Posts in Programming
Pherz Welcomed as Porch On TAP Artist in Residence
Pherz Welcomed as Porch On TAP Artist in Residence

Pherz is a street artist and muralist from Missouri. He lived in Detroit for several years in the early 2000s and was a regular visitor to The Alley from 2004-2007 as it was just beginning to take shape.

Pherz and writers from his crew spent time with youth, neighbors, and invited other artists to do the same—impacting the early years and development of The Alley Project.

Now Pherz is rejoining us from St Louis as a resident artist at The Alley Project. He is helping us inaugurate our new home on Avis and Elsmere as we transform our front porch to a setting for artistic exchange during our artist residency program, the Porch On TAP!!

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Blackbook Sessions And The Art of Exchange
Blackbook Sessions And The Art of Exchange

The art of exchange… reciprocal relationships are formed and strengthened when folks come together to create and share with each other.

Blackbook sessions give artists (young and older) the space to interact as they pass, sketch, ask, learn, and create memories together. Discussing admiration for fellow artists, seeing a sketch come to life, sharing supplies and ideas helps to build talent and community. 

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September Blackbook Session at Studio Luevanos
September Blackbook Session at Studio Luevanos

Music, blackbooks, more stories, slaps, and ideas were being passed around for a few hours tonight at Studio Luevanos on The Alley Project.

People came and went over the course of a few hours as artists hit each others books, passed out stickers, and talked about people who weren’t there that would probably enjoy meeting up soon. 

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Studio Luevanos at TAP
Studio Luevanos at TAP

TAP’s spaces and programs are designed to help build relationships between neighbors, artists, youth, and others. Many of TAP’s programs are naturally intergenerational because they are often in and about community… and communities are made of people of all ages.

At Studio Luevanos youth, parents, artists, neighbors, and elders regularly gather to share time, skills, and stories with each other. We believe when this happens it is some of our most engaging, critical work as it helps to build community and skills together. 

“I believe the children need to see people of their culture working with them, talking, listening, and interacting. I was one of those kids that did not experience people who looked like me doing things in my neighborhood. TAP provides a space for this.” - Mary Luevanos


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Book Making with Mary Luevanos at Open Studio at TAP
Book Making with Mary Luevanos at Open Studio at TAP

The youth learned how simple it can be to make your own books at Open Studio with Mary Luevanos. Samples, paper, materials, and a portable printer was all they needed to start making their own journals.

They will fill them with whatever creativity fits inside their pages and perhaps bring back to share in a few weeks.

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A Night of Sketching
A Night of Sketching

Artists brought old flicks to pass around while sketching tonight. Blackbooks, vintage photos, and nostalgia steered the conversation.

Stories about exploring the city to search out hidden walls and art at a time before social media took the group back in time. Disposable cameras, blackbooks, HEETT, storytelling, markers, New York, Western High School, Carson Street and more came up.

There is an important history to be shared and ideas about how to capture and share that with future generations kept people engaged for several hours. 

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Creating Rocks To Share At Open Studios
Creating Rocks To Share At Open Studios

Open Studio participants learned a little about public art by creating rocks to share with others by hiding them in unlikely places to be discovered.

Mary Luevanos showed examples of other rock projects people have done and talking about what they might do with theirs. 

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Summertime and Blackbooks
Summertime and Blackbooks

We have spent some time together today and during the last month just sketching and talking about what we’d like to do this summer.

Blackbooks, hitting the walls, collecting/sharing old flicks, ideas about ways to inspire youth and each other, and more. Meanwhile we’ve just been enjoying sharing space… especially in the absence of our good friends that recently passed. 

In the coming weeks we hope to start collecting and organizing old photos we all have of art from around the city from the 90′s on. If it happens we’ll scan and share them sometime soon! 

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Flowers in the Alley
Flowers in the Alley

Flowers are in bloom up and down the alley.

Some neighbors and friends of TAP have spent time selecting, planting, and maintaining beautiful plants that you can see alongside the artwork. Mother Nature also has her way with native plants and wildflowers popping up where they please. 

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Creative Time at Studio Luevanos
Creative Time at Studio Luevanos

Parents, youth, and artists shared time and talents with each other today at Studio Luevanos. 

