ARTISTS: Martina Addabbo, LookBabeStudio (Athene), Nicole Broughton-Adams, Faith Butler, Heman Chong, Andy Deck, Dolphin Studio, Kerith Gardner, Gene Gort, Kalamazoo Calendar Project (2023 edition participants: Peter Brakeman, Meg Tang, Jamie McKinney-Brown, Grace Spink, Kim Shaw, Heidi Fahrenbacher, Stewart Fritz, Jill Terwilliger, Mark Andrew Morris, Mike Klok, Jaakan Page-Wood, Ryan Brown), Linea Designs (Linnea Asplind Riley and Johanna Riley), Risotto Studio (Gabriella Marcella), Jia Sung, Phoebe Wahl & Co., and Lauryn Welch.
CREDITS: Co-curators Andy Deck and Christian Gerstheimer would like to thank Ben Gaydos, Audrey Banks, Nalani Duarte, Marie Jeffrey, as well as Joanne DeVore, and Tricia McDonald, for their contributions to the development and production of Timelines. Additionally, thanks to the Office of Research and Economic Development, which has been instrumental in supporting the Riverbank Arts space.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 March, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
The calendar is a popular form that unites art and functionality, and it also addresses time and the future. While calendars occupy many graphical genres today, from collages of family photos to promotional swag, this exhibition shines a light primarily on the work of creatives who produce calendars as an extension of their studio practice, independent of institutional sponsors and large-run commercial distribution. By gathering together the works of ‘calendar artists’ this show invites audiences to take a closer look at this ‘indy’ subculture. What do these ephemeral documents mean to users, and how do they differ from digital calendar apps that have begun to supplant the printed calendar?
The artists included in this exhibition are as local as U of M-Flint’s Art faculty, and as international as Sweden, Panama, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. An additional roster of US nationals and Michiganders round out this group of calendar artists who use the calendar form in diverse ways – helping us to understand the mysterious arrow of time, appreciate the beauty around us, comment on environmental change, and combat gender stereotypes.
This project is the inaugural exhibition of a new Print Art and Design series at Flint’s Riverbank Arts gallery. The focus of the series is contemporary art and design that explores the medium of print, from a variety of perspectives. Riverbank Arts is an initiative of the Arts+Culture Research Cluster at The University of Michigan - Flint, and is supported by the Office of Research and Economic Development.
Join us! The public is invited to a calendar-making participatory event on the 14th of April (5:30-7:30pm) during the exhibition opening reception. Several of the artists included in the exhibition will be present and participating in this live, interactive, art-making event.
ARTISTS: Martina Addabbo, LookBabeStudio (Athene), Nicole Broughton-Adams, Faith Butler, Heman Chong, Andy Deck, Dolphin Studio, Kerith Gardner, Gene Gort, Kalamazoo Calendar Project (2023 edition participants: Peter Brakeman, Meg Tang, Jamie McKinney-Brown, Grace Spink, Kim Shaw, Heidi Fahrenbacher, Stewart Fritz, Jill Terwilliger, Mark Andrew Morris, Mike Klok, Jaakan Page-Wood, Ryan Brown), Linea Designs (Linnea Asplind Riley and Johanna Riley), Risotto Studio (Gabriella Marcella), Jia Sung, Phoebe Wahl & Co., and Lauryn Welch.
CREDITS: Co-curators Andy Deck and Christian Gerstheimer would like to thank Ben Gaydos, Audrey Banks, Nalani Duarte, Marie Jeffrey, as well as Joanne DeVore, and Tricia McDonald, for their contributions to the development and production of Timelines. Additionally, thanks to the Office of Research and Economic Development, which has been instrumental in supporting the Riverbank Arts space.
Youth Arts Unlocked
10 March - 31 March
Information
Youth Arts Unlocked
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 March, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Unlocking the Arts explores the 'Arts in Detention' program initiated by Youth Arts: UNLOCKED (YAU), which brings artists and arts workshops to justice-involved youth in Flint and Genesee County. YAU's goal is to introduce artistic concepts and techniques as a means of connecting, expressing, learning, and discovery.
