DETROIT – 2016 Kresge Arts Fellow Ralph Taylor, founder of Caribbean Mardi Gras Productions, is bringing his vision for the arts in his Lower Eastside neighborhood to life, and you can be part of it.
Taylor — whose colorful costumed dancers and steel drum musicians liven up parades and events all over Detroit — has been making art in his Detroit neighborhood for three decades.
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He is inviting friends and supporters to a special preview and fundraising party, An Artist Celebrating His Neighborhood, on the evening of July 23, where he will articulate a vision for the new Islandview Arts Center in Detroit's Lower Eastside.
The strolling dinner and dance party at the 11:11 Warehouse in Detroit will feature live entertainment, including fabulous costumes from Caribbean Mardi Gras Productions. All proceeds will support the new art center, a dream project for Taylor.
“Art should be an essential, everyday part of life for Islandview neighbors,” Taylor says. “The arts bring people together, unite the neighborhood, and create new opportunities for my neighbors in the Lower Eastside.”
Besides his own elaborate, heavily sequined, Trinidadian-inspired costume creations, Taylor is working with other neighborhood art initiatives, including Women Who Weld, and the Belle Isle Daffodil Project, a new partnership with Indian Village and Pewabic Pottery.
The 30,000-square-foot Islandview Arts Center is located in a converted historic warehouse space at 1111 Beaufait, just north of Lafayette and near the Caribbean Mardi Gras Productions Headquarters. The center will be a place for artists and neighbors to build community and support creativity in the Islandview neighborhood.
An Artist Celebrating His Neighborhood also will support a three-day festival Taylor is planning for September in the neighborhood, which will feature a community art parade, a special costume performance, and a sculpture installation at the center.
Details: An Artist Celebrating His Neighborhood is Saturday, July 23 at the 11:11 Warehouse,1111 Beaufait in Detroit. VIP Preview at 6:30 p.m., with drinks, strolling dinner, music and art installation. VIP party tickets are $100. Supporters Dance Party with dancing and cash bar at 10 p.m. Dance tickets are $20. Tickets are tax deductible. Purchase tickets here.