People bring paper, sketchbooks, pencils, markers, and ideas. We gather in garages and lots. This way we get to regularly share skills, make memories and create new art in a way that costs very little for the return.

“I bring my kids with me so we can spend time time together doing something we love. I want them to be able to open their eyes to the world of colors and creativity in person, not just on a screen.” -Miguel Faz

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Blessing of the Lowriders
Blessing of the Lowriders

Young Nation hosted the 18th annual Blessing of the Lowriders this year on The Alley Project at Grace In Action. Together with founder Victor Villalobos, GoodTimes and Uso Car Clubs’ Detroit chapters, Motor City Rockerz’ Who Got Da Props, Cumbia Poder, and Stitching Up Detroit this year’s event was a memorable mash of Southwest Detroit culture and tradition. 

Pastor John offered a blessing and Victor laid out the history of the Blessing of the Lowriders for event attendees.

After the ceremony Young Nation announced that HEETT 16 (Hip Hop Elements Exposed Throughout Time)–including a new large scale community mural commemorating hip hop culture and a street festival–will commence this year on The Alley Project after the original HEETT wall from 2000 at Ste Anne and Vernor was buffed last year. 

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Open Mic at Grace in Action
Open Mic at Grace in Action

Grace In Action’s Open Mic Night regulars rehearsed and performed on their home court at The Alley Project tonight for a full house sharing live music, poetry, song, and dance. 

Tonight’s homecoming festivities come just two weeks after the closing of Cafe con Leche’s beloved southwest Detroit location. Open Mic nights were regularly scheduled at the coffee shop which was on Vernor at Scotten.  

The larger venue made room for tonight’s lineup to include some surprise action by a live mariachi band, Reyes, and two members of southwest Detroit’s own Awkward Theory. Grace In Action was happy to share space when the mariachi’s originally scheduled practice location was unavailable at the last minute. It all fit in beautifully with the scheduled Open Mic activities.

The Motor City Rockerz’ Autorockz came with two rounds of top rock, power moves, and footwork for all the guests to enjoy! All of the performances contributed to an evening to remember. 

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Sketching at Grace in Action
Sketching at Grace in Action

A handful of artists got together tonight with TAP at Grace In Action to sketch and share their work.

Artists brought blackbooks, markers, pencils, and other materials to create new works as they went through what they’re currently working on with each other. Featured in the photographs are works by Kevin “Oni” Ferguson and James Easterly. 

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Young Nation, The Motor City Street Dance Academy Team Up for Workshop`
Young Nation, The Motor City Street Dance Academy Team Up for Workshop`

The Motor City Street Dance Academy, Young Nation, and Grace In Action have teamed up to offer a 12-week program for elementary students on The Alley Project at GIA every Monday evening.

The MCDSA holds workshops across the Southwest Detroit community to teach elementary-aged youth the basics of break dance. Young break dancers who have come up through Motor City Rockerz mentor younger youth as an expression of the MCRz “each one teach one” philosophy. 

The Motor City Rockerz created the MCSDA to help rebuild hip hop’s reputation locally as being a positive, impactful, creative outlet for all people. 

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Angel's Night 2015
Angel's Night 2015

Each year Young Nation and The Alley Project hosts an annual Angel’s Night event. The event takes place the night before Halloween which has become a city-wide rally of community involvement over the years. This follows years of Detroit’s struggle with an epidemic of crime and arson on Devil’s Night, the eve of Halloween. A plague that peaked in the mid-80′s led to efforts in the 90′s to organize and relieve the city’s neighborhoods of the horror associated with Devil’s Night.

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TAP’s annual Angel’s Night celebrations merge themes of social justice, civic engagement, mentoring and honoring those who came before us, and children and family. These themes acknowledge the season of celebration and collaboration in the neighborhood during a week that hosts Angel’s Night, Halloween, All Saints Day, and Dia de Los Muertos. 

This year TAP’s Angel’s Night celebration coincided with Grace In Action’s Open Mic night and so were merged for an evening of food, entertainment, and family fun. A blessing was offered for the newly completed Healing Wall mural on the broad side of the building, located on Lawndale at Lane. Young Nation and Grace In Action’s constituents came together as their youth, artists, neighbors, families, acts and local entrepreneurs shared spaces and made memories together in the tradition of the themes above. 

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