The work in this exhibition attempts to both document the experience of YAU’s programming, as well as to convey the impact and importance of art education within the confines of the juvenile justice system.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 10 March, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Unlocking the Arts explores the 'Arts in Detention' program initiated by Youth Arts: UNLOCKED (YAU), which brings artists and arts workshops to justice-involved youth in Flint and Genesee County. YAU's goal is to introduce artistic concepts and techniques as a means of connecting, expressing, learning, and discovery.
The work in this exhibition attempts to both document the experience of YAU’s programming, as well as to convey the impact and importance of art education within the confines of the juvenile justice system.
Still Time
10 February - 28 February
Information
Still Time
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
With Live Performances!
Friday, 10 February, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
This Michigan/Ohio group uses an antiquated photographic process with collodion from the 1800s to create images on metal plates called Tin Types. They have created this exhibition to share with the public and will be demonstrating the process.
Featuring work by:
Alicia Music | Clint Burhans | Carson Keene | Casey Keene | Danyell Nefe | Eric Trowt | Heather Gardner | Kassie Hyde | Liz Thomas | Nate Davidso | Rebecca Zeiss | Zak Blake
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
With Live Performances!
Friday, 10 February, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
This Michigan/Ohio group uses an antiquated photographic process with collodion from the 1800s to create images on metal plates called Tin Types. They have created this exhibition to share with the public and will be demonstrating the process.
Featuring work by:
Alicia Music | Clint Burhans | Carson Keene | Casey Keene | Danyell Nefe | Eric Trowt | Heather Gardner | Kassie Hyde | Liz Thomas | Nate Davidso | Rebecca Zeiss | Zak Blake
Sofa Stories
11 January - 31 January
Information
Sofa Stories
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
With Live Performances!
Friday, 13 January, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Sofa Stories uses live theatre and digital media to amplify the stories of young people impacted by housing insecurity or homelessness who may have resorted to couch-surfing as a means to survive. Featuring monologues created in collaboration with those who have experienced homelessness, housing activists, and community artists, the project aims to bring attention to an often invisible crisis and imagine a world without youth homelessness.
Sofa Stories is an ongoing project of Every Soul Arts, a collective of artists, care providers, and housing activists who believe every person should have access to safe and affordable housing and opportunities to explore and celebrate their own creativity.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
With Live Performances!
Friday, 13 January, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Sofa Stories uses live theatre and digital media to amplify the stories of young people impacted by housing insecurity or homelessness who may have resorted to couch-surfing as a means to survive. Featuring monologues created in collaboration with those who have experienced homelessness, housing activists, and community artists, the project aims to bring attention to an often invisible crisis and imagine a world without youth homelessness.
Sofa Stories is an ongoing project of Every Soul Arts, a collective of artists, care providers, and housing activists who believe every person should have access to safe and affordable housing and opportunities to explore and celebrate their own creativity.
The River
11 November - 11 January
Information
The River
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 11 November, 4-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Clean water and healthy waterways are vital to our community. Like blood flowing through a human body, our rivers keep each part of our community connected and alive. Through their work, the artists in The River engage with the health of our waterways and the communities and ecologies which rely on them. This exciting group of artists traverse varying disciplines – from sound art, performance, visual and video mediums – with each work challenging audiences to reflect on this flowing, vital lifeblood.
Participating artists in The River include a diverse roster of artists from the Great Lakes Region, including:
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 11 November, 4-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or
albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Clean water and healthy waterways are vital to our community. Like blood flowing through a human body, our rivers keep each part of our community connected and alive. Through their work, the artists in The River engage with the health of our waterways and the communities and ecologies which rely on them. This exciting group of artists traverse varying disciplines – from sound art, performance, visual and video mediums – with each work challenging audiences to reflect on this flowing, vital lifeblood.
Participating artists in The River include a diverse roster of artists from the Great Lakes Region, including:
- Ash Arder manipulates physical and virtual environments to explore mark making, mechanical portraiture and sound design as tools for complicating dynamics of power between humans, machines and the lands they occupy.
- Julia Christensen is an artist and writer whose work explores systems of technology, time, change, and memory.
- Giizhigad is an Anishinaabe artist, filmmaker, and cultural producer based in Detroit. Rooted in ancestral knowledge systems, she seeks to create art that opens and reignites neural pathways connected to indigeneity, interconnection, and imagination.
