Why art belongs in every city (especially now) by way of one small town

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Art in our City Invitational Exhibition!

This year we have expanded to include three downtown venues: The Bettye Clark Cannon Gallery, Smash Wine Bar & Bistro, and The Red Lotus Gallery. We invite you to view all three exhibition spaces. By weaving great works of art into the heart of our community, it is our goal to provide Muskegon with a great opportunity to view important works by Michigan artists in the context of our city.

 

As Muskegonites participate more and more in the renaissance of our downtown, I am reminded of the importance art has in every city.

 

People often use the phrase “she was before her time” when describing a great artist because art shows us who we are before we realize it ourselves. We count on artists to show us our lives in the context of “now.” Because we are continuously in motion, it is difficult for us to see any one moment clearly, to make sense of it, and it is art that holds a mirror up to our experiences so we can understand them in a new way.

 

In Muskegon's “now,” a time when more and more citizens are yearning for a dialogue with one another, we can look to this art exhibit to hear the voices of Michigan artists, their work in conversation, transcribing what it means for us to be a part of our community. Some of the art will renew your love for our community, some of the art will show you new ways of seeing familiar places, some of the art will expand your idea of what it means to live in our city and our state, and some of the art will introduce you to an array of perspectives outside of your own.

 

Art is the soul of a city, and if you want to know the soul of a community--the values, the ideas, the experiences, and the dreams--that are shared by its inhabitants, look to the art displayed in that city and you will hear a cacophony of voices, each uniquely different, yet each an integral part of that city's life.

 

Art in our City celebrates the diversity of our community. We are part of a state full of diverse people with diverse talents, and where there is diversity, creativity blossoms. Diversity is one of our greatest resources. Without diversity, ideas stagnate, conversations lag, progress slows, art is forgotten and neglected. However, where diversity is celebrated, you see the signs and feel the life-blood of a revitalized community. You can see people smiling as they buy produce at the farmer's market, the same place where you can listen to live music and watch your neighbors line dance, and you can hear kids laughing as they play in a nearby fountain. In short, there is a positive feeling of possibility that may be hard to put into words, but can be captured and transformed by the many talented artists whose works are on display in Muskegon tonight and during the coming weeks.

 

We are excited for you to view Art in our City, to celebrate the diversity and creativity of our community, in three distinct venues, open to the public, the art waiting to be seen and discussed, to show us what we have come to see, or will one day recognize soon, as beautiful, as nothing less than ourselves, a proud community, a flowering city.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sincerely,  

 

Shannon M. Mullally, MFA, Ph.D.