ARTS in the BURG

Where will your project take place?

Village of Vicksburg

Briefly Describe Your Project Idea:

The Village of Vicksburg’s “ARTS in the BURG” project is designed to bring the arts to the new weekly village street fair that we will be starting this summer. We are eager to use the unifying power of the arts to provide free, shared arts experiences that will bring together a diverse population.

Why does your community need this project?

We have several divides in our community that we would like to bridge through this project. As a rural community, some of our residents are spread out and isolated in rural locations away from our village downtown. We are hoping that weekly street fairs this summer can unify and welcome residents and help them feel like they belong to our community. In addition, Vicksburg is experiencing some “growing pains”. Over 300 new homes have been built in our new housing developments in recent years, bringing in many new young families that have not blended yet with the long-time Vicksburg residents. There also appears to be a townie/rural divide in South Kalamazoo County. Many residents told us that they want to keep the small-town feel, despite the growth – they want to feel connected to their neighbors.

These street fairs will help us unite geographically distant residents, bring together people of all ages, and provide common experiences for everyone from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

We have also notice from our past festivals, that our community has a hunger for shared arts experiences. We believe there is an untapped well of artistic talent in the region and a need to build regional support for creative people. We have recently interviewed dozens of artists and they all mentioned the desire for pop-up markets where they could have occasional opportunities to sell their work. The Art Cart is a way to start the narrative.

Finally, and critically, our community is 97% white, so we need to do what we can to welcome residents and visitors from underrepresented races and ethnicities. By showcasing and celebrating BIPOC artists and positioning them as project leaders, we can send a message to kids and families from both non-white and white backgrounds that black, Hispanic, and Indigenous people are valued in our community.

What do you hope to achieve through this project?

We know from past community art projects that this project will lead dozens of people working outdoors side by side along long tables, talking and creating projects together. We will see people from all ages, from different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, chatting and laughing together as they try something new.

We want to convey these message: the people of Vicksburg share a love of their region, despite their difference; that artists, especially BIPOC artists, lead our community in creativity and discussions about collective identity; and that art is for EVERYONE, not just for people who visit elite galleries.

Through our street fairs, we want to bring at least 4000 visitors to Vicksburg every Wednesday night this summer, which will promote our local downtown businesses, and also bring diverse visitors from other cities to enjoy our downtown with us. We plan to generate 1000 postcards through the 5 sessions and to use them to showcase both the diversity of styles and opinions, and also that we are all unified through the project.

We also want to establish a method for supporting our local artists. We aim to help each of the five artists sell $500 worth of their work so that they can at least have funds to buy more art supplies and can impactful exposure to their art!