- Kassie Hyde is an image maker who specializes in digital portrait work, but also analog and alternative forms of image-making.
- Anne-Marie Ooman is author of Pulling Down the Barn and House of Fields--both Michigan Notable Books--and Uncoded Woman. She recently won AWP’s creative nonfiction award for AS LONG AS I KNOW YOU, a memoir. She serves as instructor at The Solstice MFA in Creative Writing at Lasell University and Interlochen's College of Creative Arts.
- Dawn Roe's projects examine the role of the still and moving image in shaping personal and social understandings of our environment through site-responsive engagement.
- John Sabraw’s paintings, drawings and collaborative installations are produced in an eco conscious manner, and he continually works toward a fully sustainable practice
- Sterling Toles is an east-side-bred, Cass-Corridor-educated Detroiter who views himself as a healer using sound.
Flint × Safar
14 October - 4 November
Information
Flint × Safar
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, October 14, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information. .
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Flint × Safar is a collaborative exhibition between Flint Magazine and Studio Safar, a design agency and publisher with offices in Beirut and Tiohtia:ke (Montréal). Since 2018, Studio Safar has been researching, curating, and designing Issue 3 (Wonder) for Flint Magazine, the multi-media magazine in a box. Flint × Safar collects these explorations of wonder: past, present, and future.
Studio Safar is a design agency and publisher founded in Beirut by Maya Moumné and Hatem Imam in 2012. The studio adopts an experimental approach to design. Evoked by its name, the studio is concerned with notions of communication across cultural and linguistic barriers. Projects span different media and design frameworks such as communication strategies, publications, visual identities, exhibitions and sets, and websites. Most of the work services the extended cultural sector, and is engaged in social and political discourse.
As opposed to having a signature style, Studio Safar is committed to creating singular design solutions for each collaboration. While drawing on a number of artistic and cultural influences and inspirations, research remains central to the design process. The studio collaborates with a network of creatives from a wide array of fields. The studio publishes the biannual and bilingual (Arabic/English) design and visual culture journal, Safar. The magazine answers to the lack of critical writings on design in the global south, and it works towards acknowledging designers as active agents of cultural production. The studio is also expanding into publishing books on design in the region.
Email gaydos@umich.edu for more information.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, October 14, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information. .
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Flint × Safar is a collaborative exhibition between Flint Magazine and Studio Safar, a design agency and publisher with offices in Beirut and Tiohtia:ke (Montréal). Since 2018, Studio Safar has been researching, curating, and designing Issue 3 (Wonder) for Flint Magazine, the multi-media magazine in a box. Flint × Safar collects these explorations of wonder: past, present, and future.
Studio Safar is a design agency and publisher founded in Beirut by Maya Moumné and Hatem Imam in 2012. The studio adopts an experimental approach to design. Evoked by its name, the studio is concerned with notions of communication across cultural and linguistic barriers. Projects span different media and design frameworks such as communication strategies, publications, visual identities, exhibitions and sets, and websites. Most of the work services the extended cultural sector, and is engaged in social and political discourse.
As opposed to having a signature style, Studio Safar is committed to creating singular design solutions for each collaboration. While drawing on a number of artistic and cultural influences and inspirations, research remains central to the design process. The studio collaborates with a network of creatives from a wide array of fields. The studio publishes the biannual and bilingual (Arabic/English) design and visual culture journal, Safar. The magazine answers to the lack of critical writings on design in the global south, and it works towards acknowledging designers as active agents of cultural production. The studio is also expanding into publishing books on design in the region.
Email gaydos@umich.edu for more information.
My Proulx
Rapture/Rhapsody
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 9 September, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information. .
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Rapture ⁄ Rhapsody is a collection of candid and choreographed moments celebrating motion, tone, and space by artist My Proulx. Proulx is the inaugural Flint Emerging Artist Fellow, a collaborative fellowship initiated by Buckham Fine Arts Project and the Arts + Culture Research Cluster at the University of Michigan – Flint.
Rapture/Rhapsody
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 9 September, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information. .
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Rapture ⁄ Rhapsody is a collection of candid and choreographed moments celebrating motion, tone, and space by artist My Proulx. Proulx is the inaugural Flint Emerging Artist Fellow, a collaborative fellowship initiated by Buckham Fine Arts Project and the Arts + Culture Research Cluster at the University of Michigan – Flint.
