In a community filled with long established arts and culture nonprofits (some over a century old), launching a new organization can be tough going. Concentrate shines the spotlight on three fledgling groups that could help seed the ground for the next generation of creators and audiences.
The old and busted narrative went thusly: Suburbs are safe, smart and affluent. Cities are scary, poor, and un-educated. What a difference 20 years make. Excerpt: Putting urban neighborhoods under a microscope, a University of Virginia researcher has concluded that the traditional urban "donut" pattern — a ring of thriving suburbs surrounding a decaying city center — is being replaced by a new pattern: a thriving urban core surrounded by a ring of suburbs with older housing, older residents and more poverty. Read the rest here.
A program at EMU not only aims to teach low-income and at-risk area youth how to repair computers, but how to sell the fruits of their labors at a retail pop up. It's the best kind of entrepreneurial education, learning by both book and by practice.
Concerts, classes and workshops are part of a five year Ann Arbor residency for one of the nation's premiere orchestras. Excerpt: "The University Musical Society announced today a five-year residency partnership that will bring the New York Philharmonic to Ann Arbor for three extended appearances between 2015 and 2020. The residencies, underwritten by a seven-figure donation to UMS, will include multiple concerts each year, master classes and workshops for students and a range of public activities designed to connect the orchestra with the community in southeastern Michigan." Read the rest here.
Ann Arbor artist and illustrator David Zinn's public art chalk creations have been ricocheting around the Internet lately and we thought it was high time we had a chat with him about the state of art -public and otherwise- in our community.
…Or How Kids Learned To Stop Hating Veggies and Love Kohlrabi. Agrarian Adventure brings educational programs to a dozen different Ann Arbor area schools, helping kids better understand where their food comes from and even how to grow their own.
From a video about squirrels on U-M's diag to a National Geographic grant to film extreme tree-climbing, U-M student Charlie Engelman has turned a video hobby into the start of a career in educational entertainment.
Bruce Katz of the Brooking's Institute has some advice for metro regions… and points to San Diego as a city that 'gets it.' Excerpt: "We have 100 metropolitan areas that really power our economy forward. They all have really distinct economic profiles — what they make, the services they provide, what they trade, who they trade with. Buffalo is not like Boston. San Diego is not like Syracuse. In the great words of Dolly Parton: “find out who you are and do it on purpose.” Cities should invest in those things that will really power their distinct economy forward — in some places that might be an investment in a port or an airport. Everywhere it will require an investment in skills but it needs to be really customized to the kind of economy you have. Read the rest here.
Okay, there's us. And we're proud to say we've been around 300+ issues now. But let's share some of the love, okay? There are some damn fine local bloggers out there and we think you should be reading them. So, we've put together a list of five must-read sites.
Dr. Doris Terry Williams, executive director of the Rural School and Community Trust, discusses the need for place-based education in both rural and urban environments and how Michigan's Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative is leading the charge.
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