Project Name: Art Has Power
ABOUT THE APPLICANT
Are you applying as a:
Small Business
What is the entity’s name:
Cory Budnick Insurance Agency
What services or goods does it provide?
Insurance Services
Website URL
Twitter Handle:
Facebook Handle:
Art Has Power
Instagram Handle:
Art Has Power
What is the name of the primary contact for this entity’s application/project?
Katy Carignan
What are their preferred pronouns?
She/her/hers
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Where will your project take place? (please include city/village too)
This project takes place downtown Rogers City, MI. We are a friendly town of about 3000 people. Located in Presque Isle County on the sunrise side of Michigan on Lake Huron. With miles of clean beaches, parks, conservation areas, bike trails, and birding locations this is a paradise for nature lovers, boaters, kayakers, hikers, bicyclists, dog lovers and anyone seeking a pristine and beautiful location.
Anticipated project launch date
August 1, 2023
Briefly describe your project idea including your role and any project partners.
A Poetry Festival & Art Walk to activate the empty business spaces in our downtown area with art & poetry. Installations will cover the empty windows and we will create traveling poetry that leads people from one end of 3rd street to the other. Partners are the library and the Stone House Studio.
How do you plan to spend the $5,000 microgrant? Please list and explain the items, services, fees, expertise, etc. that you plan to purchase.
Artist $400 (selection of work and install of signs)
Art and poetry installations (Cling signs for glass install $2000; Signs for wood install $1200)
Traveling poetry signs $700
Artwalk signs $700
Will your project require special permits from the community you are in? For example, anything that requires a street closure or installing a permanent art piece will likely require a special permit from your local governing body or zoning board. If your project is funded, the MML Foundation is happy to help you navigate that process. Please note that all applicants must obtain any necessary permits for their projects, if selected for funding.
No
Rachel’s Notes about the Project
Reviewed 4.12.23, Confirmed member status. Confirmed artist. Confirmed businesses; one is state farm likely a local branch and we decided to accept such businesses this year. Confirmed LOS. Artist will be paid.
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
Why does your community need this project?
We are a rural community including young families, retirees, young professionals who work remotely, farmers, blue collar workers, and service industry workers. The population in Rogers City has changed over the years including many new people who have moved into the area. These new residents often want the kinds of arts and cultural opportunities that they had in the larger cities and communities they came from. In addition, our long-time local residents have always valued the opportunity to come together for arts and cultural events. Art and poetry crosses boundaries and bridges divides in our community.
How will you engage your community in this project?
We plan to use Facebook and in person opportunities to allow the community to contribute images for the project and help us select which images we use. We have a very active photo site called “I Love Rogers City” on Facebook that we will use as a resource and polling space as well as our spring ArtWalk.
What do you hope to achieve through this project?
Our community has a long history of arts and culture. Beginning in the early 1900s this community has had movie theatres that showed film and vaudeville performances. Many artists have made this area their home from writers, to visual artists, to performing artists and filmmakers. Poetry is a medium that brings those arts together. A poetry slam is a performing art. A poem and image can be made more powerful by pairing them together. And poetry has a unique way of crossing generational and cultural boundaries in a community. As a northern town with snowy winters, we have a large population of readers, and our love of books and culture brings our town together. We want to create a new way to do that. We have empty business spaces in our downtown area that will be activated with art and poetry. In addition, we are lucky to have an active group of amateur photographers who post on Facebook, in “I Love Rogers City”. We want to leverage that population of artist posters and followers to find and select the art that we will pair with poetry to fill these empty spaces. We will create installations to cover the windows with poems and artwork that will draw people in and get our community talking. In addition, because of these empty spaces, during downtown events there are gaps in activity and these installations will create places of interest that will lead community members from one end of the street to the other, rather than losing them in a “dead” zone. We also want to create smaller poetry signs that can be placed one after the other through the downtown as “traveling poetry”. For our art walk in the fall, the activation of these storefronts, and the signs of traveling poetry will provide intrigue and lead attendees to the next location, from one end of main street to the other.
How will the project celebrate the community’s diversity? Diversity can include different ages, races, cultures, socio-economic statuses, abilities, and more.
In Rogers City we combine farmers, lawyers, quarry workers, service professionals, retirees, and young parents. We have people who are very religious and those who are atheists. We have athletes and couch potatoes, gamers and technophobes, but the whole community comes together in the spring, summer, and fall for our arts and cultural events. Our photographers and volunteers come from all walks of life. The art and poetry installations will also be a feature in downtown where people can share their favorite image of the area, take photos in front of it, and share with their friends, family, and social media.