Chris Waters
View from the Eleventh
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 2 September, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information. .
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
“The large paintings in this series are views of the City of Flint as seen from the 11th Floor of the University of Michigan-Flint’s Northbank Center. When I first looked through the windows on the 11th floor, I saw paintings. To me, looking down onto the river and downtown and communities and landmarks like the Weatherball and the Pavilion, I saw my Flint.” – CW
View from the Eleventh
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Reception:
Friday, 2 September, 6-8pm
Gallery hours Friday 12-4pm, or by appointment. Email gaydos@umich.edu or for more information. .
Contact gaydos@umich.edu or albanks@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
“The large paintings in this series are views of the City of Flint as seen from the 11th Floor of the University of Michigan-Flint’s Northbank Center. When I first looked through the windows on the 11th floor, I saw paintings. To me, looking down onto the river and downtown and communities and landmarks like the Weatherball and the Pavilion, I saw my Flint.” – CW
ash arder rock garden
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Gallery hoursby appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Rock Garden is a presentation of in-progress physical forms and conceptual ideas exploring the relationship between Black musical performance and ecological belonging. Audience feedback and participation will inform the interactivity of Ash Arder's upcoming large-scale sculpture project, Whoop House. Rock Garden has been developed in collaboration with architectural designer Kapish Singh.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Gallery hoursby appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Rock Garden is a presentation of in-progress physical forms and conceptual ideas exploring the relationship between Black musical performance and ecological belonging. Audience feedback and participation will inform the interactivity of Ash Arder's upcoming large-scale sculpture project, Whoop House. Rock Garden has been developed in collaboration with architectural designer Kapish Singh.
Birds of a Feather
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Gallery hours Friday 10am-5pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Birds of a Feather is a group exhibition of Michigan artists inspired by Dr. J. Drew Lanham's book The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature. This exhibition explores the *3 importance of home and the concept of leaving the nest, especially as it relates to African-Americans, and other indigenous and persons of color in the modern day.
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Gallery hours Friday 10am-5pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
Birds of a Feather is a group exhibition of Michigan artists inspired by Dr. J. Drew Lanham's book The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature. This exhibition explores the *3 importance of home and the concept of leaving the nest, especially as it relates to African-Americans, and other indigenous and persons of color in the modern day.
ECHOES: Looking Back on Flint Amid COVID
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Gallery hours Friday 10am-5pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
ECHOES: Looking Back on Flint Amid COVID is a photographic collaboration between students of News Movement, Report for America fellow KT Kanazawich, Flint Beat, and Emerging Lens 2020 Fellow Brittany Greeson. veli.
PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Brittany Greeson
KT Kanazawich
Kimora Carr
Ty’a McQueen
Tierian Hall
Adrian Merriwether
Laila McDougal
Travis “Trey” Davis
Sima Gutierrez
Armoni Roland
Ania
Press Release
CURATOR:
Annalise Flynn | ART WORKS Projects
Benjamin Gaydos | Riverbank Arts
PARTNERS:
News Movement | Flint Beat | Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village | UM-Flint Arts+Culture Research Cluster | Office of Research and Economic Develeopment at The University of Michigan - Flint
Riverbank Arts
400 N Saginaw Street,
Flint, MI 48502
Gallery hours Friday 10am-5pm, or by appointment.
Contact gaydos@umich.edu to schedule a visit.
ECHOES: Looking Back on Flint Amid COVID is a photographic collaboration between students of News Movement, Report for America fellow KT Kanazawich, Flint Beat, and Emerging Lens 2020 Fellow Brittany Greeson. veli.
PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Brittany Greeson
KT Kanazawich
Kimora Carr
Ty’a McQueen
Tierian Hall
Adrian Merriwether
Laila McDougal
Travis “Trey” Davis
Sima Gutierrez
Armoni Roland
Ania
Press Release
CURATOR:
Annalise Flynn | ART WORKS Projects
Benjamin Gaydos | Riverbank Arts
PARTNERS:
News Movement | Flint Beat | Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village | UM-Flint Arts+Culture Research Cluster | Office of Research and Economic Develeopment at The University of Michigan - Flint
UMS / UMF Artist-in Residence
The University Musical Society and the Arts + Culture Research Cluster at the University of Michigan-Flint are delighted to announce Ash Arder, Flint native and transdisciplinary artist, as the selected 2021-23 Flint-area artist in residence.
