“Our goal is to donate $125,000 this year, and we believe it’s going to happen. That means the addition of one more school to Art Road’s roster and additional funding for all the others…The artists that come out and work are truly remarkable. They all really give it everything they’ve got. I don’t know what it is, maybe part Detroit hustle mentality, part this amazing industry of workhorses, and part their connection to the cause, but I’ve never seen so many people in one room working so hard for three days straight. The energy everyone puts out carries everyone else in the room throughout the entire event.” Allison Key, Co-Founder, The Michigan Glass Project
The Michigan Glass Project chose Art Road as the beneficiary of their July 2018, three day Main Event. For the fourth year in a row, Art Road enthusiastically participated in this amazing event. This was the 7th year of The Michigan Glass Project’s Main Event and this was their biggest one yet! This year they had headlining musical performances, live graffiti painting, an art gallery of donated artworks, metal working, all sorts of vendors, great food and drink, and of course-Live Glassblowing. Artists descended on Detroit to make original artworks that were donated to The Michigan Glass Project and auctioned off to benefit Art Road.
Art Road brought it big by having 7’ tall by 30’ long weaving walls that guests could create their own piece of woven art, that was incorporated into a large whole. These Weaving Walls will go to our schools to have them add to the overall creation and be rejoined for a later presentation. Outdoors, Art Road had a shipping container with canvases on the inside where guests used different color paint to create paintings. As they dried the canvases were draped over the shipping container so everyone could see the art as it was created.
Art Road’s Weaving Walls were designed and built by Todd Kananen and Carol Hofgartner. The walls (and) ceiling all became a patchwork of personal art created by guests of all ages. It was so cool to see whole families, each working on their own piece, and then working together to weave great art pieces. Some people spent hours working on their weaving creations. Many guests came back, added more, and brought friends to make even more art.
The sections of the walls will go the each of our schools, to be added to by all of our students, and then re-assembled and displayed as a collaborative whole art piece.
Art Road’s Shipping Container inspired people to have fun spraying paint around. Kids and adults sprayed the inside of our shipping container, creating cool canvases. As the canvases filled up over the course of the 3 day event they were draped outside to display the art as it was created.