What resources do you already have to make this project successful? Resources could include things like time, partners, expertise, donated goods/materials/space, matching funds, and more. Please approximate the in-kind value if possible.
An active volunteer community of working age people, youth, and retirees. Expertise of locals and transplants who have brought their experience from other communities. We are a Main Street City and development ready city. Matching funds will come from local donors and businesses.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Artist First and Last Name:
Garrison Benson
Artist Website (If Applicable): http://garrisonbenson.com
Describe the artist’s or artists’ work. This is not about credentials—what do they do as an artist?
Garrison is a local poet who participates in artwalks with a Poetry Depot. He published a book of poetry and contributes to area publications. Recent works focus on finding meaning in nearby parks.
How will the artist be involved in this project?
The artists will create, edit, and help choose poetry for the installations and traveling poetry.
Are there other artists involved in this project?
Yes
What are their names and what sort of art form do they practice?
Katy Carignan, Photographer, director and writer
How will they be involved in the project?
Katy is the primary contact for the grant and cat herder for the project. She also collaborates with Garrison on Poetry Depot.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Business 1: Business Name:
Cory Budnick’s Insurance Agency
Business 1: Business Type:
Service
Business 1: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Cory Budnick
Business 1: Physical Location Address
333 N 3rd Street, Rogers City, MI 49779
Business 1: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 1: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
CoryABudnickStateFarmAgent
Business 1: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
How will this partner be involved in the project?
Cory is the secretary of the Rogers City Main Street Design Committee and a member of the Downtown Development Association/Rogers City Main Street Board. She is actively involved in bringing more life and activity to downtown. As a business and as an individual she supports artists has mentored an arts business in town and is creating a new green space next to her building where arts activities can take place in conjunction with a local nonprofit The Stone House Studio. She will manage the funds for the project and ensure we stay on track with our budget.
Business 2: Business Name:
Woodland Confectionary
Business 2: Business Type:
Handmade Chocolates and Sweets Shop
Business 2: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Katherine Wilbur
Business 2: Business Physical Location Address:
179 N 3rd St, Rogers City, MI 49779
Business 2: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 2: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
thewoodlandconfectionary
Business 2: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
woodlandconfectionary
How will this second partner be involved in the project?
Katherine is a hugely active Facebook presence both personally, as a community member, and for her business. She is also open for all the community events and holidays that occur. This is a prime location for all of our community members to stop in for a sweet treat and her love of art, design, and words is obvious from the design of her delectable shop.
Do you have additional partners (business, non-profit, etc.)?
Yes
What are their names?
Rogers City Library, The Stone House Studio
What role(s) will they have in the project?
The library is actively involved in the ArtWalk by providing programming at the Rogers Theater, located on 3rd Street, providing a hands-on art project for kids. They are also excited to participate in a program bringing attention to poetry in our community and look forward to partnering to get community members involved in the selection of photos for the pieces. The Stone House Studio is an arts and cultural organization in town who is focused on increasing the arts and cultural opportunities for our community members and creatives and will provide expertise to create the installations and traveling poetry.
Are they located within the same downtown or business district as the project?
Yes, in Rogers City our “Main Street” is actually 3rd Street, which is where we will be putting these installations, travelling poetry, and the Main Street Artwalk. The library’s theater space, The Stone House Studio and our partner businesses are located on 3rd street. The main library building is less than a block off 3rd.
Will your local municipal government be involved in the project? If so, how?
Rogers City Main Street, the DDA, and the City Council are all big supporters of this program. Volunteers who are leading this program also serve on various committees for Main Street or the Downtown Development Authority.
Please upload a letter of support on letterhead for your project from your local governing body (mayor, city/village manager, city/village council member).
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IMAGE UPLOADS
Image Caption 1 (if any): One of the unused properties we wish to activate with art and poetry
Image 1 (if any):
Image Caption 2 (if any): Empty space next to the theatre
Image 2 (if any):
Image Caption 3 (if any): Empty building next to Woodland Confectionary
Image 3 (if any):
Image Caption 4 (if any): An empty space that needs to be activated
Image 4 (if any):
Image Caption 5 (if any): This fence is a space we would like to include traveling poetry
Image 5 (if any):