Arder’s artistry and research interrogate viewers’ own proximity to and participation in social and climate justice issues. Through highlighting moments of tension where she finds ruptures in empathy between living entities and the objects and space surrounding them, she hopes to shed insight on the conditions causing these “relational glitches.” Her work exposes, deconstructs, manipulates, or reconfigures physical and conceptual systems while intimately examining the relationship between humans and more-than-humans through sound, sculpture, installation, literary and moving-image works.
Ash Arder will develop a new body of work incorporating sound and sculpture, which explores relationships between music, storytelling and place. As the artist in residence, Arder will engage with the UM-Flint campus and community for the duration of the academic year, facilitating and leading on-campus workshops, artist talks, and community engagement activities while collaborating and mentoring emerging artists.
Read an interview with Ash about their work here.
This residency, funded in part by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, seeks to bring artists to UM-Flint to center the creation of art in the campus experience. Through this residency, UMS and UMF seek to:
For more information and to apply, visit:
https://ums.org/education/university-programs/flint-artist-in-residence-program/
- Support an artist in developing new work in Flint
- Share the artistic creative practice with UM-Flint students, faculty, and staff
- Forge interdisciplinary connections between the artist’s practice and various academic units on campus
- Provide opportunities for interaction and exchange between UM-Flint and the wider community of Flint-area artists and residents
For more information and to apply, visit:
https://ums.org/education/university-programs/flint-artist-in-residence-program/
Emerging Artist Fellowship
Photo credit: Tamisha Denson (Thirty8special)
University of Michigan - Flint Arts + Culture Research Cluster with Buckham Fine Arts Project announces Steven Banks as the 2022 - 2023 Emerging Artist Fellowship recipient.
“My art is meant to have no limits or boundaries. I create because it’s good for the soul and it doesn’t matter how others feel about it. To live your life in full creation. Every moment is a story, and my art looks to shine bright on the everyday lives we live,” said Steven Banks, the 2022 - 2023 Emerging Artist Fellowship recipient.
The Emerging Artist Fellowship collaboration between the Arts + Culture Research Cluster at University of Michigan - Flint and Buckham Fine Arts Project provides a nourishing space for artists to grow and acquire essential professional development opportunities to succeed as they enter the art world. This collaboration and Fellowship were established in 2021. Submissions to the Fellowship were reviewed by a committee of UM-Flint faculty, students, community members, as well as Buckham artists and leadership. The review committee interviewed a short list of the applicants and ultimately, Steven Banks was selected for the fellowship.
“Banks came to the interview with a proposal to move outside his comfort zone and tackle an ambitious project- moving from music and video to scriptwriting and live theatre. The jury panel was impressed with his initiative and potential to involve new areas of the Arts + Culture Research Cluster,” shared Michele Leclaire, Executive Director of Buckham Fine Arts Project.
Photo credit: Tamisha Denson (Thirty8special)Steven Banks a.k.a. This Life. We Lead., is an alternative rapper from Flint, Mi. He has pursued music since 2013 releasing a self-titled project, and more recently Drink Responsibly in 2019. Following a drop of singles in 2021, TLWL was featured on FX and as of 2022, HBO. Working as a middle school teacher, TLWL works within the community and continues to connect his art with his career.
"This is a very big deal to me. I am so excited to get started. Everyone I have spoken with, related to this project, has been behind my ideas and believes in what I can bring to this opportunity. I feel this will allow me to grow as an artist in ways I did not imagine. The expertise I will be surrounded with is priceless. This will be an exciting collaboration,” shared Banks.
2021 - 2022
Emerging Artists Fellow:
My Proulx
The Emerging Artist Fellowship collaboration between the Arts + Culture Research Cluster at University of Michigan - Flint and Buckham Fine Arts Project provides a nourishing space for artists to grow and acquire essential professional development opportunities to succeed as they enter the art world.
