Shadow Art Fair, Ypsilanti Michigan | One Day, 40 Artists, 9000 Gallons of Beer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Michigan Design Militia Organizes First-Ever Shadow Art Fair

Ypsilanti, Michigan, May 26, 2006 - A group of local fashion designers, artists, and publishers are pooling their creative efforts to organize the first-ever Shadow Art Fair. Says Mark Maynard, the group's appointed Event Manager, "Ann Arbor has a hugely successful Art Fair each summer, that attracts artists from all over the country. We thought that we'd take the opportunity to show people that there are interesting things taking place all around them, every day of the year. What we're planning is more than an art fair in a traditional sense. It's about starting a conversation between people who feel compelled to actively participate in the creation of culture and not just passively absorb it. You can think of it as a DIY (Do It Yourself) fair."

The group spearheading the Shadow Art Fair calls themselves the Michigan Design Militia (MIDMI for short) and has eight core members, including local fashion designers Molly Mast, Melissa Dettloff, Suzanne Forbes, and Mary Buchanan; former Henrietta Fahrenheit boutique owner, Jennifer Albaum; greeting card designer and publisher Timothy Furstnau; magazine creator/publisher, Mark Maynard; and recycler, Tiffany Threadgould. The artists formed MIDMI nearly two years ago as a means of creating a support network and a formal sounding board for artistic brainstorming, motivation, and for help with business-related concerns.

According to Albaum, it's the right time for the group to extend their reach, to bring in other artists/organizations, and to invite participation from the community. "We have these wonderfully creative and innovative people all around us," says Albaum. "Right here, in our very own community, we have people who gain national attention as leaders in the DIY Revolution. Even still, many locals aren't even aware of these renegade designers. They make everything from clothing out of recycled t-shirts to zines to records, and we want to bring them together in one place to show it all off, especially to those who are aching for choices beyond value meals, dollar stores, and big box retail. Attendees will have an opportunity to speak with the artists, watch them work, and, if they want, show their support by buying their unique creations."

Organization of the event has been ongoing for several months now, as the group first toyed with the idea at their November 2005 monthly meeting. Ever since, each member of the group has taken on a different task or assignment to ensure that everything is in place well before the mid-July event date.

One of the most substantial tasks was securing a date and venue for the event. "We wanted the event to take place before the Ann Arbor Art Fair, as a local complement to it," says Maynard, who secured the Corner Brewery, an Ypsilanti brewery owned by Matt and Renee Greff, who also own Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor. "Matt and Renee are enthusiastic about hosting the event. They like the fact that it falls right between Ypsilanti's ElvisFest and Ann Arbor's Art Fair, and they also share our belief that this will be a good thing for our region," Maynard added.

Other MIDMI members are busily working on finalizing the list of participating vendors, creating a Shadow Art Fair website, gathering a small list of local sponsors, organizing complementary music and entertainment for the event, as well as working on their own design offerings, so that they will have plenty of inventory for the day.

"We're just bringing together a lot of those individuals who are doing interesting things at the intersection of art and commerce and giving everyone a chance to meet them in one place," says Maynard. "We suspect interesting things will come of it and that people will want to spend their hard-earned dollars on work that resonates with them and that they can feel good about. It's our belief that people want to buy local, and we want to give them an opportunity to do that."

So far, they have confirmed over twenty artists/organizations, including all of the MIDMI designers, Marty Flint, who creates leather and vinyl jewelry, local heroes Found Magazine, artists from a Detroit-based group called Handmade Detroit, Bulb Records, and Dreamland Theater, who will present a shadow puppet show. (A comprehensive list will be forthcoming.)

Look for the first-ever Shadow Art Fair on Saturday, July 15th, from noon until 8:00pm at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. One day, 20 artists, 9000 gallons of beer!

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Mark Maynard
MIDMI Shadow Art Fair Event Manager
Creator/Publisher, Crimewave
info @ shadowartfair.com

Jennifer Albaum
MIDMI Member
Owner, Henrietta Fahrenheit
info @ shadowartfair.com

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shadow art fair