Submissions to the Fellowship were reviewed by a committee of UM-Flint faculty, students, as well as Buckham artists and leadership. The review committee interviewed a short list of the applicants and ultimately, My Proulx was selected for the fellowship.
“Proulx demonstrated connections to the community, enthusiasm for the project, and huge potential for growth within this mentorship,” explained Michele Leclaire, Executive Director of Buckham Fine Arts Project.
My Proulx produces lifestyle, street, and photojournalism-style images through active exploration of unique spaces and the people who navigate and interact within them. As an emerging artist, she is exploring our biological and interpersonal relationships with light and the ways we communicate through physical and implied space. Proulx’s background and experience is a culmination of Language Arts, Visual Communications, and Education, having practiced drawing and other artistic mediums including music and dance performance without discrimination at every stage of life. She currently works as a freelance event and portrait photographer in the beautifully diverse and culture-rich communities in and around Flint, Michigan under the business name Plain Air Photography.
"My goal for the work I'll be developing through the UM-Flint/Buckham Gallery Fellowship is primarily to create art that resonates, almost as a beacon. I want people to view my work and be attracted to the energy, moods, vibes, etc., translate that into curiosity within themselves, and then, hopefully into action. I want people to wonder about the creative process (i.e. how we arrived at where we are now) then realize they can come join us so we can make art together. And then I'll take pictures of that and it'll go full circle,” shared Proulx.
About Emerging Artist Fellowship
The Emerging Artist Fellowship is a collaboration between Buckham Fine Arts Project and the Arts + Culture Research Cluster. The fellowship runs the 2022 - 2023 school calendar and offers mentoring, consulting, technical and promotion support to assist the fellow on their creative path. In addition to an honorarium, fellows are provided studio space, awarded for supplies, instruction, workshops, or other uses specifically related to the growth and development of the artist's artistic work. Fellows receive professional development and growth opportunities through mentorship from Buckham artists, and A+C faculty. As mentors, they help each fellow integrate into local and regional markets and access professional development through increased visibility, marketing, and networking.
“The fellowship includes access to UM-Flint's art studios, woodshop, soundstage, and studio space at Riverbank Arts, a new community-centered space for creatives, community members, and academics to develop and find support for artistic and cultural production in Flint,” explained Benjamin Gaydos, Associate Professor of Design and Chair, Arts + Culture Research Cluster.
“It is the mission of Buckham Fine Arts Project to enrich the cultural life of its surrounding communities by presenting a broad range of innovative contemporary art, both visual and performance, of the highest quality and standard. It is our vision to support the growth of artists in our community through opportunities to engage with sometimes challenging works of art or finding new ways to view and think about art,” added Leclaire.
###
For More Information Contact:
Benjamin Gaydos, Chair, Arts + Culture Research Cluster.
Email:
gaydos@umich.edu
OR
Michele Leclaire, Executive Director, Buckham Fine Arts Project
Email: mleclaire@buckhamgallery.org
The Emerging Artist Fellowship is a collaboration between Buckham Fine Arts Project and the Arts + Culture Research Cluster. The fellowship runs the 2022 - 2023 school calendar and offers mentoring, consulting, technical and promotion support to assist the fellow on their creative path. In addition to an honorarium, fellows are provided studio space, awarded for supplies, instruction, workshops, or other uses specifically related to the growth and development of the artist's artistic work. Fellows receive professional development and growth opportunities through mentorship from Buckham artists, and A+C faculty. As mentors, they help each fellow integrate into local and regional markets and access professional development through increased visibility, marketing, and networking.
“The fellowship includes access to UM-Flint's art studios, woodshop, soundstage, and studio space at Riverbank Arts, a new community-centered space for creatives, community members, and academics to develop and find support for artistic and cultural production in Flint,” explained Benjamin Gaydos, Associate Professor of Design and Chair, Arts + Culture Research Cluster.
“It is the mission of Buckham Fine Arts Project to enrich the cultural life of its surrounding communities by presenting a broad range of innovative contemporary art, both visual and performance, of the highest quality and standard. It is our vision to support the growth of artists in our community through opportunities to engage with sometimes challenging works of art or finding new ways to view and think about art,” added Leclaire.
###
For More Information Contact:
Benjamin Gaydos, Chair, Arts + Culture Research Cluster.
Email:
gaydos@umich.edu
OR
Michele Leclaire, Executive Director, Buckham Fine Arts Project
Email: mleclaire@buckhamgallery.org
Exhibition Podcast: Episode 1
Rupture, Redaction, and Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities
Episode 1
Rupture, Redaction, and Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities Episode 1
Throughout this podcast we aim to Rupture, Redact, and Reclaim Black Feminist Possibilities. In this episode we introduce this exhibition, discussing what brought about it's existence, what it entails to do, and provide a walkthrough of the work on display at Riverbank Arts at the University of Michigan – Flint.
Written by Audrey Banks and Aubrey North.
Produced and edited by Audrey Banks and Benjamin Gaydos for Riverbank Arts.
#Feminist #podcast #art #visual art #Black Lives #activism #detroit #new orleans
Rupture, Redaction, and Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities Episode 1 By goodgood is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Throughout this podcast we aim to Rupture, Redact, and Reclaim Black Feminist Possibilities. In this episode we introduce this exhibition, discussing what brought about it's existence, what it entails to do, and provide a walkthrough of the work on display at Riverbank Arts at the University of Michigan – Flint.
Written by Audrey Banks and Aubrey North.
Produced and edited by Audrey Banks and Benjamin Gaydos for Riverbank Arts.
#Feminist #podcast #art #visual art #Black Lives #activism #detroit #new orleans
Rupture, Redaction, and Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities Episode 1 By goodgood is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Exhibition Podcast: Episode 2
Episode 2
Rupture, Redaction, and Reclamations: Black Feminist Possibilities Episode 1
In Episode 2, we will hear reactions to the transformation of the exhibition space as well as share reflections from Nichelle Morrison and Rhiannon Hathaway who worked on this exhibition as a part of the course Curation and Exhibition Design at UM-Flint.
Written by Audrey Banks and Aubrey North.
Produced and edited by Audrey Banks and Benjamin Gaydos for Riverbank Arts.
In Episode 2, we will hear reactions to the transformation of the exhibition space as well as share reflections from Nichelle Morrison and Rhiannon Hathaway who worked on this exhibition as a part of the course Curation and Exhibition Design at UM-Flint.
Written by Audrey Banks and Aubrey North.
Produced and edited by Audrey Banks and Benjamin Gaydos for Riverbank Arts.
On Curation
Lecture Series
Shana M griffin + Lauren Williams
Shana M griffin is a New Orleans-based Black feminist activist, researcher, sociologist, artist, abolitionist, and mother.
Lauren Williams (she/they) is a Detroit-based designer, researcher and educator.
On Curation is anopen dialogue with contemporary artists,curators, writers, and performers abouttheir profession, creative work, andthe role of curationin their practice.
Lauren Williams (she/they) is a Detroit-based designer, researcher and educator.
On Curation is anopen dialogue with contemporary artists,curators, writers, and performers abouttheir profession, creative work, andthe role of curationin their practice.
On Curation
Lecture Series
Emma Davis + Tunde Olaniran
Emma Davis is a community-engaged dancer, scholar, educator, and choreographer in Flint, Michigan.
Tunde Olaniran is an artist based in Flint, MI, whose work spans the worlds of music, dance, film, literature and performance art.
On Curation is anopen dialogue with contemporary artists,curators, writers, and performers abouttheir profession, creative work, andthe role of curationin their practice.
Tunde Olaniran is an artist based in Flint, MI, whose work spans the worlds of music, dance, film, literature and performance art.
On Curation is anopen dialogue with contemporary artists,curators, writers, and performers abouttheir profession, creative work, andthe role of curationin their practice.
On Curation
Lecture Series
Maia Asshaq
Maia Asshaq (b. 1987) is an Iraqi born writer and artist currently living in Los Angeles, CA. She co-founded DittoDitto Books, The Detroit Art Book Fair, and Flint Magazine, before moving to LA where she works as Associate Director of Editorial & Publications at the David Kordanksy Gallery.
On Curation is anopen dialogue withcontemporary artists,curators, writers, and performers abouttheir profession, creative work, andthe role of curationin their practice.
On Curation is anopen dialogue withcontemporary artists,curators, writers, and performers abouttheir profession, creative work, andthe role of curationin their practice.